My Version chats to Kiwi stars and people of influence to give a glimpse into their time as a teen and see the things they are currently obsessed with!

Say hello to Celebrity Treasure Island star, Alex King.

Obsessed RN.

Currently bingeing:

As of late I haven’t been watching much TV as I’ve been trying to have less and less screen time. I’m an old fan of Youtube Vlogs - I love seeing people’s lives and what they get up to behind the scenes.

Song on repeat:

If you listen to one song today, please may it be ‘Envy’ by Ogi. IT IS PURE MAGIC TRUST ME!!! (SORRY FOR YELLING I JUST LOVE THIS SONG)

Favourite Insta account to follow: 

This is a hard one. I often find that Instagram can be a positive and a negative so giving just one account or highlighting someone could be triggering for others depending on the content you personally want to see on your feed. How about I suggest an account that I feel no matter who you are you can grow from it and potentially even learn from - @alexkingnzl. SIKE HAHAHAHA I had to throw that joke in there because it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t. 

@everydaymaori is an amazing account. From learning basic Te Reo to understanding common phrases you may hear being said around your workplace or on TV/Radio. Ka rawe!

Must have beauty product:

I am a sucker for anything skin care. I feel like beauty starts with a great skin care regime and looking after your skin. I have recently been able to try out some Emma Lewisham skin care products. An Aotearoa brand that is taking the country and globe by storm. Her products are luscious and feel incredible on the skin. Emma Lewisham is on the expenny side of things so if you’d love to try something less expensive but just as good Glow Lab is my next go to! 

Glow Lab offers a wide variety of skin care products, again Aotearoa made and super affordable from your local supermarket. We love Glow Lab!

The item of clothing I’m definitely over wearing:

Oh man. EVERYTHING. I have been a lover of fashion and style since I was a little girl. I always said that if entertainment failed me I’d be a stylist! This year I tried to narrow down on my closet essentials and donate what I was hoarding and kept the pieces that I actually wear. I’ve narrowed it down to a few select pieces that I think should be staples in anyone's closet. 

1. A suit blazer. If you ever see me out you’ll probably see my blazer accompanying me. I stick to oversized and a colour palette of black, dark blue or grey. Colours that match any outfit. You can dress a blazer up or down! I highly recommend heading down to your local hokohoko (op shop) and heading to the mens section and scoring yourself a great blazer for cheap! 

2. A comfy pair of jeans. For me, mine are always baggy. I’m a baggy jeans type of gal. Funnily enough all my jeans that I love have been from Zara at Sylvia park. Trust me! 

3. Boots. I love a big pair of boots. You can pair them with so much! Wanna wear a dress out for dinner but it’s a bit cold? Pair it with your high boots to keep your legs warmer (and look cooler duh)!

Currently reading:

I’m big on self growth books. I love reading books that help not only motivate me but that help aid my inner growth and healing. 

My book bible: ‘The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success’  by Deepak Chopra. 

I read this book a couple times a year to keep it fresh in my mind and I always learn new things each time I re-read it. He also offers a shorter, more condensed version that you can read in an hour. If anything, get that one! Believe me. 

A book that helped me change my thoughts and point of view: ‘Breaking The Habit of Being Yourself’ by Dr. Joe Dispenza. He is a WIZARD! 

A book to read on holiday: ‘Crazy Rich Asians’ by Kevin Kwan. If you loved the movie - the book is ten times better!

Snacking on:

Sounds so boring but I don’t care hahaha - Fruit! Always fruit!

Can’t stop watching on TikTok:

Oh dear - Tiktok is my black portal hole that I try NOT to fall into every night but often more times than not, I do. I wouldn’t say I have a favourite tiktoker but I love ones that make me laugh. And weirdly I have been watching people sell Crystals on Tiktok live. Sounds so odd, I know. But they put all these crystals into this moving bowl and if you buy a scoop they scoop out a mystery lot of crystals and send it to you! It’s like watching a live lucky dip. Don’t knock it till you try it lol. 

Dreaming of:

My next chapter! Whether that be exploring places overseas. My next career move or learning more about my inner self. Oh and Jack Harlow. Wait what?! Who said that?!

Next place on the list to travel to:

I’m going to be spending some time in Perth with my whānau for Christmas and then heading to Bali for new years with my friends. After that I’ll probably explore more of Australia before heading to LA and Europe. 2023 what’s GOOD baby!

I’m currently inspired by:

I’m always looking for inspiration. I’m fueled by other people's energies! I feel like who you surround yourself with is a big one. My close friends inspire me to become a better version of myself each day. Podcast’s are also a big one! Megan Markle just released her first podcast on Spotify and OMG it’s amazing! Run, don't walk. 

My whānau! My mum Rose is amazing at everything she does. Super hard working and passionately ambitious. And of course you guessed it - my dad. AWWWW cute hey?! No but seriously Mike King is THE guy. MY guy! New Zealander of the year, Queen’s order of merit, I Am Hope charitable trust founder and more importantly my dad. How could that not be inspiring?! My hero’s! I love you all so much x

My favourite way to relax is:

Reading my books, laying out in the sun (when there is sun that is, cheers Auckland smh) watching youtube vlogs, listening to music.

