WOMEN ON TRACK With Carlie and Ricki

0:04 i studied photography when i was younger 0:07 and i i lived and worked in london i 0:08 worked for a judge and then um i had 0:10 children and moved to a 0:13 small village and i was a single mom 0:16 and i didn't want to just sit at home 0:18 and do nothing so 0:19 i picked up my camera and i went along 0:22 to the local uh hill climbs showersley 0:25 walsh being one of them where murray 0:28 walker had his first uh commentating job 0:32 um and i just uh play around with with 0:34 my my camera and um um and i got 0:37 recognized and it's to me it's um 0:40 i've always been interested in classic 0:41 cars um 0:43 but it's not just that it's the buzz the 0:45 atmosphere the fun the noise the smell 0:49 the people um 0:51 just it's always just it's just got me 0:54 and it's just it's always been a massive 0:56 passion of mine so i started 0:59 just going along to my local hill climbs 1:01 and then i was introduced um to 1:05 uh by honda um 1:07 through a friend of mine to btcc which 1:09 is touring cars which was at thruxton 1:12 and and i went there and i and i did a 1:14 gig for honda it was fantastic 1:17 loved it um it was on tv just i just 1:21 felt amazing and i think my passion for 1:24 the 1:25 automotive industry showed in my 1:26 pictures my interest in cars began when 1:30 i was a little girl i grew up in a small 1:32 town in the interior of bc where 1:36 we were blessed with a bunch of classic 1:38 cars where we had an annual car 1:41 an annual car show each year that just 1:44 got everyone together and people would 1:46 be judged on classic muscle cars 1:50 my mom would always bring me to this 1:52 every year and that kind of snowballed 1:54 my love for cars 1:56 once i got older i was able to actually 1:59 become around or come around exotic cars 2:02 because my small town we had nothing 2:05 my first exotic i ever saw was the 2:07 testerosa and that wasn't until like the 2:10 age of 19. i started when i was 2:13 probably about 20 years ago getting into 2:16 our local street racing culture and it 2:19 was predominantly men but fortunately i 2:22 had a group of probably about four other 2:24 girls that were also interested in it as 2:27 well and 2:28 the men that were around us they never 2:30 made us feel like we were anything 2:33 different than them they embraced us 2:35 because they're like hey you like cars 2:37 just like the rest of us let's go to the 2:39 race track and camp out i've always been 2:41 a bit get up and go and and it is quite 2:44 daunting you know so uh you'd be invited 2:46 along to these these places i think 2:48 there was one uh 2:50 le mans um with a uh we were put up by a 2:53 company called travel destinations and 2:54 with everywhere that i've been 2:57 you are the only woman uh okay so 3:00 there's a room you walk into a room and 3:01 it's all men 3:03 and you are the only woman but i suppose 3:05 it can be quite nerve-wracking to be to 3:07 begin with but i suppose you just you 3:09 just get used to it and and if you do 3:11 see another female you're like hey hi 3:13 how are you 3:14 what are you here for you know 3:15 um but i've just as i said recently come 3:17 back from um abbeville and again 3:20 all men you know and i i i've sat there 3:22 and they're all eating massive steaks 3:24 you know and you feel like you have to 3:25 participate and eat the steak as well um 3:28 but it's they've all been very helpful 3:30 and very great and um but it can be 3:33 daunting but you just have to overcome 3:35 that really in a sense i definitely feel 3:38 like there has been such an 3:41 an amazing community support like 3:43 everyone is always there whether it's 3:45 men or women yeah they definitely want 3:47 to see you succeed and 3:51 i know it sounds cliche but it 3:53 definitely is a car is a community 3:56 everyone's there just to kind of help 3:57 each other 3:58 out and it's just been so amazing having 4:01 the support of people 4:04 that's been one of my biggest things is 4:06 just the support it's not necessarily 4:09 about the cars the cars are a huge 4:11 benefit but one of my favorite things is 4:14 just the community that you build and 4:16 the friendships that you make 4:18 i've never felt held back by being a 4:20 woman 4:21 but i can understand 4:23 uh 4:25 for some women thinking all crikey 4:27 it's male dominated which it 4:29 predominantly is you know 4:31 um but i think you just need to 4:33 rise above that because 4:36 if your passion is 4:37 is that that worth then 4:39 you go for it no matter what you know um 4:42 and i think it's just a fantastic 4:44 i can't you know i'll have lifelong 4:47 memories that i'll carry to my grave of 4:49 you know driving in a bentley 4:51 continental gt through gross glockner 4:53 high pass in austria you know 4:55 um on the autobahn they'll never leave 4:58 me you know um 4:59 um and i just think it's it's the best 5:02 thing i i have ever done 5:04 and i managed it being a single mom um 5:07 so i just think wow just live your life 5:10 live your passion and go for it and give 5:12 it all you've got you know 5:14 just do your best and i certainly would 5:17 help or encourage any females in going 5:20 into the industry