< Previous4848 O ne thing about Ola Elsharef is that she commands a room. She’s an in uencer on your screen, sure, but off it, she has an aura that very few can match. It’s not enough to call the 28-year-old “cool” or “magnetic”—though both of those things are true. Ola has a kind of con dence (dare I say “empowerment”…but, like, the actual kind) that makes a person think, ‘I mean, of course I own this place’. And it’s refreshingly audacious. “I’ve always been this self-assured person deep down, but social media really unleashed it”, she beams. Call it what you want—self-esteem or self-delusion—but I was instantly drawn to it when I walked onto set for our cover shoot. Ola was lying in the studio with a dozen owers pinning her hair to the oor. A picture of elegance. An aesthetic Instagram post brought to life. Consider me (and the other 500,000 people that follow her, it seems) in uenced. Interestingly, Ola has always worked in nance — a normal side of herself that she insists is an integral part of her lore — and she landed the in uencing gig almost by chance. But, she says, the desire to work had always burned ercely within her. Growing up in Sudan, she longed to be the provider. “I always thought that my dad’s work was a privilege”, she tells me. Nowadays, work and success comes to Ola in abundance. Not even two years into her in uencer career, she landed a spot in the coveted Dyson Squad, which, as any person who’s chronically online will tell you, is a pretty big deal. The rest of her resume reads equally as bold: There was the brand deal with Amazon. The dream collabs with Songmont and Sunday Riley. Oh, and she also has a 9-6 corporate job. Such is life, I guess. The term “in uencer” carries signi cant weight when it comes to Ola. A quick look at her TikTok comments reveals the substantial impact her content has on young women in war-torn Sudan. And when her life-long friend joins us on set some hours later, I begin to understand the depth of her in uence. “Shereen is the only person who’s seen it all”, Ola says. Ola and Shereen Ahmed share more than just beauty and grace (I mean, the energy shift on set when Shereen arrived was equally palpable); they share core values. Their bond, rooted in a deep, emotional connection, has been nurtured through years of 8-hour philosophical chats at university in Dubai. They are two besties that have always been primed for life - the cool big sisters; the girls that give you life advice in the club bathroom. In the spirit of girlhood—and for the sake of modern journalism, of course—they graciously let me into one of their heart-to-hearts after our shoot. Amidst musings on alter egos, family, and a few tears, the many layers of Ola Elsharef begin to unfold. Shereen: You know, when I rst met you, I remember I opened the door to my dorm, and you were sitting there with my roommate. I thought, who is this beautiful girl in my room? Ola: How do you think I felt? Because you were a model. I come from Sudan and we don’t have models. That’s next level. S: Stop it. O: Remember that music video that you did? In my head I was like, wait I literally live with a celebrity. It felt like Gossip Girl or something. But we connected straight away…over family, really. S: You know I always tell you that you remind me of my mother - you’re both Geminis, you’re both very head strong, you go after what you want. I think that’s why I related to you. O: I come from a community where people don’t typically share who they are, or share the realities of their life. But when I met you, you just shared everything. I just admired the con dence, and you made me feel equal. Truly, you made me realise that it’s ok that certain things in my life don’t go well. You gave me hope. And your mum, I relate to her because she’s someone who pushes no matter what. She always wanted the best for you, and now I want the best for my family. Especially recently, I felt a huge responsibility to take care of my family after the war when my family moved to Egypt. All this work I do, I do it for them. S: We’re the same in that way. Family is at the core of all that we do, they’re our biggest motivators. O: And we’re very serious about our lives. From day one we bonded over that. We were never handed things, so we strived to become the women we wanted to be. S: And be grateful for things, always. O: Always. S: Remember during uni we’d have these chats that we felt that we were in survival mode, but trying to nd time to enjoy it too. And I’m so happy that we’ve come to the point now that we’re the women that we’ve both always wanted to be, and we’re thriving. Would you have imagined, back then, that you’d end up doing social media? O: I never saw myself doing this. Knowing me back then, I would’ve never cared for being an in uencer. S: You didn’t even post on your Instagram. O: I had a private account with zero posts. S: So what changed? O: A lot of things. Eventually I got bored, and I also lost my job. During this time, I turned to social media, as we