About Me
My Story
My childhood was tough. I was adopted at just 6 weeks old into a farming family in Somerset. In the 60’s I really was the only brown face for miles around and everybody knew who I was, except myself. I always felt different to everyone around me and the sense of not belonging was not helped by the fact that I had a difficult relationship with my adoptive mother. I felt anxious and lonely every day. Whilst my mother loved the countryside, animals, getting mucky, isolation and the quiet, I loved fashion, dance, sport, music, noise, towns, shops and being around people! My dream as a young girl was to move to a big city and becoming a professional dancer where I wouldn’t be told to “tie my hair, look white and fit in”. All I wanted was to feel seen and accepted for who I was and to express my creative and sensitive nature without feeling judged or criticised. When I was 17, I was offered a place at London Contemporary Dance School and I was thrilled. Although my mother shared my love of dance, and was pleased that I had been offered a place, our relationship problems continued after I left home and I saw little of either of my parents for some years.
This was one of the lowest points in my life and I had suicidal thoughts. I felt abandoned for the second time in my life. It was ‘sink or swim’ and luckily my resilient nature forged me into finding a job so that I could keep a roof over my head.
Although my dance career was cut short due to a serious knee condition, after a few years of working in health clubs to pay my way, I was taken on by two reputable modelling/commercial acting agencies for whom I am still working. I have been employed on many exciting projects in the world of advertising and TV over the years. Being part of this industry gave me a great insight into how images are constructed and manipulated giving way to a distorted view of reality. These are the images that we and our children see in the media every day, leading to body dysmorphia and self-criticism.
Why SBI? [Samantha Bates Inspires]
I have always been fascinated about people, psychology and personal development, continually looking to improve myself as a person and establish my identity.
In my early twenties I attended the Fire Walk Seminar with Anthony Robbins – walking on burning hot coals in bare feet without burning myself, and by completing this challenge I was able to open up my mind to the endless possibilities of what could be achieved in life.
Because I never had a nurturing mother to guide me through life, I had to find a method of discovering my identity by myself. I began to realise that I possessed invaluable life experiences that others could really benefit from.
So, I decided to piece together my life skills, knowledge and passion for living a healthy lifestyle, both emotionally and physically and in 2012 qualified as a Style Coach with Honours and then set up Samantha Bates Inspires.
My goal was to find a way of injecting my unique skills and experience into helping others become the best version of themselves and to find happiness within themselves.
By combining life and body confidence coaching techniques, it is possible to encompass all of the ingredients necessary to enable young girls to live an authentic, healthy and happy life, regardless of their circumstances. This is something I am truly passionate about.
For a few years I worked with adult women who were unhappy with their self-image but highly successful in business, but when my teenage daughter began to experience some serious difficulties with bullies, learning difficulties and extreme anxiety I made the decision to only work with teenagers and young girls. I wanted to be the person that I wished I had found to help me on my journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance! After all, if I were to help girls early on, they could go on to become healthy happy successful adults! That way, I would be able to help not just the young girls, but the parents too.
If I hadn’t known how to survive the childhood and identity journey that I had been on, I don’t know what would have happened to my daughter, but luckily, I had all the skills, patience and experience to help her get back on her feet, re-discover her passions and talents and start to live life again.
There were many years of breakdowns, not being able to leave the house, tears and pain, but, I am so happy to report that today my 20-year-old daughter has learnt coping mechanisms for her anxiety and now has her own successful business! It took us a while to bring her talents to the light but watching her grow into a confident woman with a strong sense of self reminds me why I do what I do.
Advertising images from my modelling career
