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Interview with Natasha Monks

Arzish Baaquie | arzish@gmail.com
the ridge Lifestyle
Aaron Su
Radiopulze DJ

Photo credit: Arpan Roy

Born in a country town in Western Australia as a child of mixed heritage (Thai/ Australian), Natasha has enjoyed the best of what both countries and cultures has to offer in her upbringing, and while completely respectful and appreciative of her Thai and Eastern values, she is undoubtedly more Western in her ways and mannerisms and this makes for an energetic and vibrant character with a unique charisma and soft charms melded into her personality.

Natasha and her childhood friend successfully entered the casting call for The Amazing Race Asia, Season 2. An adventure and experience of a lifetime, which saw their strengths and weakness tried and tested, the show was filmed in July 2007 and is currently airing across the Asia and central Europe. This is the highest rating show in the region, with over 75 million viewers weekly.

After emcee-ing in Australia and Bangkok, Natasha recently relocated to Singapore to pursue opportunities for her to realise her dream career. She has appeared in various media for The Amazing Race Asia and is currently featured in both the Singapore and Philippines editions of Maxim magazine, as well as endorsed by the Singha Corporation, in a regional TVC and print advertisements. Most recently, Natasha has taken on the exciting role of Principal Host for iTalentstar, which exposes and illuminates talents in Asia.

Photo credit: Arpan Roy

Interviewer: How is Singapore currently treating you?

Natasha Monks: (Laughs) I love Singapore, Singapore’s good. It’s a good choice to come and live here, for career, and all other reasons as well. The people are great, the food’s great, everything about it. I like the weather; I can’t stand cold weather, so when I left my hometown in Perth, it was a lot colder than here, so it’s a nice change.

Interviewer: So, you decided to leave everything and come down to Singapore?

Natasha Monks: Singapore, right now, I’m liking it, so as long as I keep liking it, I’ll keep staying here. So who knows what holds the future?

Interviewer: Alright, so, is there anything you currently miss about Thailand?

Natasha Monks: I miss Thai food. And I miss my friends there, of course. And I’ve got a few family members there that I miss a lot as well. But in general, it’s just the food I miss. Thai food is pretty unique, you know. Yeah, I love the food there, and of course the culture and the shopping and the bars as well.

Interviewer: So the Singapore Thai food is not up to standard?

Natasha Monks: It’s, oh I hate to say it, but unfortunately, no. It’s the street food, when you go out and just … It’s that kind of food I miss from over-there. So, yeah, definitely.

Interviewer: You tend to be associated with adventure themes. Was there anything in your childhood that kind of brought you towards this path?

Natasha Monks: Hmmm… Well, I guess I don’t know, I grew up on a farm, my dad was a farmer, I was a farmer’s daughter. Maybe that has to do with the outdoors? Perhaps, maybe not? Just in general, I’ve always had that sense of… I grew up in a city that’s probably the most isolated city in the world, so once you get out, that’s it, it’s all over. It’s quite hard to go back again, I think, to something like that.

Interviewer: Is that one of the reasons why you actually went on a lot of backpacking trips alone?

Natasha Monks: Yeah, definitely. I mean, once it’s so expensive to get a ticket out of out of Perth, so once you get out you have to spend a lot of time away so you can actually make the most of it, so on. So you get the most value for money, definitely, I guess that way.

Interviewer: So we kind of hear that previously you were a peer consultant, right?

Natasha Monks: Ahh, I’ve worked, I’ve done a few things. I was working; we opened up a boutique at, importing in Australian fashion labels, in Bangkok. I worked in the mining industry for a little while. And now I’m working in Grand Managing events.

Interviewer: So you went from fashion to explosives?

Natasha Monks: That’s right. One extreme to the other.

Interviewer: How did that come about?

Natasha Monks: Well, I guess, the whole fashion thing was fun, and I enjoyed it. And then I thought, I needed to be more sensible when I returned to my original career path. Then as soon as I did that, I had a, I guess, a quad-life crisis. And I realized it’s not exactly what I want, where my passions lie, so, I’m taking a step into something I feel I’m more suited to.

Photo credit: Arpan Roy

Interviewer: They absolutely loved you in The Amazing Race! Do you feel the need to prove yourself?

Natasha Monks: I think everyone that goes on The Race has something to prove. No-one wants to be first out, no-one wants to be seen doing silly things, which maybe we have or have not. I guess, we had something to prove to ourselves, we’ve always watched the show and we’ve always enjoyed yelling at the TV screens, telling people to go faster, thinking we can do this better, so in terms of just jumping from the couch to actually doing it, we definitely had something to prove to ourselves, in that sense.

