Introducing our Good B*tch Purpose Powerhouse Winner: the inspirational, awe-inspiring and gorgeous Jess Tyson!
When we first came up with the idea for Capsule Good B*tch awards, we knew we wanted it to be a celebration – and we had no idea how big that celebration would be. We have been overwhelmed by the response – thank you SO much for supporting us in this – and we already have big plans for expanding these awards next year. The talent, kindness and vulnerability shown by our GB nominees has always inspired us and we feel so privileged that we were able to share their stories and mahi on Capsule. As you can imagine, judging was tough and between the Capsule and Shark Beauty judging panels, we were able to narrow down this wonderful field to highlight the winners for each category.
It takes a special kind of woman to speak on the topics journalist Jess Tyson does – and with such grace, mana and passion. A former Miss New Zealand and a survivor of child sexual abuse, Jess former her own charity, Brave, to raise awareness and help other victims, and uses her own experiences and platform to advocate for a better world. Jess is also passionate about te reo and works full time as a journalist at Whakaata Māori.
Says the Capsule team: Chatting to Jess is one of those moments when you realise that for all the horrors the world possesses, there is always a stronger force for good. A storyteller at heart, Jess tells her own story with such powerful vulnerability, leading by example and showing how strong her own sense of purpose and kindness truly are.
Adds Shark Beauty: “Shark Beauty recognises Jess Tyson for her unwavering courage, advocacy, and commitment to building a better world. Jess exemplifies Shark Beauty’s belief in empowerment through action, using her voice and platform to raise awareness for victims of abuse and to foster healing and positive change.” – Arneka Grosvenor, Marketing and Communications Director, Shark Beauty.
Kia ora Jess! Thank you for taking the time to chat, and congratulations on being our first-ever Purpose Powerhouse Good B*tch!
Honestly this is unreal. The women in this category are amazing. I almost want to interview you guys and ask why you chose me!
Well I can tell you now – your work with Brave is bloody incredible, and the fact that so much of your korero comes from such a personal and painful place is frankly awe-inspiring, and the way you show vulnerability alongside strength and empowerment is something that you do so beautifully. As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse, you use your experience so speak so eloquently and openly about your own trauma, but you also take on a lot of other people’s as well. It couldn’t have been easy to talk about, especially in the beginning?
That’s so lovely, and you’re right, it wasn’t easy at the beginning, and it still gets very heavy at times when I’m hearing other people’s stories. Actually, now I get pissed off. I’m very sensitive about it all, and these people telling me these things… I get annoyed at the whole idea of others who abuse others. But then, you sit back and also see the overall scheme of things – it happens because those people have had it happen to them.
I need to hold back sometimes and not let my emotions get the best of me and try not to get angry, but it definitely does affect me. It’s great sometimes, you know, I have a bit of a break from this work, I do it part-time alongside my job as a journalist. But then honestly, I feel like this praise is so not deserved for me – there are so many others who do this work full-time and they’re dealing with these stories every day and they deserve so much respect. There’s always a part of me that feels like I’m not doing enough, or that wishes I could do more.
That’s such a feminine trait and view on such a heavy topic. I think a lot of women, regardless of what field they’re in, feel that – it ties into the impostor syndrome thing, and it’s like, we just need to stop ourselves and be like, ‘no. We’re doing a great job.’. I’ll tell you now – you’re doing a great job!
[Laughs] Aw, thank you, and yeah sometimes I need to settle myself down and remind myself that helping even one person is still a person helped. I’ve just got to not try and be such an overachiever.
Well, today you can officially call yourself a good b*tch. How does that feel?
It feels good! Honestly I’m such a goody good, you know, I don’t even really swear so I feel like this allows me to be a bit more ruthless! You know, when we’re growing up we’re taught to not do this, not do that – ‘be respectful! Be ladylike!’. Now I’m like… I can swear now, thank you for that, it’s such a good name!
