Torres Strait woman combining culture and vintage glam
Temanu O'Brien-Schmidt grew up watching old Hollywood glamour on screen.
Entering the pin-up scene was an obvious move for the Torres Strait Islander woman, drawing inspiration not just from these old films but her great-grandmother and her mum.
In 2017, O'Brien-Schmidt's mother and biggest fashion influence was a finalist in Cooly Rocks On, one of the biggest pin-up pageants in the country.
"After she was able to be part of the pageant, I would go back every year and support the ladies and just dream that, that could be me one day on that stage," the now-22-year-old told AAP.
In 2025, those dreams are reality for O'Brien-Schmidt, who is one of 12 finalists at the Gold Coast-based event which celebrates all things vintage.
Being chosen for the finals out of hundreds of applicants across the country is at once nerve-wracking and exciting.
"The stakes are high now," she said.
"I'm glad that I get to enjoy this experience."
But O'Brien-Schmidt said she'll also be using the pageant as an opportunity to represent her Torres Strait and Japanese heritage.
"It's bringing that vintage glamour theme but also tying in my background at the same time," she said.
She'll be using a shell instrument in a traditional Torres Strait dance for the talent section of the competition and is making a zazi grass skirt to wear in the pageant.
"It's taken its time to make," she said.
"Drying out the grass, weaving it strand by strand, it did take a bit to make but it's all coming together and it's going to bring the outfit to life."
O'Brien-Schmidt is hoping to take out one of the top prizes at Cooly and take her pin-up onto the global stage, with competitions like the Queen of the Car Show pageant in Las Vegas.
But no matter what the result is in Coolangatta, O-Brien-Schmidt said she simply loves doing pin-up and is looking forward to the thrill of the competition and the warmth of the community she's found.
"Everyone in the pin-up community is super uplifting," she said.
"No matter your age, race, background, everyone's really supportive and I think that's great.
"I have a lot of friends in the pin-up community so we all get to share the same passion."
Cooly Rocks On runs from Wednesday until June 8.
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On hearing this, Kasatkina who had already joked "I hate her" about the uber-talented 18-year-old world No.6, doubled down in mock horror: "I was right. I hate her! "Well, Mirra is not the one to talk about it because actually she had opportunity to interview players in our Rome vlog, so she took the camera, and went to talk with someone in the players' restaurant. It was terrible! "Also, the filming skills were not on point, so she needs to learn." Then, they were keen to point out that, actually, this knockabout stuff was just the way they communicate with each other. "You know, we're just giving little s--t to each other all the time, just joking around," said Kasatkina. "We are very good with each other. We were having ice bath together right now a couple of hours ago after our (third-round) matches." When it comes to tennis, though, Kasatkina admits there's not much she can teach this soar-away French-based phenom Andreeva. 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The war of words has started before their big French Open last-16 match - but with new Australian recruit Daria Kasatkina and her young friend Mirra Andreeva, the trash talk has nothing to do with tennis. It's all about the pair's 'vlogging' talent with the two of them delighted to wind each other up over their respective skills behind the camera and on the mike when they're working on Kasatkina's popular YouTube channel "What the Vlog". Giving its viewers an entertaining inside peek at the tennis scene, Kasatkina, who set up the channel with her figure skater girlfriend Natalia Zabiiako, has given her fourth-round opponent Andreeva the chance to film the odd item for them too. And it led to the opponents previewing their Paris clash on Monday with some unflattering banter about their respective media skills. Asked what she thought of Kasatkina as an interviewer, Andreeva responded amid some laughter: "I think she can improve." On hearing this, Kasatkina who had already joked "I hate her" about the uber-talented 18-year-old world No.6, doubled down in mock horror: "I was right. I hate her! "Well, Mirra is not the one to talk about it because actually she had opportunity to interview players in our Rome vlog, so she took the camera, and went to talk with someone in the players' restaurant. It was terrible! "Also, the filming skills were not on point, so she needs to learn." Then, they were keen to point out that, actually, this knockabout stuff was just the way they communicate with each other. "You know, we're just giving little s--t to each other all the time, just joking around," said Kasatkina. "We are very good with each other. We were having ice bath together right now a couple of hours ago after our (third-round) matches." When it comes to tennis, though, Kasatkina admits there's not much she can teach this soar-away French-based phenom Andreeva. "The only thing I'm helping her, it's to get on the vlog," Kasatkina said. "Honestly, Mirra, she's a very nice girl and an amazing player. We've been quite good with each other. I can even say that I think we are kind of friends. "She's super young and super talented, so she will achieve a lot of things." The two Russian-born players have practised regularly but only played once last October in a final in Ningbo, China, won by Kasatkina in three sets. "A big drama match," says the Australian, perhaps recalling how she ended up consoling the youngster, who was in floods of tears after letting a 3-0 lead slip in the final set. So what will she have to do to beat Andreeva? "I have to run a lot," she said. "Going to be long rallies. Mirra, she's not giving anything for free. You know, to get every point, I'll have to die on court. I'm ready for that."
