TRANSCRIPT— Steph Hunt with Fauzia Ibrahim
Steph Hunt:
I’m speaking to you from my closet… from my recording studio in my closet. It’s very glamorous.
Fauziah: Ibrahim:
Thank you, thank you.
Steph:
I’m so excited to have you on today. And I know today’s Monday, which if you’re in breakfast television, this is basically your Saturday. So it’s a big deal to have you come on and chat to me.
Fauziah:
On a Saturday!
Listen, I’m happy to be here, happy to be in your closet, happy to be in my pyjamas on a Monday because it is my Saturday — you’re right.
Usually, preparing for the weekend breakfast show — Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday — it’s just a blur of chaos. I really can’t deal with anything else. Even trying to decide what I should have for breakfast, lunch or dinner… I cannot make those decisions.
I can only focus on the show and nothing else.
So Monday is the only time I get to lounge around in my pyjamas and bathrobe and just become centred again. Become human again.
Steph:
Well, I’m very honoured that I can chat to you today.
I worked in breakfast TV for ages, and it’s funny because everyone is obsessed with the sleep thing.
The questions are always: When do you go to bed? Do you get up at crazy 3am?
So I have to ask. What’s your sleep routine?
Fauziah:
After about a year and a half in this position, I think I’ve got my routine down pat.
And I’ve trained the people I live with — Ben, my husband in particular — that this is my routine. Do not disturb it or I will be a cranky child.
I have to be up by 3am on Saturday and Sunday mornings, which means ideally I should be in bed by 9pm.
But as an adult… I cannot sleep at 9 o’clock.
So I wind down at 9pm. I put away my phone. I stop reading Twitter or the news — which is difficult because I’m always worried I’m missing breaking news.
Then I “sleep” — inverted commas — because there’s always part of me waking up thinking I’ve missed the alarm.
So it’s never restful.
Then I’m up at 3, into work by 4am, reading and prepping. We go to air from 7 till 11.
And it’s nonstop.
It’s not a commercial channel, so there are no breaks. It’s just interview after interview after interview.
Your brain is on for four straight hours.
At 11:01, when we come off air… I am a hangry, horrible person.
My executive producer knows this. Bless her heart, she rescues everyone by giving me chocolate.
Steph:
Smart woman.
Fauziah:
Very smart.
Then I can sit through editorial for half an hour and be intelligent.
At 11:31, I lose the power of English.
That’s it. I just grunt.
Then I quietly disappear to prep interviews for the next day until about 3pm.
I come home and don’t speak to anyone because they may get their heads bitten off — and they know that.
Then I announce I’m going for a nap.
And nobody makes noise.
I’ve got this wonderful app called Power Nap. You put it on your bed and it monitors your REM sleep and wakes you up at the ideal moment.
Usually I get about half an hour.
Then I’m human again.
And then we repeat.
It’s taxing. Very taxing.
But I wouldn’t change it.
This is the first time in my life where I can honestly say I’m really happy with where my career is.
The intellectual challenge, the physical challenge, the editorial engagement, the people I work with — they’re lovely.
And it’s only two days a week.
Everyone else sleeps in on weekends. I sleep in Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday.
That’s pretty good.
Steph:
People are obsessed with breakfast-TV sleep.
Fauziah:
Every time I tell people I co-host breakfast TV, they say:
“Shouldn’t you be asleep right now?”
Please don’t stress me out about sleep.
Steph:
Can you tell me about your first big break in media? The first time you thought, I’ve made it?
Fauziah:
I don’t think I ever thought that.
But looking back now — interviewing the Dalai Lama, travelling across Asia, interviewing heads of state, terrorists, dictators…
I marvel at the places I’ve been and the people I’ve spoken to.
There were many points where I should have thought I’ve made it.
But I’ve always been restless.
Never satisfied with my own standard.
Always wanting to hone the craft.
Because once you’re comfortable, you die.
This is a competitive and challenging industry. You need to stay sharp.
And breaking news… that’s the adrenaline that keeps me here.
I remember being on air during the Charlie Hebdo aftermath.
You’ve got very little information, live pictures, correspondents coming in, producers feeding information, and you’re filtering everything in real time.
You know what’s happening, but you can’t presume. You can’t say what hasn’t been confirmed.
It’s this extraordinary rollercoaster.
And I became addicted to that adrenaline spike.
That’s what keeps me in journalism.
Steph:
And now with ABC Weekend Breakfast, there’s more time to really sink your teeth into important interviews.
Fauziah:
Exactly.
It’s slower.
And I’ve learned to appreciate the slower pace.
Maybe it comes with age.
Grandma wisdom.
Steph:
Do you have a process to get yourself “in the game”?
