If anyone knows a thing or two about stepping into your power, it's Clara Amfo.
The radio host and podcast presenter is an iconic media voice, having worked on various BBC shows for a decade. Recently, she stepped down from hosting Radio 1's Future Sounds – many were surprised at this move, but guess what? Clara found the ability to walk away empowering.
She sat down with GLAMOUR at our Empowerment Summit – joining a fabulous line up that included Michelle Keegan, Fats Timbo and more – to talk about why this was, and how walking away from such a dream job was about prioritising herself, including her work-life balance.
Clara also opened up about the importance of trusting your gut, embracing change, her top Radio 1 moments – name drops galore! – and her journey with imposter syndrome. What an absolute powerhouse.
GLAMOUR: Empowerment is very different to every individual. What does it mean to you and when do you feel the most empowered?
Clara: Empowerment, to me, means really standing firm in who you are and what you believe. And not being shaken by that, but then at the same time, I think being open to adapt the way you think about yourself and the world. I've been equally empowered by being humbled by people, or when things haven't gone well. I think empowerment is just about standing firm in your beliefs, in who you are, but also being open to adapt.
GLAMOUR: When is a moment when you can remember thinking, "This is me in my empowered space"?
Clara: Every time I've had to make a major career change, it is empowering to be like, "You know what? I don't want to do this." Or, "I really do want to do this." And to stand firm in that and not waver is really empowering. It's scary. Because I think that's the thing we don't speak of often is... Empowerment is incredible but it can also be really scary.
I felt quite empowered stepping away from my radio show. And don't get me wrong, it was really scary. And I'm still getting to do great things that I love, but I remember a few people were just like, "Oh, my gosh." Like, "You're stepping away from Future Sounds, I can't believe it!" And I said, "Yeah. Yeah, I am." Because I think with all of us, there comes a point in our life where it's okay to say no to things. I think it is empowering to know when you've had your fill. Whether it's through a work situation, certain relationships in your life, if that's romantic, platonic, whether it's how you treat yourself, I think it is empowering to learn when you've had enough of something. Respectfully.
GLAMOUR: After 10 years of hosting various Radio 1 radio shows, you said something had to give. And you said that that was empowering. What motivated you to do that?
Clara: Honestly, it was work/life balance. I'm so, so, so lucky and I've worked really hard to be able to do all the different types of things that I get to do, but I was spinning a lot of plates and I thought, "Oh, gosh. I can't..." I think, for me, I never want to feel resentful. I don't want to feel like, "Ugh," doing this.
I was just thinking, "I'm not seeing my mates. I'm not seeing my family enough. I'm using up holiday dates to do extra work outside of radio." And I thought, "I don't want to live like this." And the feeling wouldn't go away because I actually took a little sabbatical. I took a step back because I hadn't really taken a big, big, big chunk off for about 10 years. It was empowering to come back and be like, "Okay, right. This is what I'm doing".
GLAMOUR: It's about trusting your gut, as well, isn't it?
Clara: Absolutely. The gut doesn't lie and I think that's been a recurrent conversation I've had with people throughout this whole year. Don't get me wrong, I think it is so valuable to listen to advice from people that you trust implicitly. But also, you know yourself, generally speaking, better than anybody.
GLAMOUR: It's also a big change, which is something that can really frighten people. Most people, in fact. What's your relationship like with change? How has it evolved?
Clara: In many ways, I'm such a creature of habit and I like having a routine. But at the same time, I can't stand making plans four months in advance. I like to really be in the moment.
But change, I welcome it. I like it. If it wasn't for change, I'd have a really boring life. I think we all would. And change is awkward, it's empowering but it can make you question things about yourself. It forces you to look at your life and say, "Okay, can I handle this? Am I prepared for this? Do I actually want to do this?"
GLAMOUR: Looking back on the 10 years that you have been at Radio 1, what was the high point of that journey?
Clara: When Harry Styles winked at me in the Live Lounge. I was gassed! We saw Paul McCartney. That was amazing. We sang together, a little bit, which was fun. Names just dropping from the sky. Sir Elton John, I got to go to his house, we just played tunes.
GLAMOUR: He personally requested you to interview him, is that right?
