Opinion

Dynamic Duos: CADA’s Lillian Ahenkan (Flex Mami) & Lucinda Price (Froomes)

In this week's Dynamic Duos, Mumbrella caught up with the new hosts of CADA's Flex and Froomes, Lillian Ahenkan (Flex Mami) & Lucinda Price (Froomes) and asked them about how their individual journeys in the media and content space converged, bringing the two together for their own radio show on the newly launched CADA platforms.

 

Flex Mami (left) and Froomes (right)

Flex:

Unfortunately for me, my memory around potentially useless trivia is exceptional, but trying to recall sentimental occurrences renders me blank.

Can I tell you why it’s 2014 in Ethiopia, why there isn’t a McDonalds in Iceland and the exact reason why most people don’t have to think to blink? Yes, in fact I can.

Can I recall the finer details (or any details for that matter) on the first moment I met any of my close friends? Not even a little bit.

It could’ve been 3 years ago, perhaps 5, maybe even 7. Nonetheless, I don’t recall the exact moment Miss Froomini and I met, but I don’t doubt Mark Zuckerberg was involved. Not personally, but due to his affiliation and ownership of Instagram. I’m sure I knew of her because we both run in similar career circles, then followed her and then our love story began. And by that I mean people kept assuming that we were besties due to our virtual proximity to one another. When audiences see Blue Tickers publicly validate and affirm each other, very often they assume it’s an indication of personal history. Perhaps they were foreshadowing, and I love that.

With that being said, I can always recall being a fan of Froomes. She’s talented, hilarious, extremely online and yet somehow still an enigma. Our relationship is built on mutual thirst, respect and admiration. Like the old saying goes (read: I’m making this up off the dome), when you find yourself in the orbit of someone you think is more amazing than most people, you let them know, and then you become collaborators in every sense of the word. Though we’re seen as being quite similar, we’re really not and that’s the best part. This mutual curiosity, our ability to care about both smart and silly things and a joint aspiration to be millionaires is what really keeps the relationship thriving.

Froomes:

I downloaded Flex when I downloaded Instagram in 2016. She is a titan of the internet and it’s impossible to imagine Australia’s modern media industry without her. I remember the first time we met because her hair was bright yellow like a tennis ball. I thought, who does that?! Flex does. It surprised me, then I was surprised again when I realised it was the least interesting thing about her. One of the first things she told me was that she wanted to make money, and in her words, “the way kids make money is from looking cool on the internet”. At the time, this was really revolutionary to me. I’d always had a very Australian, tall poppy-syndrome attitude towards the act of ‘influencing’, so hearing someone be so forthright about their value and how to take advantage of it was a watershed moment for me, and one that has informed my approach in the years since.

I admire so many things about Flex! Let me name just a few.

She’s a tastemaker and I would credit her with inventing the act of wearing colour. I swear, no one was wearing full-on colourful outfits before Flex was. And speaking of… she was Flex before ‘flexing’ was a thing.

She’s always spoken with the same candour about everything – life, death, money, sex. She has a really special ability to talk about life things without implicating herself in the process, which is an ability I am yet to master. She uses her personal experience only as a conduit for talking about things more broadly, providing a template for others to reflect on their life too. I think that’s a huge part of her appeal.

She is a freak at synthesising information. She literally knows so many different things and honestly, it alarms me at times. She’s the kind of person who will learn how to do something really complicated off a YouTube tutorial. Who can be bothered? Flex can be bothered. She’s learning a new language on DuoLingo at the moment. You couldn’t pay me to follow in her footsteps. I like her enduring curiosity.

Lastly, if there’s one thing you need to know about Flex, it’s that she’s a god at neck massages. It’s the only time I’ve seen her willingly submissive. Absolutely iconic. I’d like one right now. God bless.

Flex on Froomes:

Your most memorable moment with Froomes: I have too many which is a great sign. My favourite would definitely have to be the time we had a work lunch together, and Froomes proceeded to eat a sandwich with a knife and fork. A classic.
Describe Froomes in one word: Eccentric.
Froomes’ most annoying/endearing habit:: The most endearing behaviour Froomes has is the genuine laughing fits she has while telling stories. They go on for MINUTES.

Froomes on Flex: 

Your most memorable moment with Flex: Realising that we are Oprah and Ellen.
Describe Flex in one word: Bushpig
Flex’s most annoying/endearing habit: Flex loves a set up. She has a way of cornering me into saying things that are highly incriminating. It keeps me honest and I love it.

If you and a colleague would like to submit your story to Dynamic duos, please email kwelch@mumbrella.com.au.

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