She Fought Adversity and Won. Interview with Presenter, Artist and Founder Sophie Morgan
** This interview first appeared on the F = blog here **
This week, we caught up with Sophie Morgan, television presenter, reporter, artist and founder, who has just returned from covering the Winter Paralympics for Channel 4 in South Korea.
At 18, Sophie was paralysed from the chest down in a car accident. She has since gone on to a successful career spanning various creative industries from presenting to art, design and investment.
Sophie's TV presenting work includes property series Best Laid Plans, current affairs program Tricks of the Restaurant Trade, Unreported World as well as Live Sports (recent Winter Paralympics) as well as Rio Paralympics and World Para Athletics. She is also Director of several companies including a property investment and development as well as Votal - a new voting app launching this year.
Newnham: What were you like growing up – how would your friends and family have described you?
Morgan: Growing up, I would have to admit I was pretty wild. I rebelled hard. I think my family therefore would say I was trouble! But my friends would have said I was fun. I worked hard too though, and spent as much time as possible playing sport. I loved to dream about travelling and growing up and becoming an adventuring artist!
Newnham: If possible, can you tell us about the accident and how it mentally impacted your life and future path?
Morgan: My life changed drastically however on the day that I collected my a levels. I was driving home from a party, lost control of my car and flipped it. In the crash, I destroyed my face, smashed my skull, broke my jaw, colla bone and my spine was damaged. I was left paralysed from the chest down. It obviously changed my life forever. But at the time I would have no idea how, but because I was so young I had a blank canvas ahead of me and was determined to fill it the best I could.
Newnham: You wear many hats – can you tell us about your career to date including some highs and lows?
Morgan: I have created a portfolio career in many ways. To start with, this was accidental - I just kept taking every opportunity that came my way. TV, Art, design.. I did everything. Now I focus my time a little more strategically, dividing my time between television presenting and property investing, and then when there is time, I work on other passion projects including Mannequal (Morgan designed the "Mannequal", a wheelchair for a mannequin which was installed in Adidas and Debenhams), Votal), ambassadorial work and last but not least, my art! Having worked this way for all of my adult life, I am now so used to juggling them all that I can’t imagine what it would be like to just do one thing.
I have to say I have encountered a lot of obstacles. Not only am I in a wheelchair, which of course throws up all sorts of issues from physical access to attitudinal barriers, I am also a woman and I’m blonde! I get spoken over, ignored, left behind, forgotten about, patronised, insulted and underestimated on a daily basis, either at work or just in day to day life. But these obstacles make the moments when I do overcome them even the greater. I think I'm most proud of presenting the Rio Paralympics LIVE. I had never done live TV before, so to do a live, multi-sport event was so scary. Plus I am really dyslexic and the international athletes names were terrifying to try and read and pronounce. I was a nervous wreck but got through it!
Newnham: What have been some of your favourite jobs and why?
Morgan: My favourite jobs are the ones when I get to travel and immerse myself in a culture that otherwise might be hard to access. Last year I went to Australia to make a documentary in the Outback with indigenous people, it was fascinating. At the moment, I am in South Korea presenting the Winter Paralympics. These jobs are the stuff of dreams.
Newnham: You have spoken about the lack of representation when it comes to disabled people being included in discussions of equal rights etc. Can you talk us through how and why these changes need to be made?
Morgan: In many ways disabled people are often left out of the conversation when it comes to improving basic human rights. Take the latest Time's Up initiative; when they first launched on social media, they referenced every type of minority and left out disabled women. It was only when they were tweeted repeatedly about it that they amended some of their social media posts to include the word. And the word represents millions (8 billion to be exact) people around the world who struggled to work and live and are often left behind.
Representation across the board needs to improve drastically. We need disabled people in every role so that we can prove our value. I am very passionate about this.
Newnham: And what are you most proud of and why?
Morgan: I think to be honest I am most proud of my friends and my career. In that order. I love the mad bunch of women (and men) that I have been lucky enough to collect along the way, they inspire and motivate me, and support me through everything and I wouldn’t be the person I am today without each and every one of them.
And my career makes me proud because I feel I have never let anything stop me. I was told recently that I am now one of the world’s only TV presenters with a disability, that sounded pretty cool!
Newnham: Who inspires you and why?
Morgan: I am inspired by my girlfriends and how they deal with life everyday. My hero in life is Frida Kahlo. I even have a huge tattoo of her to remind me everyday to ask myself, "What would Frida do?!"
Newnham: Finally, if you could go back in time, what advice – if any – would you offer a younger Sophie?
Morgan: I have no words of advice for a younger me as I wouldn’t change a thing. I used to think, if I could go back and tell myself not to get in the car... I would BUT I don’t think I would because if I hadn’t got into the car I wouldn’t have had my accident... and ultimately I wouldn't be where I am today. And I love my life.
Sophie website / Twitter / Instagram / Facebook
Special thanks to Emma Sinclair for the intro.