to to really go for it 5:22 because it is a fantastic 5:24 life-changing um 5:27 i mean especially in europe you've got 5:29 you know all the racetracks 5:32 and the people they're all just so nice 5:35 and very welcoming and i never felt out 5:38 of my comfort zone or 5:40 anything like that 5:42 my advice to women would be that the 5:44 only limits out there are the ones that 5:46 we place on ourselves so we need to get 5:48 out of the imposter syndrome and if 5:51 something is truly near and dear to us 5:53 just get out there and figure out ways 5:55 that we can make it happen i've 5:57 struggled with that myself just being 5:59 like who am i to do this and then i get 6:02 out of my own head and i'm like you know 6:03 what 6:04 really who am i to do this like i'm 6:07 passionate about this so i'm just gonna 6:09 go out there and make my impact on the 6:11 world and just enjoy my life i mean 6:14 we're the ones that create our own 6:16 realities 6:17 when i'm at my end of my journey i want 6:20 to be able to look back and be like oh 6:21 my gosh i did that 42 years of age and i 6:25 never really felt uh compromised in the 6:27 world but you know 6:29 other people 6:30 might be might feel daunted by it and 6:33 and it could be quite 6:34 um 6:35 quite scary uh for example um obviously 6:38 it's a very male dominated world and 6:40 obviously the magazine led world now 6:42 there's not much money in it so what 6:44 they do with photographers is um 6:46 obviously the magazine will um let's say 6:49 they say go to monaco and so with with 6:51 the editor a couple of photographers 6:53 they tend to bung you in the same room 6:55 uh just as the same costs 6:58 and um and it happened to me on a couple 7:00 of occasions um um 7:02 and i thought oh crikey um i'm going to 7:05 be sharing a twin room with a man you 7:08 know it's a bit a bit odd um but 7:10 but yeah then you become quite friendly 7:12 with them and they become like your 7:13 brother and you know you know you're 7:15 used to them leaving their socks on the 7:16 floor and you know 7:18 it's so hard work when you're covering 7:19 like a 24-hour race you you literally 7:22 just go and fall into bed so it could be 7:24 the honey monster late next year you 7:25 wouldn't really care but that was 7:27 probably the only time that i felt it's 7:29 a bit i prefer to have my own room and 7:30 obviously on occasions i have but on a 7:33 couple of instances when they say come 7:35 to monaco i'm not going to refuse that i 7:37 have to if i have to share a twin room 7:40 with a man 7:41 as long as i was comfortable with him i 7:43 would um but i suppose 7:45 you know that's something you organize 7:47 before you go but because 7:49 there's not much money in it anymore 7:51 they tend to that was the only time i 7:53 felt a bit 7:54 but um but i've never 7:56 i've never felt like 7:58 uh looked down on 8:00 um because of my knowledge um or or 8:03 anything like that and 8:05 when i was at nurburgring doing the 8:06 24-hour race you know you're in a race 8:09 suit a fireproof suit with a helmet so 8:11 you wouldn't even know i was a woman you 8:13 know you know i you know helmets 8:15 complete racing media badge i just 8:18 looked like everybody else and and i was 8:20 treated like everybody else and 8:22 and the the women that i've met um 8:25 there's only two and 8:27 and they've i've the conversations i've 8:29 had with them they've they've never felt 8:31 like they've uh men have had to support 8:33 them or or guide them or 8:36 they've been very much 8:37 supported like anybody else and um and i 8:41 think really is if you produce good work 8:43 through your passion 8:45 it's down to what you produce and and 8:47 the magazines get in touch with you not 8:49 not because i'm a woman but because of 8:50 the 8:51 the the work i'm providing you know 8:54 um 8:55 so i don't know i suppose i i personally 8:58 would say just go for it with all you've 9:00 got and don't let that stop you and 9:02 um and just just be confident in your 9:05 own abilities um 9:07 don't don't 9:09 try to rise above it and they 9:11 tend to be all so friendly because it's 9:13 like a network of people you go to one 9:15 car event 9:17 same kind of people you go to the next 9:18 one you you get it's like 9:20 it's a network and they tend to look 9:22 after you actually not because you're a 9:23 woman that you you just uh and buddies 9:26 you know um 9:27 i would certainly say and 9:30 my passion is just to just to go for it 9:32 whether you're confident 9:34 or whether you're slightly insecure is 9:36 to just just go for it you know and 9:38 there's support out there and 9:40 and the fun and the you know the cars 9:43 the noise the smells the people the 9:45 atmosphere is what will drive you and 9:48 your passion what i've experienced 9:51 in the automotive world 9:53 is truly amazing and i would help 9:55 anybody that sent me a message or picked 9:57 up the phone i'd certainly say you know 10:00 you go for it 10:01 and don't let anything stop you because 10:03 even you know if you make a mistake you 10:05 can correct correct it you know 10:07 um just go for it and live your life we 10:10 you know 10:12 for me it's been amazing 10:25 you