Clara: He did. He did and he's so, so, so lovely. He's quite bitchy, surprise, surprise. Baby, I wish I could release the tea but... Put it this way, as we all know publicly, he doesn't hold back on his opinions about the state of pop music. But that's what I love about him, he still really cares about new artists and about preserving the legacy of established artists.
GLAMOUR: What are the biggest obstacles you've had to face in your career, especially as a woman?
Clara: When you're front of camera it's a really interesting position to hold. It's been like that since the dawn of time, we're all guilty of it, that obsessive celebrity culture and how women are positioned. Am I allowed to swear in here?
GLAMOUR: It's empowering, I think..
Clara: I think, as a woman, there's all these different messages about how you're supposed to present yourself. Regardless of working industry, I think there's this whole thing about, "Oh, but is she f*ckable? But then, do girls want to be her? But then, is she too confident? Yeah, she should be more humble. She should be this, she should be that. Should she be in the tabloids every day? Should I be dating this fellow?"
It's been an obstacle but it's also been empowering to really stick to what I know that I'm good at, and stick to how I want to show up in this broadcasting entertainment world. There's a very particular way to play the game and I've tried really hard not to do it. Because it's just not who I am… I think it has been an obstacle just not buckling into pressure.
GLAMOUR: You're also a trustee of the Royal Academy. I know that it's your ambition to make the arts industry in the UK more of an equitable space. Can you talk a bit about that and what work you're doing with them?
Clara: I'm really passionate about making all creative spaces equal for people. Just because the reality of the media industry, broadcast industry, is that there's a lot of inequity and there's a lot of nepotism that goes on. I'm a fiercely proud daughter of two immigrants. My parents came here from Ghana, my dad came here with literally f*ck all. As I've progressed in the industry, you see how unequal it is and it's jarring. People who basically weren't born super, super privileged, just don't get a chance. It's not even across class, it's across race, it's across gender.
I see biases with people in how they present themselves through their gender expression, through sexuality. I definitely have had people think that I am not capable of stuff because I'm a Black woman. I just really think the playing field should be leveled.
GLAMOUR: What's your relationship like with social media?
Clara: I have a love/hate relationship with social media. I deleted my Twitter in June of 2020, surprise, surprise. Because I was just like, “I am not having a nice time here.” This was at the peak of the Black Lives Matter movement, that was very heightened time, and even though it was in some ways very painful, [it was] an empowering time for me. I got to express a lot of what I, and people that I share community with, were feeling. It was also a horrendous time. Because I just saw the ugliness of humanity through certain social media apps. Even before Elon Musk I was like, "Get me out of here." So I deleted my Twitter. Best thing I ever did.
GLAMOUR: Do you think the people in the public eye have a responsibility to share unedited, real sides of their lives too?
Clara: I think we've all got responsibility. If you're on social media you've got responsibility, I think, to be decent. And that doesn't mean you have to sanitise your opinions. I think it's just about being respectful. Not spreading misinformation, because we see that awful things happen when people do that.
GLAMOUR: It's interesting that you said that you deleted your Twitter at that point to protect your wellbeing – what has your journey been like with your own mental health?
Clara: My journey with my mental health has been a tricky one, but again, an empowering one. I put myself into therapy for the first time, gosh, about 10 or 11 years ago. And I've been in therapy constantly and I recommend it to everyone. But again, I say this, knowing my privilege. I pay to get therapy. There is still so much underfunding when it comes to NHS mental health specialists. And it has a ripple effect in our society and it is shocking.
I have no problem letting people know that I go to therapy, that I've dealt with depression, I've dealt with some dark thoughts. Because I don't know a single person that, honestly, doesn't have mental health issues.
GLAMOUR: Often, mental health and also empowerment is so intrinsically linked with self-love, What's your relationship like with it?
Clara: You've really got to be kind to yourself and you have to also be your own biggest fan. We definitely have a weird relationship about being proud of ourselves and I think it's definitely something that I've struggled with. I get asked about imposter syndrome all the time and one epiphany I've had this year is that it's never been about not thinking I don't belong somewhere, it's about me dealing with other people thinking I don't belong somewhere.
I think we're born with all this light and the world just beats it out of you and I just think, get back to your inner kid. I think there are very special moments that happen between the ages of two to nine, when you're just free and confident and no one can tell you sh*t. It's about getting back to that person, nurturing that person, be who you want to be for that little kid. And for me that's empowering.
