I have sat on this answer for a bit starting writing it in my notes when I first made this post but finally finished it. I didn’t grow up with people like that around personally so I have looked up to mostly public figures, musicians etc. I learnt to get through things on my own but now as an adult I connect way more to culture.
Since having a family I’ve thought about it more. There are people I look up to now. Some are famous but most of them are just regular mob doing the best they can. A few have been through stuff like I have and still manage to show up every day. Thats the kind of people I respect.
It might sound weird but I honestly look up to my kids the most. They don’t even realise it but they’ve already survived more than I ever wanted them to. I promised myself I would give them a better life than I had. And I am trying every day. But sometimes trauma leaks through without meaning to.
They still love me and run to me. Im their safe place even on the days I feel like I dont deserve it. That kind of love and strength thas what I look up to that. They remind me why I keep trying.
Briggs is another person I look up to. Hes angry but in a smart way. His music is bloody sick. Uses his voice for mob and doesn’t water it down. I like that. You can tell hes been through it but he still shows up.
JK-47 is a young rapper but what I really respect is how he talks about being a dad. He doesn’t act perfect, he’s just honest. Talks about wanting to break the cycle, raise his kids right, even while still figuring himself out. That’s exactly where I’m at. Parenting while healing. Loving your kids while trying not to pass on the pain you never asked for.
Nookie is a rapper too but also started We Are Warriors, which is a platform that shows young mob how much potential we have. Not just music but in sport, business, culture and everything. That would have meant the world to me as a kid. I want my kids to grow up seeing people who look like them doing strong things Nookie’s helping make that happen.
Stan Grant’s a different kind of role model but I listen when he talks. He carried so much for mob and still gets up and speaks truth. I know what that kind of exhaustion feels like. When you have seen so much, but you still keep trying to be better for the people around you.
There’s a lot of other people I know not famous, just everyday guys who I look up to too ones who didnt have good role models but still show up for there family or community there is heaps of blokes local to me that run youth programs and mentorship type things for young crew and I think that’s cool I don’t know them on a personal level but I know of them. I didn’t grow up with role models. But now I reckon I look up to anyone whos been through hell and still tries to be a good person. Anyone who chooses love even when they weren’t shown they gets up and tries again after they mess up.
I look up to people like that.
And I’m trying to become one too.
My mum is also someone I look up to, she went through the Stolen Gen, had many significant mental health problems, had many kids while dealing with her own demons including dv and abuse. She never once caught a break from the world. 🪽
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