Model Aishah Akorede has said she’s embracing the opportunity to be a role model through her time on RTÉ’s Dancing with the Stars.
The former Miss Universe Ireland (25) said she has received messages from young people who are taking inspiration from her appearance on the show. Since joining the competition, she has spoken about living with sickle cell disease.
“I feel like I’ve left a very big mark. I have a lot of young people who have health conditions, who are struggling to find comfort within their identities, contacting me to let me know they feel so much more comfortable in who they are because they see how much I’m pushing myself,” Akorede said.
“As long as I’m impacting one person, I’m happy, and to have that feedback coming in, I feel like I’ve done what I’m supposed to be here to do.
“It means a lot. Growing up, I never really saw people who looked like me in the places that I really wanted to be. I’m glad I get to be someone that people can look up to and say ‘I see her doing it, so I can do it too’.
“I just want to make sure that I continue to be a good role model. That’s my goal, I don’t want to let anybody down. I have a lot of young black people contacting me and saying thank you for opening doors.”
The Leixlip, Co Kildare, woman credits others for opening those same doors for her – past Dancing with the Stars contestants including presenter Katja Mia, singer-songwriter Erica Cody and rugby player Jordan Conroy, to name a few.
Heading towards the sharp end of the competition in week eight, Akorede has a lot on her plate. There’s life, work, dancing and the small matter of undertaking her second masters in law at the University of Law in the UK.
“I prioritise making sure my mental health is intact at all times, so I’ve taken a break from posting as much as I usually do on social media, which is usually two or three times a day. I’m trying to reduce it to once a day,” she said.
“I’ve become better at balancing everything in my life. That’s something this show has given me, figuring out how to balance a multitude of things.”
One of the highlights of the Dancing with the Stars calendar is on the way this weekend, with the remaining couples dancing to music performed live in studio by the RTÉ Concert Orchestra.
Akorede and professional dance partner Robert Rowinski are hoping to avoid the dreaded dance-off for a third week in a row with an American Smooth performed to A Thousand Miles by Vanessa Carlton.
“I feel like the pressure of the dance-off is off me now because I’ve experienced the pressure,” Akorede said.
“The first time I was terrified to do it, the second time you can see the difference in my face. The second time I was smiling the whole time.
“I’m hoping I’m not in the dance-off again, but in terms of the pressure of it, I’m the only one still in the competition who has done a dance-off, so I’m just hoping I can use that to my advantage going forward.”
‘Dancing with the Stars’ will be broadcast from 6.30pm tomorrow on RTÉ One and the RTÉ Player