Interviewer: So talking about silly things right, are there any things that have been sent to the bloopers?

Natasha Monks: The producers have an image of you and they want to edit it in such a way that you keep the character. But I think we’re quite easy to stick to certain things. We had fun, we had a lot of fun. We’re quite bubbly people, we had a lot of fun along the way, so even if we did silly things, we can laugh at ourselves, so it’s not a big deal. It’s very important to be able to laugh at yourself, I think.

Interviewer: I really sort of admire the patience that you guys have. They are showing, currently, the episode in Prague, the episode where you had to wait for six hours…

Natasha Monks: I don’t know if you saw tears or me being crazy, singing songs. There goes my singing contract for the year. Definitely, but in terms of patience, I guess it definitely tries to test you. All the things on The Race definitely try your patience. And it was definitely an interesting adventure.

Interviewer: So is there any animosity between you and the previous teams that were supposed wait for you or something like that?

Natasha Monks: Well, oh no, not at all. You’re talking directly to that, so no, I mean, we’re very good friends. We’re all really close … Whatever happened in The Race, stays in The Race. And that’s how it’s been for all the teams, pretty much, so I’ve got nothing bad to say about it, anyone, anymore.

Interviewer: Alright, so maybe, you could tell us a little more about the ITALENTSTAR and what drew you into hosting such a programme.

Natasha Monks: Well Italentstar it’s just, a way for anyone, absolutely anyone, who can get involved, and you’re not alone in this world, you can get your friends to help you out, in terms of shooting your video, being your hair and makeup stylist, any of that, they can help you. So, it’s something that, if you’ve ever had the need or desire or the want to get into something like that, to get into this industry, Italentstar’s a great way to break in, so it’s available to anyone, it’s so accessible.

Interviewer: So do you think there’s going to be a platform for bigger, better things for you, and all the contestants that go on it?

Natasha Monks: I hope so, that’s the whole point isn’t it? But Italentstar is definitely a great way for people to get exposure, it’s going to get a great audience. And I just know that we’re going to find some real gems out there in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines, definitely.

Interviewer: So now that you’re stepping into a line that best friend is on, will there be one day you, Paula and Natasha show on MTV or something like that?

Natasha Monks: Oh, I hope so, I’d love to work with my best friend again, it’s so much fun. But no, definitely more Paula’s field. But for me, this is just fun. As long as I keep having fun doing it, then I’m going to keep doing it, that’s my rule. Rule number one.

Interviewer: Since Italentstar is pretty closely linked with social network sites like Friendster, what is your whole opinion on the whole social network phenomenon?

Natasha Monks: I love it! I think it’s great, I’m addicted to it. I can’t get off the computer, it’s great. It’s a great way for kids to be keeping in touch especially when there’s someone like me who’s away from home so often, or I have friends that I’ve met traveling across the globe, it’s a great way to stay in touch, for people to see what you’ve been up to. It’s a great way to show your photos and just to lull about the things you’ve been up to. And yeah, Friendster in particular, it’s one of those tools that is really good.

Interviewer: So would you consider yourself kind of tech-savvy in that sense?

Natasha Monks: I hope so, I guess so. I mean, it’s quite user friendly. You don’t need to be too tech-savvy to use Friendster. It’s all very straightforward, so, even for me, I find it quite easy to use and very straightforward, definitely.

Interviewer: Right, what is the one thing that you have always wanted to do but haven’t have the chance to do so?

Natasha Monks: One thing I’ve always wanted to do? Well I kind of do everything I want to do anyway, so it’s just a matter of getting there, I think. Amazing Race, I got to do bungee jumping, that’s one of the things I’ve always wanted to do. I guess taking it to a greater height up there’s the next thing up there, so maybe hosting a talent show? That’ll be fun. Who knows what’s next, yeah?

Interviewer: So what have you found in Singapore that’s blown your mind away?

Natasha Monks: Singapore food? Singaporean Chilli Crab and also all the little side stalls, the hawker stalls etc, they’re all great as well, definitely.

Interviewer: Alright, final question, tell us a secret.

Natasha Monks: Secret huh? Ooh gosh. I like long walks along the beach under the moonlit sky.

Interviewer: That’s not going to cut it.

Natasha Monks: Oh gosh. I don’t know. When I sing and I dance during five hour intersections? That’s not very Natasha, but it still comes out! No-one ever likes to hear me sing, so that’s probably something that I’ll keep to myself.

Interviewer: Alright, that’s about it! Thank you very much for your time.

Natasha Monks: Thank you, not a problem!