Episode Transcript
Hello, my name is Aziz and I'm the son of a divorced mother. She is really my superhero.
That's why it's important for me to support women to share their uniqueness, their personalities,
perspectives, and emotions about this world. In these difficult times in human history,
we need to bring the people of the world together. And when we hear the voices of women, when
we listen to real lives of women from other countries, we connect our cultures without
differences or stereotypes, and we get inspired by their stories to live a better life. That's
what this podcast is all about. My guest today is Sabina Adilkulova. Sabina
is an international fashion model with more than nine years of modeling experience in
Paris, Malaysia, Thailand, Kazakhstan, and Dubai. Sabina is originally from Almaty in
Kazakhstan, and she is a coach of catwalk, posing, style, and etiquette, as well as a
teacher, international lawyer, and team leader of guest relations at a worldwide luxury five-star
hotel. She was involved in various fashion projects such as the Mercedes-Benz Fashion
Week, Ralph and Russo, Tom Brown, Etro, Haider Akerman, Acris, Maison Boémic, VISA Fashion
Week, Sauvage Fashion Week, Georgian Fashion Days, L'enaz.com, Essentaille, Kazakhstan
Institute, and La Moda, as well as L'Officielle magazine for the French-famous photographer
Jude Perrin. Sabina has two degrees, pedagogical psychology
and international law. She has organized international competitions for designers Best Dressed of
Kazakhstan in 2014 and the national competition Mr. Kazakhstan 2015, and private fashion shows
for the most successful women of Kazakhstan. Her hobbies include boxing, yoga, painting,
psychology, and esoterics, and she is a comedy addict. With more than 12 years of work experience
since she was 17 in the fields of education, sales, marketing, and mining, she used to
work in a copper and gold mining company. It was one of the most difficult but most
memorable unforgettable experiences in her life. Sabina participated in three international
beauty competitions in Central Asia, Thailand, and Malaysia. She was nominated as a Miss
Asia 2016. She is the winner of the beauty and style contest of Vintage Kazakhstan magazine
and during her second bachelor period, she was honored to make some reports about refugees
in Central Asia for the United Nations. Sabina dreams about starting her own school for kids
and young women to help them to be beautiful inside and out, to help them to be more confident
in life and in any situations. Sabina, how are you today?
Good evening, Aziz. Thank you for inviting me to your podcast. It's such an honor to
participate. I feel amazing. Thank you. I'm privileged and honored to
have you here and many of the topics that are important for you are also important in
this project and in this podcast. But to begin, I'll start with this nice first question,
which is, if your friends, the people who know you and love you most, could describe
your personality, what would they say about you?
Thank you for your question and I just want to mention that I can understand you and totally
agree with you that my mom also was divorced and I mean she's divorced and I can understand
what you're talking about, about woman power who can raise their kids, taking care of them
alone. So that's amazing and that's great that your mom has an amazing son who is taking
care of his mom and making, creating this kind of amazing podcast to show the power
of the woman from all over the world. That's an amazing thing you are making. And regarding
a question, actually I haven't asked my friends about that, but usually what they say, I mean
people who are surrounding me, they say that I'm very thoughtful, kind, open and I love
to take care of people. Maybe this is how they can describe me.
I love that and it's very, very much in context and related to your love for kids. But even
beyond that, I want to understand what is the story that made you very interested in
the importance of women and kids and people feeling confident and feeling beautiful outside
and in because maybe you have personally struggled in the beginning with some self-esteem and
then you learned how to improve it or you notice it's a big problem or you just care
about the next generations or what is your thought?
