Women's Health Week 2024 with Cait Miers

Welcome to Women's Health Week! This year's theme, "Your Voice, Your Choice," celebrates the power of women's voices in shaping their futures. This year, we had the privilege of sitting down with Team Feel Good Ambassador and renowned surf photographer, Cait Miers, to share her journey and how she uses her voice to encourage women everywhere to pursue their dreams.

Join us as we delve into Cait's empowering story and discover how you too can make your voice heard.

1.  Can you tell us a little about your journey into surf photography? What sparked your interest? I’ve always been a water baby since the early days, and as a teenager I had something in me that didn’t really want a ‘normal’ ‘9-5’ job. I loved the surf industry and you could say the surf marketing rubbed off on me haha. I wanted to be apart of that world. I only picked up a camera late in the piece, probably 17/18 when we’d go on holidays up north and I’d shoot photos of surfing from the beach and just love it. It was only when I wasn’t enjoying my first year of Uni (Sports Science + Sports Mgmt) that I kept looking at this photography course and had this intuitive feeling that was it, that was my path. So I swapped uni courses and took a leap. I bought my first housing and basically taught myself and would shoot the local girls (there weren’t many back in the day down here in VIC), and it just evolved from there!

2. As a female surf photographer, what challenges have you faced in a male-dominated industry, and how have you overcome them? I’ve had a pretty positive experience over all with this particular issue I guess, but I would still say it’s male dominated. I just had to build up a bit of a resilience and I remember being really focused on my path, my way to do things, and not get influenced or intimidated by the people around me. That was probably it, the not getting intimidated part. But I think I just focused on me and my path and what I wanted to bring to the table and just stuck true to me and it all unfolded!

3. How do you use your platform and work to encourage women to pursue their dreams, especially in fields that might be considered unconventional? I love that you’ve asked this question because that’s exactly my ‘why’ for what I do. I think I like to draw on my own experience in my career, where I just stuck to my intuition, stuck to being true to me and it paid off. So that’s my message to anyone listening, it’s to choose to live authentically to you and trust your gut and that will take you to wherever you’re meant to go in life. I also like to encourage people to dream big, to dream of the impossible, because I did for myself (young girl from not a notorious ‘surf’ town who knew nothing about photography and knew no one in the industry) and it happened for me, so if I can achieve my dreams, why can’t you!

4. What message do you hope to convey through your photography to women and young girls who look up to you? I’ve always used photography as a way to share messages and inspiration. It’s been the vehicle through which I express! So for me, it’s about staying true to you, to embracing and accepting your authentic self because that’s who we’re here to be, and just be unafraid to dream impossibly big! I want to spread positivity and help women feel comfortable in their skin, and hopefully that’ll inspire a generation of women who are confident, daring, brave and an inspiration in their own right. 

5. Who are some female role models or mentors who have inspired you in your career, and what have you learned from them? I’ve definitely had a few! My mum being the main one. She taught me from day dot that we have everything inside of us already to get through anything in life, and she’s absolutely right. I find I just get inspiration from my female co-workers too when I shoot for different brands. And from travelling a lot, that’s been my biggest teacher. I’ve learnt so much about myself and it’s opened my eyes to how other people operate. You just never stop learning, and that’s the best part!

6. What future projects or goals do you have, and how do you plan to continue using your voice to inspire others? I’ve got a big project I’m currently working on that I can’t say too much about, but it’s in a different field I’ve never worked in before and it’s going to be a massive experiment of vulnerability. I’m hoping that it’s going to spark a conversation, change and it’ll allow women the opportunity to truly see their relationships with themselves. All will be revealed soon hehe!

7. What advice would you give to women who are hesitant to pursue their passions due to societal or personal barriers? Work to overcome these blocks, because at the end of the day, it’s up to you to fight through them and no one else. That’s one of the biggest things I’ve learnt along the way, is that we are solely responsible for how we live our lives, so it’s up to us to make choices aligned with our authentic selves and it’s up to us to pick ourselves up and work through these. I don’t think people realise how strong they truly are. Ask yourself what’s on the otherside of fear? Work on your mind and work on your resilience and I guarantee you can do anything you set your mind to!
8. And lastly, what are your favourite We Are Feel Good Inc. products and why? My fave of all time if the Kakadu plum sunscreen HANDS DOWN! It is the best smell ever! The Wild Rosella Body Milk is also super nice too, I pop that on after a shower! I also love the Good Night gentle foam cleanser, smells delicious as well and super gentle on my skin after the beach! I also use my dry bag EVERY trip! Great for putting cameras in boats and keeping things dry!

Cait has been a part of Team Feel Good for 6 years now and recently shot our upcoming Tropical Campaign… launching very soon! Get ready to dive into an island adventure that FEELS GOOD.

Stay Tropical!