As someone who is so hard on themselves and is that typical Type A, how do you balance everything – even just in your day-to-day life?
It’s hard, if I’m honest – like for example when I was in Miss World, I was happy and successful because I made it to the top six in the world and it was all amazing but in the same year, I was pushing myself to the point of burnout. I’m always pushing myself, but I am more aware of my overall wellbeing now. In saying that I bought my first house this year, and that was something I really needed. I felt like I needed to do it because I got out of a really long-term relationship, and I wanted to do something for myself to make me feel like I was achieving something. I crave achievement and success, but at the same time I’ve had to learn to look after myself.
It’s so tough finding that balance – especially when you measure things in box-ticking!
[Laughs] Yeah, and I even had an order of what I wanted in life – now I’ve come to realise that I need to not try and control that so much. If you want to achieve stuff then yes sure, you have to make goals and you have to make deadlines, but you need balance.
The Good B*tch Pillars: Community, Purpose, Joy, Leadership and Success:
As our Purpose Powerhouse winner, finding your PURPOSE is key to your story – and while it came from such a terrible place, the way you’ve turned it into something that helps so many others is so incredible. Do you feel like this is your biggest purpose in life?
Oh yeah, it’s my why. Raising awareness about sexual abuse and helping people who have been affected know that they’re not alone is my biggest purpose. I love that I have my job as a journalist too, I have a big purpose there in covering issues that are important for Māori, so it’s amazing that I can do that too. But Brave is my baby, and it’s something that I can look back on when I’m older and be like, ‘I helped people – I did something’.
So what does SUCCESS look like to you?
I feel like it’s mostly, and importantly, about maintaining wellbeing. Something that I’ve learned over the years is that I’ve been an overachiever, and then sometimes I set goals for myself and when I don’t meet them, I get really down and I don’t feel like I’m good enough. But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve come to realise that my wellbeing is the most important thing, and from there, I can achieve things. So, I think success for me is really just happiness.
I totally get that, and looking at wellbeing from the concept of hauora, it makes a lot of sense, right?
That’s exactly what I thought of when you asked me – Te Whare Tapa Whä – and the four sides of health (spiritual, mental, social and physical). If one of the four whare walls is down, the whole whare is broken. Success is all four walls standing! You see a lot on social media where there are so many people doing amazing things, but you never see people sick at home because they’re at burnout, you know? It’s all about perspective.
And speaking of perspective, how about JOY – what’s something in your life that brings you lots of it?
Spending time with my friends, for sure – having those good laughs where you’re laughing so much you can’t even breathe, you know? That’s one of my favourite things. Friends are so important to me – in the last couple of years I’ve moved houses, bought a home and done lots, and at times I’ve felt really lonely. But I’ve had my friends there to help me. We have Airbnb weekends where we go away and book out glamping spots and go for a hikoi up the maunga and cook a beautiful dinner. I love a good wholesome weekend like that!
COMMUNITY seems like an obvious one for you – I mean, you give back to the community inherently every day with Brave. But what about the Māori community, and your passion of advancing te reo? Is that something you’re still super passionate about?
Definitely, and I just love how many people speak it now. I love it when people try with it – it contributes to normalising the language massively, and I’m so impressed at the change in attitude, even in the last 10 years or so!
Ngā mihi nui Jess, thank you so much for being one of our first ever Good B*tches – and we love you!
Thank you guys so much – honestly, the reason why I do what I do is that so people who have been affected by something like sexual harm, that they’re not alone, and that having conversations and talking about it at the beginning of your journey of healing is what’s really going to help. If there are any schools out there that would like me to come and visit and speak, just let me know – and if anyone needs a yarn about any of this, I’m here.
The Capsule Good B*tch Awards has been powered by the absolute good bitches at Shark Beauty. We are incredibly lucky at Capsule to have such an incredible partner who supports our mahi, understands our vision and enables us to tell the stories we think truly matter to New Zealand women, and we thank you immensely!