There has almost definitely been a time in your life when you’ve turned to your best friend—probably after some particularly poignant or hilarious exchange—and said, “we should have our own show”. Well Lise Carlaw and Sarah Wills, of Those Two Girls fame, took that fanciful dream and turned it into their reality.
After meeting via mutual friends on Facebook, the pair capitalised on their natural chemistry and infectuous banter by establishing Those Two Girls, producing sell-out events and front as MCs on the reg. After just 12 months in the game, they were fronting a top rating national morning show across Southern Cross Austereo’s HIT network (Fox FM, 2Day FM, HIT 105, HIT 107 Adelaide, and 92.9 Perth), using their smart, irreverent and self-deprecating humour to reel the nation in.
Lise and Sarah also ambassadors for a litany of companies and causes that support female friendship and empower young women, like Suncorp’s national #TeamGirls initiative and Triumph’s National Friendship Day campaign.
Lise and Sarah caught up with us to explain the importance of female friendship, how chance meetings can change your whole life and sometimes saying no to opportunities is just as important as saying yes.
What would you consider to be your ‘light-bulb moment’ in your career?
Meeting each other. We were both on maternity leave from our former careers when we met and recognised that our shared skills and professional experience had the potential to create something pretty special. We know from experience that when women support women, incredible things happen. We just went for it from there.
Do you have a piece of advice for young women trying to get their start on the radio?
Put yourself out there. You can’t sell a secret. Even though we came into radio the non-traditional way—we were scouted by the head of the SCA network—it came because we’d taken numerous leaps of faith by producing sell-out events, creating digital content, MCing events and being incredibly persistent. What we also know is that chemistry is paramount and you can’t manufacture that.
What have you been most proud of during your career?
Landing a national radio show after only 12 months in the game. It not only showed us that we were onto something, but also confirmed there is a huge appetite for genuine female friendships in the media spotlight. Just being us was enough, and we’re so proud of that.
Is there a moment in your career where you’ve looked back and thought, ‘I wish I’d done that differently’?
No regrets—we always back ourselves—but we have learned that it’s just as important to say no to the wrong opportunities as it is to say yes to the right ones.
Have you experienced instances of sexism throughout your career?
Not in radio. We work with an incredible team of young men and women who are progressive and united. This is the way forward and we love it.
What would you tell your 13-year-old self?
Sarah: Stop perming your fringe.
Lise: Wearing that back brace for 23-hours a day will give you great abs, I promise!
Have you had a mentor that has championed you throughout your career?
We’ve had incredible women lend us their support and guidance from day one of this adventure. Strong, successful women like Rebecca Sparrow, Gemma Fordham, Mia Freedman and many others who may not have a public profile but whose unwavering belief in us we will never forget.
Women supporting women is a beautiful thing. Collective female empowerment has the potential to make women feel unstoppable and we endeavour to pay it forward wherever we can.
It’s National Friendship Day and Triumph is celebrating because they know when women support women, incredible things happen. Friends are like a good bra; supportive and always close to your heart!
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