I stay healthy by:

I have been delving deeper into my inner growth this year and I've learnt that meditation is HUGE for my mental health. I’ve been meditating for almost a year now and it’s played an integral role in helping me to stay grounded and connect with my higher self. (oooh so spiritual - we LOVE to see it)

I also love working out and going to the gym! I know I know, I sound like one of those girls who says she loves working out but is really lying lol. I truly love moving my body, I may have a whinge and moan about getting it done but afterwards I feel amazing. Win the morning, win the day! Or something like that haha. 

When I was younger…

If I could give my teenage self one bit of advice, what would it be:

Be Alex. That’s my number one piece of advice I'd give myself. What does that mean you may ask? 

Let’s wind the clocks back a bit shall we! (Not too far though i’m still 12 remember) 

I spent a lot of my adolescent years dimming my light to make other people around me feel better about themselves. I wouldn’t behave how I normally would around my whānau because I wanted people to like me. I knew if being ‘Alex’ didn’t work then I’d have to alter myself to make those people like me. 

School is a funny stage in a lot of our lives. You want kids to like you, you want friends to sit with at lunch and you want to feel included. At least I did anyways, and I'd do anything to feel included. Which often meant not being my true authentic self around my so called ‘friends’ just to have so called ‘friends’. I went to a private all girls school here in Auckland and I often felt like I was too brown in my ways to sit with the pakeha girls and too white in my ways to sit with the brown girls. Which meant that I would alter myself like a chameleon so that I could fit wherever. 

In the end it actually made me more confused and took me a bit longer to find my voice and who I was as a woman. So if there were one piece of advice I could give anyone currently feeling like this it would be to be YOU. Those who love you for you will continue to love you as you are. Those who don’t, don’t deserve to be in your life anyways. You are smart, you are beautiful and you are worthy. You got this k! x

My favourite part of being a teenager was:

The present’s at christmas time duh hahaha. My parents stopped buying me presents as soon as I hit my early twenties. Oh to be an adult! Luckily I buy myself Christmas presents every damn week LOL.

My dream job as a teen was:

A lawyer. CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! I know it's very odd. I think I just thought they argued all day and I was pretty good at arguing with my parents as a kid. I ended up studying two years of law after school so who knows, maybe one day i’ll finish my degree and that will be one more dream ticked off the list. 

I also wanted to be a Silver Fern. Who didn’t want that?! Saturday Netball was my jam. Now being lucky enough to have some friends who are ACTUAL Silver Ferns that dream is definitely a pipe dream ha! Those ladies work incredibly hard and I'll forever be a fan of the mighty Silver Ferns! 

And of course a pop star! Because who doesn’t want to be a pop star?

Best piece of advice I ever received as a teen was:

This is a hard one. I had many amazing pieces of advice given to me growing up. One I remember is from my dad. He said “even when you fall, you get back up fighting and trust me when I say, everyone loves an underdog story”. GOOD HEY?!

My biggest fashion faux-pas as a teenager was:

I used to wear everything tie dye and ripped skinny jeans with a flower headband and my tote bag from Supré. It was a LOOK. A phase we all had to go through and one I hope to never go through again. But we do love Supré, don't get it twisted. 

My first job was:

Lone Star the restaurant in Manukau Auckland. My dad kept telling me I needed a job and so I applied where my friends worked of course. 50% off staff meals, $5 staff ribs and to be fair one of the best bosses I’ve ever had! Loved that job.

My biggest inspiration was:

That’s So Raven and Hannah Montana. 

Ask anyone in my whānau they’ll tell you I was obsessed with these characters. I used to relate so much of my life to Hannah Montanna because her dad was famous and my dad was NZ famous lol. I always thought I'd be the next big thing! Touring all over New Zealand and playing to my thousands of fans. And That’s So Raven had the personality that I wished I had. 

One thing I love about Gen Z is:

Gen Z is a funny term. One I've battled with myself being a Gen Z. I think I battled with it because 1. I couldn’t figure out if I was Gen Z or a millennial for ages hahaha and 2. Because I found that people often call us ‘Gen Z’ as almost like a put down. “Oh Gen Z, such know it alls” etc etc. I love being Gen Z. I feel as though we are the generational trauma breakers. We are the generation learning more about who we are as people and breaking the chains of generational and systemic trauma. Yeah ok maybe we act like we know it all sometimes, sure. But someone’s gotta do it! ;)

Last words:

I hope you enjoyed this read (if you got through it all) . I like to yap yap yap. I hope this gave you a bit more insight into who I am as a woman and who I hope to become. Reach out if you ever need me. Love you! 

Alex xx

Watch Alex compete to win money for I Am Hope on Celebrity Treasure Island. On TVNZ 2 Monday-Wednesday from 7.30pm.