Behind of this there is a long story actually and maybe it is my long distance of life experience
let's say and also my mom's story as well because when I was five my parents divorced
and from this time actually maybe I started to be an adult or more mature because I was
looking at my mom how she was struggling and I'm the eldest one of our family. I have two
more sisters younger than me and one brother so I was thinking about how I can help my
mom to raise my brothers and sisters in need so I was thinking how to make her life easier
and also from the maybe youngest years I was thinking about my mission of the life because
I felt something inside which was you know calling me something like I had I have to
do in this life to complete and my mom is super wise and I met a lot of interesting
wise people in my life especially one of them and the most important person grandma of grandmother
let's say she was our neighbor and when I was kid instead of playing outside I was always
sitting next to her and asking so many questions about life I mean actually it's a kind of
strange thing because when you're a kid you're mostly interested in life maybe it's just
because I'm a little bit different maybe so I was asking her so many questions about life
how to you know I remember and it's so funny because I remember my questions like what
do you think is most important in your life or what was your mistakes or what is the things
you regret about or something like this so it was kind of funny and I'm really thankful
to our neighbor old woman because she was really um I can say very kind to explain me
everything and the answer to all my questions that was really nice and also um I had a long
experience and journey journey of my life I started to work since my 17 and I tried
so many fields in my life just to you know earn my own money and also to help my family
maybe that's why I could have many experiences and see a lot of things that at the end it
brought me to my to find my mission of the life because when I really um when I was studying
on my second degree university I just wanted to you know earn some money to have because
everyone has expenses right so um then one day just my friend called me and asked me
to help with kids because uh we were together in one modeling agencies so she knows how
I do catwalk and everything she just asked me to help and she told to the director of
modeling agency that I am very nice with kids because she knows me and I'm a teacher also
and I can teach her how to do catwalk because uh when we have castings or you know modeling
catwalk fashion shows I usually teach her and I teach girls how to do it so she knows
how I can do it that's why she recommended me so when I came to the class and start to
show kids and uh teaching them I really felt this feeling that I really want to do it and
when I started to receive feedbacks from my kids and the parents that they are they have
these differences and the changes from them I mean changes that they are they have more
confidence after my classes and they are changing like more open and more confident so this
probably gave me these feelings that I really can do something to help the people especially
kids and to another people that's why I have these feelings that I really want to help
people I have so many questions really it's so interesting what you're talking about but
that part specifically when you said you had something inside you that let you know you
wanted to grow to find your life purpose and I'm aware you're interested in esoterics so
how is that related to esoterics what is your perspective in life do you believe in destiny
in karma in magic in spirituality how do you view it and what is interesting for you about
esoterics and its relationship to your life yes it uh it was probably a long answer but
okay so um actually uh let's say I have a special or interesting relationship with a
god with the universe I don't I'm not so fanatic with religious or something but I handle that
I'm a muslim but I don't like when people are you know too much of religion or something
that's why I have god in my heart and in my thoughts that's why actually I can't say I
believe in karma as well and the most important I believe in god and I think that god is everywhere
and he is in each of us in everybody so that's why that's why I try to be nice the kind with
everybody in this life even if they're doing something but or something you know not so
nice I try I'm trying to understand um the reason behind and I I know that everything is just
fair enough in this life and everything is in there you know with own special reason and this
lives in the right way uh so that's why I I'm not uh worried about anything in this life
regarding people or some any other things so I know that everything is with a purpose uh yes
I believe in karma I believe mostly in the thin grease because Kazakh people used to be used to
believe in degrees before it is kind of like we believe in the sky or some nature or something
like this um as a third is a nice because in that way like we have to be nice with people we have to
respect the nature people um each other and a lot of things so it is kind of a combination of life
to live uh good to to live good life and to be good with everyone especially respect yourself
and respect to other people so like that you can put your effort to make this life easier and
better in your own way I believe like this thank you and that is so related to the beginning when
you said to your friends you support them you're kind to them and you're helpful I understand it
relates to your beliefs about everything and speaking about starting a school for kids which
is your dream I know you had a very diverse life with all kinds of jobs all kinds of careers why
not already start that school and do your entrepreneurship dream just to see what happens
because something about life is that often the jobs they make us tired so we don't have time to
start our projects our other things so to you what's your perspective when do you feel you'll
be ready or is it more of a dream that if you find the right partners you will do or how is that going
that's very good question actually what really kind of bothering me at the moment not bothering
let's say um I'm working on it at the moment because before when I was dreaming dreaming
about that it was a COVID time and as you know it was a kind of hard time and a difficult time
to everybody in this world so I couldn't even think about it and at that time I had a good
opportunity to start to work with an amazing luxury five-star hotel and they had the job offer
from Dubai so that's why it was the reason I moved to Dubai it was a time when I just graduated my
second degree so I decided to take this opportunity to move and I was busy actually with
working as guest relations because I think it was also very good for me because I could learn a lot
of things from people from all over the world from an amazing professional professional people
and I could see many many successful people from all over the world as well and I was learning a
lot of things from everybody whom I met that was a good as well I made some good communications and
contacts that was also good and just recently and before or before this year so I was kind of scared
to start my own business because it's you know it's super responsible and difficult at the moment
