SA: What are your 5 tips of living a balanced lifestyle?
Tash: Firstly, stay active. No matter where you are or what you’re doing, being fit and healthy is optimum. So if you’re on the beach, go for a run or a swim! Secondly, keep in mind those important to you. The people you surround yourself with will always look out for the best in you, so keep them in mind with each decision you make. They also encourage you to be compassionate and caring – and that is pivotal. What would your world be without them? Then, I suppose, just enjoying everything you do and looking for the positives in every situation. Such thinking allows you to take a step back and really appreciate what you’ve got, rather than constantly striving for more. Fourthly, I suppose, is allowing yourself a bit of everything – appreciate what is not good for you, but there’s nothing wrong with indulging in something on a small level. A slice of cake never harms…! And then, I guess, recognising your strengths and prioritising them. Your world will only get better if you focus on what you can do, and you will always strive to be a better you. If you bare that in mind, then you’ll know what’s right for you and what’s not – and your lifestyle will be balanced and healthy as a result.
SA: What are your top favourite excersices to do while travelling?
Tash: High intensity interval training (HITT training) is a great if I am on the go and only have 20-30 mins to fit in a work out but my favorite thing when I am traveling I try new ways of working out, it really depends on the location I am in. In Hawaii I love stand up paddle boarding and surfing, in L.A. I love to go on hikes and in London and I love to go to the gym.
SA: How has A bikini a day evolved since you started?
Tash: It has been quite amazing. When we started, we were just two friends with a love of bikinis and a passion for photographic stories. We were just a couple of girls who spent time on the beach, and instagramming our world, sharing our friendship with those who wanted to follow us. And I think that has remained the same. ABAD is still a narrative of love and happiness between two best friends. Except now we’re recognised as a great platform for brands around the world, so we now have an excuse to do what we do, and our passion has become an important reality!
SA: What advice would you give for building a loyal following?
Tash: Two things: enticing photography and an inspiring narrative. On the surface, Instagram is all about the visual – and that is definitely important. But it is about more than that; people use it as a form of escapism, and want to follow people they can learn from or aspire to be like. Our profiles basically just highlight our friendship by using beautiful scenery and backgrounds. But without our central tenets of love and positivity, I don’t think even the most beautiful picture would have that much of an impact in creating followers.
SA: Where did you begin your career?
Tash: My career as it is today never really ‘began’; it evolved out of a variety of different passions. I used to have my own production company though – a precursor to ABAD, I guess. I was running that in LA about 5 or 6 years ago, and that’s how I met Devin. She came on board as a great photographer, and I guess everything just evolved from there.
SA: Who has inspired you the most?
Tash: Definitely my mum. She was Miss Australia, but she was also an entrepreneur and I grew up around her running her own companies. She showed me that nothing was impossible, and that women could do anything. Showing is way more significant than telling, and I was so lucky I had her to lead and guide me.
SA: 2 of your favourite holiday destinations?
Tash: Italy and St Barths
SA: What has been your greatest challenge?
Tash: Challenges are always difficult, but I guess I’m lucky in the fact that I see each challenge as an opportunity. Running a company, we face just as much hassle as everyone else, as many setbacks and let downs as you can imagine – anyone running a business will be familiar with how difficult it is. But you can choose to see such issues as painful, or you can use them to learn and move forward in ways that may be unexpected. But i’ve found that those ways are often far more beneficial and exciting than anything I had planned!
SA: 3 favourite healthy cafe’s around the globe?
Tash: Ruby’s Cafe in Sydney, Urth Cafe in LA and C press in London
SA: 2 of your favourite restaurants?
Tash: Il Pastaio in Beverly Hills and Chotto Matte in London
SA: 3 most coveted fashion items?
Tash: Definitely the bikini, funnily enough… But seriously, to me it represents freedom and happiness – if you’re wearing one, you’re having a pretty good day! A good leather jacket, for when I end up in colder locations and a pair of go to mid height heels that are good from running around when traveling.
SA: A favourite quote of your is?
Tash: “If you don’t ask you will never know.”