And then I told a story about my ex cheating on me and then I thought, “Let me put this on Facebook, see what it does.”
And I remember getting like, a million views, yeah?
It went viral.
I didn’t really know how big they were.
His heart is... Pure.
I was bad in school.
What did we get with the £2?
2 for 2, of course.
Ah, the 2 for 2! Good days. The hustle was mad, though.
The hustle was mad!
Being known is what gives me anxiety.
I don’t think I really took in how poor we was.
I was born in Colombia and sadly enough I don’t know a lot about Colombia. But from what I do know, it’s a happy place.
Colombia is a mad, happy, vibrant place, couple of stray dogs on the road, you know how it gets. When I think about my culture, I’m more just proud of the vibe
that the country gives off, the people have, and the food. My favourite Colombian dish would have to be Sancocho. It’s mad! Sancocho is a different level of soup.
So I’m most proud of the fact that I was a refugee, I’m proud that I had struggle. It makes you appreciate all the lit stuff a lot more. I don’t think I really took in how poor we was.
Like, I remember we used to live in Ladywell, yeah? On top of Morley’s. Man used to live on top of Morley’s. If you ever saw my apartment now…
But it makes me so much more grateful, do you get what I’m saying? Because I’ve lived in like, the worst of the worst situations, like. On top of Morley’s?
I beg you take that one in, I think that went over everyone’s head. Morley’s.
Did you get free chicken?
I didn’t. Nah, I didn’t get free chicken. Nah, I didn’t get no free chicken.
My first memory of Filly? When he was born. And I remember I went to the doctor, I said, “I don’t feel my baby.” And they said, “Maria, it’s not your time.”
“I want you to take my baby out.” When he came out, his belly… Umbilical cord.
Umbilical cord was all over his neck and he was purple. He couldn’t breathe. And I will never forget because when I saw him breathing again, I was very grateful to Jesus.
Faith is everything. God is so powerful. And we would not be here where we are if it wasn’t for God. Everything we do, we always say, “If God allows it.”
Because our lives are in the hands of God and I think he’s blessed us in more than one way.
Talk to us a bit about that journey and as a mother.
Well, he was…
No, I don’t wanna talk about that.
Ok. That’s alright. That’s ok.
I’m sorry. That’s ok.
It was really hard being a single mum with three little children. Sometimes there is nothing to… to put on the table. And there was a point that he couldn’t
understand the reason why I wasn’t with his dad. So I had to send him back home. When he came back, he was like, more mature, like he appreciated me more.
Do you understand? So he was growing, growing, growing, and now he realise that I did my best as a single mum.
My mum always knew that eventually she’d come out of the struggle she was in. But yeah man, I’d say God’s had our back always, like even when we didn’t have a lot.
We’re still eating every day, do you get what I’m saying? There’s still blessings shining upon us, so... yeah, man, God.
I was bad in school and man got 4 GCSEs, you know? Imagine that, yeah? I was going to results day and I knew my results were gonna be knackered.
Before I even open up the envelope, I’m laughing like…
Like I just knew it was gonna be a joke ting and it was.
They got a screen with the menu on and show what a man get? Ok. A hotdog? Don’t eat pork so I’m not having that. See, look. And now the pasta don’t look wet no more.
These little desks, you know? This is hard! I’d be gassed eating a little lunch here now.
Ah, yeah yeah yeah. This is where we had our exams, we had the exams in this hall. Sat here, blud.
Little exam. And I’m just looking over the shoulder, stressed!
I’d love to talk to the youts, all the students, and just say, “Yo, don’t stress. Like, in no way, shape or form am I saying you can just go out and be a YouTube star.
If this didn’t go well for me, I don’t know what I’d be doing."
I know not everyone has, like, good experiences in school, but all glory to God, mine was good. So I’m not coming back here thinking bad stuff,
it’s just nothing but positive stuff. Yeah man, good.
Some of the people that impacted me in school? I'd say my friends and the smart ones. There were a lot of people in my school that were rolling with the wrong crowds,
but then just like, having a friend like Bruce made me realise what the right direction was to go in.
Blud, remember the times we used to flippin’, in school yeah? Hustle the whole day to make £2 in total. What did we get with the £2?
Two for two, of course.
Ah, two for two! Good days. The hustle was mad, though.
The hustle was mad!
My life at school was ok ‘cause he was a year older than me, so he was sort of like the older brother for me. I would teach him the things he didn’t know,
he would teach me the things I didn’t know, so we just sort of got on like that. Just sort of helping each other where we could.
I started telling stories about my dating experiences and I just titled it Sunday Stories. And I told a story about my ex cheating on me and it went viral!
I’d say like, a hundred people on Snapchat. And I woke up, I'm like, “Rah, 2,000 views on Snap? I’m going in!”
And then I thought, let me put this on Facebook, see what it does. And I remember getting like, a million views, yeah, in like, I don’t know, like two days if not a day. No joke.
I didn’t really know how big they were until I heard someone when I was at uni talking about it, and I was just like, “Hold on, what’s going on?” Then we just sort of spoke
and I was just like, “Bro, I don’t think you realise how big this is.” Ever since then, I just sort of got involved and started watching them on a weekly basis
and I just found them hilarious. ‘Cause these are all things I knew. The sort of spin on things, how he delivered it, what he did, it just made it so much more exciting.
I hosted the Fifa '20 launch with Kaká and Ian Wright. The whole world was watching me with two legends. So for me now to be working with the company
and like, hosting this mad major event and just having these legends respect me as much as I respect them, that was a mad experience.
How do I feel about social media? Has it had a positive impact or a negative on my mental health? A bit of both. I suffer with anxiety. I recently like, experienced panic attacks.
It’s made me known and being known is what gives me anxiety. But then social media has changed my whole life and made it so positive.
There’s beautiful sides to it but then there’s mad negative sides to it as well and I just feel like you've just gotta be careful of who you follow.
The advice I’d give to someone that might suffer with anxiety through social media is just go to therapy. Yeah, it’s money but through the NHS it’s free.
Your waiting time’s gonna be long but how much do you care about your mental health? It’s not about a balance on social media, these things are never gonna go away.
Go and seek help. You have to visit it early before it gets a lot worse, if that makes sense.
I retired my mum, yeah, that’s mad innit? Mum lives a good life, you know!
I’m 51 and he retired me. I used to work in this place where they were treating me like I was no one! And I remember Felipé telling me, “Mum, I don’t want you to work anymore.
I’m gonna look after you.” And now I’m working for him and he pays me well. I live my life.
He’s heart is… Pure.
So my cousin moved out to Panama. They took a picture of where they was worshipping and it was mad. And I was just thinking to myself,
I’m spending money on stuff that brings no value to me, like the time on my watch is wrong. I don’t care about the time,
I just bought it because it’s nice. I just realised I need to start putting my money into things that matter and a church is one of them.
I would say that my brother's legacy will be the one thing he lives by, which is love and guidance.
Ultimately, he’s actually found what he enjoys doing and making people happy in the process. I'm really proud of that to be honest.
What I wanna be remembered for is for someone who was always happy, vibrant, but most importantly themselves.