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PHOTOGRAPHY
NICK LEARYDLM
STYLING
JESS PECORARO
HAIR
CONRAD DORNAN
MAKEUP
OZZY SALVATIERRA
TASH WEARSBONDS PULLOVER, ., CROP TOP, ., AND LEGGINGS, .; LOVISA CUFFS, FROM .EACH, LARGE RING, . FOR SET OF FOUR, AND THIN RING, . FOR SET OF FIVETHERE’S NO DENYING TASH
OAKLEY is one confi dent woman. Just
take a look at her Instagram account for
scroll after scroll of the Aussie beauty
posing on the sands of the Amalfi Coast,
the Hamptons, the Caribbean and every
beach in between – in a bikini. The very
wardrobe item that makes most Aussie
women cringe, especially at the thought
of facing the lens wearing one.
It’s a confi dence that Tash attributes
to growing up on the beaches of Sydney’s
Eastern Suburbs. “When you grow up in
swimwear and you’re in a bikini every day
you just naturally feel more confi dent.
That is your uniform,” she explains.
And this 26-year-old blogger and
Instagrammer has made big business from
it. Back in 2012, when Instagram was just
an infant, Tash and best friend (and now
business partner) Devin Brugman founded
a project – A Bikini A Day. What started
as the pair posting daily bikini-clad photos
of themselves in beachy locations quickly
grew into a marketing platform sensation
with Tash’s Instagram alone sitting at
a whopping 1.9 million followers today.
Does it blow her mind? “Every day.
I’m one of those people that really
appreciates the little things in life. All
those big things I’m doing are amazing, but
even the smallest things on a day-to-day
basis I’m blown away by and appreciative
for. It really is amazing,” she says. “I got in
at the right time and did the right thing,
but the other thing is, I’ve been doing this
for seven years and we’ve worked our asses
o« to be where we are. It was an amazing
opportunity, and I’m so thankful that I had
the passion and drive to just go for it.”
While the pertinent question might
be “Why bikinis?”, the answer is actually
quite simple: They were a couple of
beach-dwellers (Devin grew up in Hawaii,
and Tash moved there when she was 19)
with a passion for swim fashion.
“I would save up all my money to buy
swimwear,” recalls Tash. “Devin was the
same. We realised that some girls have
shoes and bags they save up for; we were
really obsessed with swimwear.” Thus,
they viewed it as a fl ag for a certain kind
of life. “There’s a whole other side that
truly captivates our audience and that’s
girls who love bikinis have an entire lifestyle
that’s very free – it’s very passionate, it’s
almost spiritual,” she adds. “Because you
are a beach-lover you like to be healthy,
you like to be moving, you like to be
doing things outdoors, you like to travel.
I think we kind of represent the woman
who loves the beach.”Co-owning over 3000 swimsuits with
Devin (“We keep them in our o° ce in
bins that are colour-coordinated”), the
empire goes beyond Instagram opps.
The globe-trotting duo are also in the
business of creating swimwear.
“When you go to the beach, you
are there to have a good time. That’s why
we called our swimwear line ‘Monday
Swimwear’, because if you’re in a bikini on
a Monday, you’re having a good day,” says
Tash. “You’re like, ‘Finally, I just get to relax
and enjoy myself and be me’. You’re not
thinking, ‘Everyone’s watching me’. It just
doesn’t end up being like that once you get
to the beach. So we try to say to women,
don’t work yourself up about it. Find
something that complements your fi gure,
of course, and look after yourself, but it’s not
actually as big a deal as everyone’s making
it out to be. Really, the bikini encompasses
something positive and amazing.”
For this self-starter, that single piece
of clothing really has delivered an amazing
is-that-even-real career, and she’ll admit
she’s aways felt it was her destiny. “I’ve
always been really creative,” she says,
adding that before the world of A Bikini
A Day she was running her own production
company. “At school I was always doing
abstract art. I always had some kind of
business since a young age. So anything
involving that creative side and business
side was where I was going to end up.”
The biggest infl uences on this young
businesswoman? The folks – her dad,
a private detective, and her mum, a
former Miss Australia who runs her own
real estate company. “The thing is, I didn’t
go to school for business; I don’t have a
degree. So I had to learn a lot from my own
experiences, and from growing up around
parents who had businesses,” she adds. “It
does teach you so many important things
like, you have to be careful who you choose
to work with, surround yourself with and
trust. That’s the number-one lesson that
I think this teaches you. And it applies
absolutely to your personal life as well. It’s
not necessarily a negative thing; you just
choose the right person to be around
and you give them all your love and your
friendship, and it’s much more enriching
that way rather than spreading yourself
thin across a lot of people who take your
energy and may not necessarily have
your best interests at heart.”
From collaborations with global
swimwear brands to a new ambassadorship
with Bonds and a co-created 12-week fi tness
program (“Her Body By Gilles”) with
boyfriend Gilles Souteyrand (a model andpersonal trainer), Tash Oakley is travelling at
the speed of light, with her mum’s advice in
mind. “The words that always resonate are:
‘You’re never too old to learn something’
and ‘You can never learn enough so you just
really have to listen to everything’,” says
Tash. “Everywhere I go I will take something
from someone I’ve met. [It doesn’t matter if]
I’m doing so well or I run my own business
that’s all going so great, I can always do
better and I can always learn more.”TRAVELLING
WITH TASH...How many fl ights are
you on every month?
“This last month was the least I’ve
had because I drove through Italy.
Otherwise I’m on a di« erent plane
every week, sometimes every couple
of days. I live on a plane, literally.”Jet-lag tips?
“You really have to make sure that
you go to bed at the right time and
adjust your sleep according to where
you’re going. Drink water and eat
healthy. Do a workout and sweat out
the plane. You just feel so cramped
up in the plane, so if you do a
workout when you get o« , you release
some endorphins and get your blood
fl owing again for your circulation.”Is there anything left on
your travel wish list?
“I’ve done so much, but I haven’t
been to the Maldives. We’re almost
saving that. I’ve got so many places
I want to visit – India, Sri Lanka, the
Philippines. There’s a lot on the
list actually. I have a list on my phone
of where I’ve visited and where
I’ve got to visit and every time
I visit a new place I switch it over
to the ‘I’ve been there’ list.”How does exercise fi t
into your lifestyle?
“I don’t train with [Gilles] all the time,
because I’m not always with him,
so I’ve taken what he’s taught me
and what I know myself to do
a 35-45 minute HIIT workout.
I’ll work out three or four times
a week. It’s gotta be doable.”