Fauziah:
Preparation happens the day before.
I overprepare. Always.
I’d rather overprepare than underprepare.
But when it’s 3am and you’re not feeling it, and 7am rolls around and you need energy…
My secret is Madonna or Beyoncé.
I’m not joking.
Quietly in my head I’m singing Vogue or Single Ladies.
And I dance.
The newsroom knows I have no shame.
I will absolutely dance in the studio.
When the Weekend Breakfast theme song starts, I’m twerking, voguing — everything.
Praying to God they don’t cut live to me mid-twerk.
Then the camera comes on.
Bang.
Adrenaline kicks in.
Game mode.
Steph:
I love that.
What about confidence? Have you always had it?
Fauziah:
No.
Depends on the day. Depends on sleep. Depends on what someone’s said to me.
But the older I get, the more I realise confidence comes from what you think of yourself, not what others think.
You’re the one who has to live with yourself.
If you’re happy with your performance, great.
If not, fix it.
I’ve never thought of myself as naturally confident.
And maybe that’s why I work harder.
Sometimes overly confident people undermine themselves because they stop doing the work.
When you’re uncertain, all your senses are alive.
That’s when your best performance happens.
Steph:
You’ve spoken openly about experiencing racism and sexism in media. Has that affected your confidence?
Fauziah:
Of course.
Every time someone undermined me, I questioned myself.
But then I proved to myself I could do it.
Not to them.
To me.
And every insult became a superpower.
It pushed me harder.
It made me sharper.
I also learned to ask:
Was this a personal insult?
Or professional feedback?
If someone says, “That was a shit question,” I assess it.
Are they just having a bad day?
Or do they have a point?
If they do, I learn from it.
And move forward.
You have to be true to yourself.
That’s all that matters.
Steph:
You’ve said you prefer the Fawzi of today more than younger Fawzi.
Fauziah:
Absolutely.
Twenty-years-ago Fawzi would annoy current Fawzi.
She was whiny, impatient, always desperate to get somewhere.
That’s youth.
But age brings acceptance.
Acceptance of yourself, your choices, your circumstances.
The older I get, the more I like myself.
I’m happy in my own company.
I don’t need validation.
I’ve accepted my little tummy too.
It’s not a food baby.
It’s just there.
We’re dealing with it.
Steph:
Come on, hot woman.
As a presenter, there’s nowhere to hide when things go wrong on air.
What do you do?
Fauziah:
Things go wrong all the time.
Autocue dies. Comms fail. You get caught making weird faces off-camera.
You just have to be human.
That’s what people connect to.
Acknowledge it. Laugh if you can. Move on.
I think younger female presenters especially feel they have to be flawless.
Perfect.
But everyone looks silly sometimes.
The trick is rolling with the punches.
And I’ve brought that into life too.
Now I can say:
Yep, I was wrong. I’m sorry. How do we fix it?
That’s maturity.
Steph:
What advice would you give women terrified of public speaking?
Fauziah:
Madonna and Beyoncé.
Always.
But seriously — I still freeze stepping onto big stages.
At the Opera House, my feet literally won’t move.
I have to tell myself:
Right foot forward. Now.
And once I take that step, momentum carries me.
Then I remind myself:
No one’s booed.
No one’s left.
They understand English.
We’re okay.
Just keep going.
And if all else fails…
Twerk.
Steph:
I sometimes imagine my mum’s voice saying, “Good work, Steffi. You’ve got this.”
Fauziah:
That’s beautiful.
If you can hear a kind voice in your head, that helps enormously.
I’ve always had to build that voice for myself.
Steph:
How do you switch off?
Fauziah:
Honestly? I’m terrible at it.
Even on my day off, the news is on.
I’m always consuming information.
But I learned this trick:
Ask yourself — how many people are in the shower with you?
Is it just you?
Or your boss, your spouse, your mother, the stranger you argued with?
It’s a crowded shower.
So bring yourself back to the physical.
Feel the water temperature.
Feel the soap.
Feel your hair getting wet.
Be here.
That brings me back to the present.
And it helps.
Steph:
That’s brilliant.
Final question: what are you excited about for the future?
Fauziah:
That’s the hardest question.
When I was younger, I thought in five-year plans.
The pandemic changed that.
Now I think about tomorrow.
What do I want to do tomorrow?
Then the next day.
And the next.
And suddenly a year has passed and you’ve built something meaningful.
So what am I excited about?
The next day.
And feeling grateful for it.
Steph:
Fauzi, thank you so much. This has felt like such a lovely chat.
Fauziah:
Thank you.
You made me feel comfortable.
You know I’d always rather be asking the questions than answering them.
Steph:
I loved it.
Thank you so much.