all do, you know? Also my mum is obsessed with TikTok, so she was pushing me to try it. I really enjoyed learning how to shoot and edit. When one of my videos went viral and I got some negative comments, I remember sitting there thinking, I made it. S: You know this is what tells me that you were meant for this. Because when I post, I’m always worried about the comments, but you don’t even think about it. What was that line you used to tell me, all press is good press, right? Bad publicity is good publicity. Cover Story COS_118_046to056_CoverStory_13400953.indd 4827/09/2024 17:5549 Cover Story 49 Cover Story Dress: Zimmermann Ring: Tiffany & Co. COS_118_046to056_CoverStory_13400953.indd 4927/09/2024 17:5550 Cover Story COS_118_046to056_CoverStory_13400953.indd 5027/09/2024 17:5551 Cover Story Left & right pages Dress (worn as top): Zimmermann Trousers: Savanna COS_118_046to056_CoverStory_13400953.indd 5127/09/2024 17:5652 Cover Story 52 Cover Story Dress: Mach & Mach Earring: Phenomenal Studio at Poison Drop Ring: Tiffany & Co. COS_118_046to056_CoverStory_13400953.indd 5227/09/2024 17:565353 O: You know I always had the belief somewhere within me that I could do it all. But social media helped me live that fantasy of I am that girl. S: It’s like your alter ego nally had a place to shine. O: Exactly. S: And we’ve always said within our friend group that all you ever needed was a camera on you. Like you and your character needed a platform. How do you think your life has changed since? O: I used to feel like all of this was a game, that none of it was real. I still have a 9-6 and life is normal, so social media never felt like real life. I never expected people to like me, let alone look up to me for skincare. I just do normal things, I’m just sharing my life. And for people to follow it and like it, to me that’s crazy. I’m so grateful. S: And you being Sudanese, too…I visited Sudan and have some knowledge on the society there, or how it was, at least. This is all a bit new, right? To see a Sudanese woman sharing herself on social media. There is a taboo, that’s why you get some of the negative comments. How do you overcome those kinds of opinions? O: Most of the time I don’t read them. If I want to keep my head straight, then I can’t read them. Because I know who I am and that’s enough. S: I love that. I really am so happy for you because of how forthcoming you’ve been with your social media. I mean you have always been a person that’s very sure of yourself, we all know this. This has always been Ola, you know, she’s been the loud, assertive, con dent Ola. But now I’m so happy that this is inspiring so many people around you. O: Not to mention the in uencing industry has paved the way for women of colour. S: Social media has really opened up a space for more diversity because people want it and advocate for it. People want a Sudanese woman to look up to, and social media created a space for you, for those young girls to look up to you. I don’t want to cry but it’s making me super emotional. You know I visited Sudan, I love the people. And they do not deserve what is happening right now. But you are doing a great thing. Those young Sudani girls will see Ola on the cover of Cosmo magazine and think ‘despite what we’re going through right now, look at Ola, look at how far she’s come… there’s still hope for all of us’. And that’s the beauty of in uencing. It’s not just the glitz and the glam. This is hope. O: I’m grateful. Our community is very conservative, so not a lot of us are in this scene. For me to put myself out there and nd acceptance in the industry, I think I’m beyond privileged. To be here today as a Sudanese woman and to be able to tell my story, it’s mind blowing. And I can only say thank you. I’m so excited for the next generation of Sudanese women. The girls are going to know that it’s actually possible. They’re not going to be scared. S: Because if Ola did it, why can’t they? It comes with a weight but you’re showing up not only for yourself but for them, too. And your family, of course. O: My family lost a lot. No matter what, working was my way of being there for them. People have strong opinions when in uencers talk about these things online. But they don’t know what goes on outside of what people like me post. We’re all so hurt, and looking for ways to heal each other. S: And look at how far you’ve come, it’s inspiring. Miss Dyson Squad over here. O: This is a massive, global brand…and they just said ‘yeah babe we’re sending you a contract’. This is the biggest thing that’s happened to me. I still think it’s crazy to be the face of Dyson Middle East. It’s truly top tier. I always believed in social media but this was the rst time I saw a future. S: What does it feel like to celebrate your hair with such a global brand like Dyson? O: Listen, having my type of hair is not easy. First off, curly hair was just accepted like two seconds ago. The reason I started wearing my hair curly was actually because of the Dyson Supersonic. The