Jules Lund: One person I’ve always wondered about, and you know, it’s a home grown story, Nikki Webster at the 2000 Olympics. She gets out there, she is Australia’s darling.

Sophie Monk: Yeah.

Jules: A lot of pressure on her at that point – what is she gonna do after this? Everyone was talking about her, and you know I admire her because she was able to hold on. And she’s never gone off the tracks but she still had to endure that pressure.

Sophie: Yeah.

Jules: And we’ve got Nikki on the line. Nikki Webster, welcome to the show.

Nikki Webster: Good morning, guys.

Jules: Hi Nikki! So Nikki, what’s your opinion on all this? A lot of people are saying you can’t put pressure on your kids even if they’re going to be successful, and on the other side of the coin people are saying you have to let them live their own life.

Nikki: Absolutely, I think it’s a little of both. I mean I was the driving force in my passion for dance and wanting to be an entertainer and a performer, and you know I did my first stage show at five and I kind of just found this love for it and felt really comfortable there, whereas doing sport I was completely not comfortable. So it was something I kept pushing my parents for. And I think the most important thing is that the parents are supportive, everybody’s realistic about expectations, everybody’s on the same journey and um, I was kind of blessed to have the most amazing family where we’d sit down and we’d stay really grounded. I still had to go to school. Everything else was still in place, but I was supported to follow my passion and dream, and I don’t think holding kids back from when they’re given an opportunity, you know like the Olympics or like a big sports event, holding them back – if they’ve worked so hard and really have an incredible passion and drive for it – helps. And I think what [caller] Rebecca said, that really hit home to me as well, because if I was held back I don’t know what I’d be doing. It is who I am.

Sophie: I think it comes down to good parents. Like everyone I meet that hasn’t got an issue since they were little, their parents are rock solid.

Nikki: Yeah, and they don’t get caught up in it as well. You know, a lot of parents can start not being stage parents or athlete’s parents, and then they can get caught up in all this hype and everybody around them that’s telling them this, and managers telling them this and that. It’s about keeping normality in your life, and just trying to go on that journey and supporting. I mean, I had an incredible life. I got to travel the world, I got to meet superstars and I got to record albums at 13. So I wouldn’t want to take that away at all.

Jules: And we’ve seen all the positives. What are some of the negatives of feeling that pressure and having success so young?

Nikki: Tall poppy syndrome (laughs).

Sophie: Yeah.

Nikki: People judging you before they’ve actually met you. As a young teenager who is not only going through puberty and schoolyard antics, but to have that on an Australian scale, on a bigger scale, and…

Jules: What was the worst moment for you? Because we’ve seen stuff dragged out in the press every now and then.

Nikki: Yeah.

Jules: What was the moment that just really crushed you?

Nikki: I think it was the, you know, the point where I was about fifteen, sixteen, where everybody just turned. It went from me being a beautiful little hero girl to the media thinking I was, you know, there was something wrong and I was media prepped and I was too good at talking. They couldn’t find anything so they needed to make a good story, which I get now but at fifteen I was going –

Jules: Ouch.

Nikki: “Oh my God, nobody likes me!” And you know, I’d go to school and friends’d say, “Oh my God, did you read what they said?” and I’d be like, “No! I try not to read the good or the bad.” But…

Jules: Good on you, Nik.

Nikki: I think that was the hardest.

Sophie: God, you’ve got a good head on your shoulders. Did you get therapy to help you through it?

Nikki: No. No, you just find your way and you’ve gotta be strong, and you know, at the end of the day all I wanted to do was sing and dance and no-one was gonna stop me doing that.

Sophie: Right.

Jules: Yep.

Nikki: And I just kept that in my mindset and knew that I was a good person. I mean I knew that what I was doing was great, and had so much fun doing it, so I just kept that in my head and didn’t worry about the people that I’d never met before (laughs).

Jules: Well done, Nik. You’re a lot stronger than most people.

Sophie: Stronger than me.

Nikki: Well, yeah I don’t think it’s for everyone, absolutely. I think that’s why it’s gotta be done on an individual basis. It is tough, and the kid’s gotta wanna do it. If the kid’s pushed then I absolutely know, but if the kid is the driving force, then I think support it and nurture it, absolutely.

Jules: We’ve been asking the question whether we should hold back kids from success in light of what Thorpie’s going through at the moment. It’s very tough to have success from a young age.

Source: 2day FM
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