I'm ready and I understand that I doubt enough mature enough and have so many skills and I can
do it just at the moment I'm looking for probably investors or let's say partner to make a business
and have some friends who are interested in it so we'll see I hope God will help me with that
because I really dream about it I really hope so too and I'm wondering you lived in Kazakhstan for
a while and then in Dubai and you spoke about interacting with all kinds of professionals from
all over the world living in a dynamic environment full of energy did you feel the experience has
changed you in the future would you like to live in a city that is multicultural full of ambitious
people from all over the world or do you miss a more simple life you want to start your school
and be more near nature in a calmer environment or how does that suit your personality actually
Dubai made me stronger which is very good because yes I was always strong enough for
anything but Dubai has changed me probably in the most communication with my communication skills
because before you know when you are in your country in your city where you have already
where you have already status your friends family and you are kind of famous and people can
know you and a lot of things like that you are I mean yes I was in comfort zone actually in a good
way and maybe I was not so open and friendly as I am now so Dubai and the guest relations
job gave me really good skills to be more friendly more open to understand people better and and all
these two years I was working on my another site like my personality to have a transformation so
it was also amazing um journey for me because uh now at the moment I worked some already I have
done a huge job with that with my transformation and I start to understand myself more better now
I know what I want from life from people from and now I love myself more and I I'm ready to love
for the world more which is also amazing with uh actually I'm traveling to my country every six
months so at the time when uh it's time to go back to Dubai I really sometimes I'm really in
sad mood because I'm very attached to my family I am very patriotic and I love my country especially
especially people they are amazing they're so friendly so open heart and kind you have no idea
how kind they are so that's why this is what I really miss in Dubai because probably I have less
friends and my family is far and people are different I don't mean they are bad I'm just
saying that I really miss some super kind people from my country which is also good because um this
is I have that's why I have an idea to open it in Dubai because here I see so many amazing kids
so many amazing people and I see that uh parents who are always busy with job and everything
and they would be happy I believe to have a school where someone experienced can help them to
build some confidence on in their kids and the uh share experience with you know good skills
and it will be also good I'm also planning to open it in Kazakhstan as well I hope I will have
energy enough energy and budget and everything and time as well and a very good team to make
it in both countries thank you this is such an important topic of course the kindness of the
people and everything you're speaking about but more about your personal transformation
self-love teaching children confidence because we live in a time where maybe because of social media
or the social distancing from the pandemic or any other reason a lot of younger girls or even in
their early 20s they are more introverted more shy they don't feel so confident they don't have
that self-love maybe they look at social media and think wow those girls look perfect I am not
like that so I am bad or anything like that what is do you think the normal journey for a girl
to find her confidence and self-love what did you go through what was important to give you
that confidence and self-love and in general what's your opinion on this do you think it's
wrong maybe in Dubai the younger generation are very confident or in Kazakhstan the girls
are confident at the teenage years or what's your perspective on that and to you what is necessary
to do in order for women and girls to find more confidence and get their self-love I think that
people are everywhere people so all nationalities are having the same I believe issues some problems
I mean the same problems and our beliefs and fears are similar sometimes so
there is nothing to say like in Dubai teenagers are different or people are different or in my
country um just um Kazakhstan is just my environment where where I was grown up so that's
why it's more closer to me and the mentality is more closer to me that's why of course I feel
more confident confident and comfortable in my country but however probably teenagers all
girls women all over the world doesn't matter which in what age everyone in this life has
their own fears problems traumas which is finally okay because as I think that God sent us here to
this world with a special mission and at the moment every day every woman or man doesn't matter
man doesn't matter uh having or facing their own problems or situations or lives so which is also
good because we have always choice to choose our past our life how to make it how to build it and
I believe our soul uh choose this life this journey with a special maybe reason that's why
and also regarding a question because I had I have also like any other people my own traumas
own beliefs and fears that's why I started to think about it how I can release from all of these
traumas and bad beliefs or something you know which I have as a problem or fears and what I
can say it is so we have to believe that everything is possible to go through and everyone this world
is strong strong enough to help themselves to go through all of these problems and what I can say
to young generation or people or any woman in this world that if you want something if you really
if you really dream to change um to make your life better to make your personality better and
to be more healthy mentally and physically so so it is possible you just need to start to work on
it and there are so many professionals like psychologists or coaches or any even kind people
or our friends you can share with you know with whom you can share your problems and there are
so many people who are really ready to help you with that it's just that you have to make decisions
that you want to change it and you want to help yourself I agree 100 that's a truly empowering
message and Sabina I feel like we just scratched the surface there is much more to say and do but
we're running out of time so thank you for participating in this podcast it was my
privilege and truly my honor to have you here to listen to your voice to share your experience your
story your perspective and please keep going and I wish for you to find that ability to start your
school for all children for giving more people that confidence and self-love in Dubai in
Kazakhstan Central Asia and all over the world thank you again it was an honor to participate
thank you so much for your time for your questions interesting questions and you are doing an amazing
job to empower women and I wish you good luck with your podcast with your life with the people
who who will help you in your journey thank you you