whole curly hair movement, Dyson pushed it. For me to embrace my natural hair and to work with a brand that celebrates all hair types, it’s amazing. Working with them makes me feel so beautiful, and I had the con dence to feel that there’s a place for me in this industry. S: Now other girls with the same hair type can feel seen too. Having you around is like a live podcast. You’re always sharing your passion and wisdom, and you really want people to realize their worth. I’ve taken so much from your mindset, I’ve learned so much. You always say how much abundance there is in this world. And you’ve proven that you just have to rise to that version of yourself and you’ll be capable of receiving it all. O: I have a fear of not self-actualizing. I fear not reaching the pinnacles of what I’m capable of doing. I know there’s so much more for me. I want to grow old and think, God damn, you did all of that! S: Spoken like a true Gemini, babe. I’m so excited for the next generation of Sudanese women. The girls are going to know that this is actually possible. They’re not going to be scared. Cover Story COS_118_046to056_CoverStory_13400953.indd 5327/09/2024 17:5654 Cover Story Social media helped me live that fantasy of I am ‘that girl’. Dress: & Other Stories Earring: Anissa Kermiche at Poison Drop COS_118_046to056_CoverStory_13400953.indd 5427/09/2024 17:56Cover StoryCover Story SENIOR PRODUCER: STEFF HAWKER HAIR STYLIST: SEBASTIAN ISKANDER USING DYSON MAKE UP: EMILY CLAYTON FLORAL DESIGN: EGOR ANDRYUSHIN VIDEO CREATIVE DIRECTION: ROUHANA EL HAGE VIDEOGRAPHY: THINK SMARTHUB LIGHTING ASSISTANT: YASIR ALI SHAH LIGHTING ASSISTANT: SCAR SALARIO COS_118_046to056_CoverStory_13400953.indd 5527/09/2024 17:5656 SAUDI SHOWBIZ SAUDI SHOWBIZ 56 In Saudi Arabia a new era of showbiz is taking shape, and with it, a wave of job opportunities for young Arab women. From glitzy production gigs to cutting-edge creative roles, the country is luring top talent and reshaping the entertainment landscape. No gatekeeping here — this is your backstage pass to breaking into the KSA TV industry. INSIDE THE MOST COVETED JOBS IN W O R D S A N D I N T E RV I E W S B Y M E G A N T O M O S COS_118_056to060_Careers_JobsInTv _13389472.indd 5627/09/2024 14:2157 CareersCareers HOW TO BE CONFIDENT ON CAMERA… I never struggled with confidence in front of the camera. I did, however, go through a process of observing different voice modulation techniques and a study of my best angles and facial expressions to improve on the delivery of content. For example, my eye expressions can look too fixated and too strong, so I developed a technique that I call “the sleepy eyes” - I convince myself that I’m getting a back massage during the scene, so it eases my visual expression to be softer. HER SKILLS… I utilise my passion and love for presenting and the flexibility to learn and adapt. The more rigid you are in your ways, the more difficulties you will face working in a huge team of cast and crew with shooting schedules and changing screen requirements. You may be a boss where you normally work, but in show business, you’re part of an industry that only recognises talent on screen. It can be ruthless. HER BIGGEST MILESTONE… There was the time where I worked with Belgian chocolate chef Erik Van Der Veken to make the first ever chocolate fabric wedding gown in Saudi in 2015. Then there was also my TedX speech on prejudices against fashion in the region in 2016. 57 Careers Presenting Fashion with REEM FAISAL Nowadays, fashion and entertainment go hand-in-hand. At the helm of the action in Saudi is entrepreneur and program host Reem Faisal. She knows a thing or two about navigating the industry. Interested in hosting fashion content? Reem spills the tea… HERE’S ONE THING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT TV PRESENTING Never underestimate how much the understanding of screen tempo and vocal delivery skills go into TV presenting. Being knowledgeable in your field isn’t enough. There is a lot of energy and focus that goes into emoting – unleashing emotion into your content to make it appealing for viewers. HER LIFE BEYOND WORK… I am a biker. When I’m not working in showbiz, I’m out in nature, hiking and motorcycling to reset and recharge. I entered the world of motorcycles last year and am madly in love. The outdoors is a passion for me, which a lot of people don’t know. The more rustic the experience the better. Biking and hiking set parts of me free, in a way no other experience can. HER BIGGEST ADVICE… Start on your social media. Create content as your pages can serve as your business card and portfolio. You need be ready when opportunity comes looking for you. Filming yourself will also help you finesse your tone of voice, figure out your best angles and get an understanding of how you come across on camera, which is all useful intel for TV jobs. It will all help for when you get a screen test or job interview. COS_118_056to060_Careers_JobsInTv _13389472.indd 5727/09/2024 14:21Next >