Unfinished Business
Photographs by Dewey Nicks | Interview by Isabelle Bridges
What if we told you that two young Santa Barbara girls formed a friendship that has lasted well into their adulthood—growing, thriving, regressing, rebounding, and ahhhh…expanding and exhaling into an extraordinary collaboration of the heart and mind. Meet best friends Achok Majak and Isabelle Bridges. Majak is our homegrown global face of Gucci, Tiffany, Marc Jacobs, Balenciaga, and many more fashion powerhouses, as well as a yogi, a real estate agent, and a community ambassador. Bridges is an empowerment coach for moms, a best-selling author, a mother of two, and the daughter of Jeff Bridges, Oscar-winning actor and coolest dude dad-granddad ever. Majak was embraced into the Bridges family after losing her own father, and the friends have been joined in their family values, spirit, and soul ever since. They dive into a little childhood 805 history, dig deeper into diversity and acceptance, and connect with a whole lot of gratitude and love.
Isabelle Bridges: Is there anything you want to say before we dive in?
Achok Majak: First and foremost, thank you so much for interviewing me. I love Santa Barbara Magazine so much, and I feel honored and blessed to be on the cover. It’s a dream I’ve had since I was a little girl, being born and raised here, and the timing couldn’t be better.
IB: Why is it so important to you and to Santa Barbara as a community?
AM: The first word that comes to mind is community and the connection of this community. I feel so grateful to represent my own uniqueness. The world is changing, and Santa Barbara is a beautiful community to anchor and cast light on that change. There’s so much beauty, from the land to the people to how connected the community is all over the world. This place is where everything started for me, and I was surrounded by so much love.
IB: Do you represent the diversity that Santa Barbara exhibits?
AM: When I was growing up, there weren’t many Black people in town. But today more and more creative people are being drawn here, which I find so beautiful. This cover lets people know we are a community of one; we acknowledge and love diversity.
“There’s nothing like these mountains, the ocean, the food to make people feel the presence of ultimate beauty.”
IB: When did you know you wanted to be a model? How did you get where you are today?
AM: My family is from South Sudan; I’m the only one who was born in the U.S. My father got a scholarship to get his Ph.D. He wanted a warm climate, so he ended up at UC Santa Barbara and later was a professor at Loyola Marymount. When my mom arrived, she had a third-grade-level education. She went to school and got her high school equivalency the day before my oldest brother graduated high school. My father died when I was nine years old, and his last words were, “Make sure my kids get a good education.” I ended up at Santa Barbara Middle School, and it changed my whole perspective on life. I felt safe, loved, supported. I lost my father, but incredible people came into my life, including your family. I was taught it’s okay to grieve, and it’s also okay to be a kid. I knew I was going to be a model from about age seven. But I had a lot of fear about going into the public eye and getting into an industry where there isn’t a union and you’re not really looked after. A lot of toxic people can influence your career, whether it’s a photographer or a casting director or an agent, so you have to be very careful. Eventually I decided to take the leap and I moved to Oakland. When I moved, the first thing I had to do was learn who I was. After growing up in a community where no one looked like me, it was amazing to be in Berkeley, to go to San Francisco, to see different cultures represented. I met people with different financial backgrounds, physical sizes, orientations. I also got to spend a lot of time with you and your family, which was like having a piece of Santa Barbara with me. I spent a lot of time with your daughter, Grace, which was such a blessing. I got to see the world from her perspective, and she mirrored the different ways I was growing and realizing how I could do better. I was really committed to spiritual work: I asked you questions, I read books from your shelves, I was able to get grounded. As I was getting more grounded, modeling started to become clearer. I signed with an agent in San Francisco with the intention of getting to New York. On St. Patrick’s Day in 2015 I packed my bags, stopped through Santa Barbara, and flew out to New York with just two suitcases.
“I want people to be inspired to have conversations regarding race diversity, even if it’s uncomfortable. Reach out to each other, start to open up your spaces, lend each other a hand.”
IB: I love that you honor the people who have supported you along the way. Other people will see you or see themselves through you, and it has a beautiful ripple effect.
AM: I want people to be inspired to have conversations regarding race diversity, even if it’s uncomfortable. I was at Savoy the other day, sitting alone at the table, and this woman said, “Excuse me, I don’t want to offend you, but I want to tell you that you have really beautiful skin.” And I said, “Thank you for being so brave to tell me how you feel about my skin.” And that’s the love, that’s what’s stronger than any of these other bad feelings. It just opened up the doors for a really great conversation.
IB: If you were to invite our readers to take a specific action, what would it be?
AM: Be open, reach out to each other, start to open up your spaces, lend each other a hand. Bring people together to sit down, to have conversations, to meet at the park, to join in a sound bath. Put together an intention of growing, being more inclusive, waking up to how you may be contributing to some of the issues. Awareness sparks change. If we start putting on events and making it known that we are an inclusive community, people will come and other communities will be inspired to do the same. If you go anywhere in this world and mention Santa Barbara, people know it and they love it. It’s a very rare, unique place. There’s nothing like these blessed mountains, the ocean, the food at our farmers’ markets to make people feel the presence of ultimate beauty.
IB: Don’t just wait for someone to invite you in—invite yourself.
AM: Here’s a great example of how little actions can create big change. Meredith from PALMA Colectiva invited me to a beautiful cacao ceremony as her guest with the intention of connecting me to two other sisters she knows within the healing community. There were three Black women in a group of 17 total. I felt so strong and empowered to have women with similar skin color to mine within the community. Something lit up within me. Those little actions will last a lifetime. During the pandemic, I had different interactions with people and dealt with racism like I’ve never felt before—even in Santa Barbara, where I didn’t have these experiences growing up. I thought, “Okay, a lot of people who are locals aren’t that way. Some people have moved here; some people are just coming through. That’s not how we treat each other in this community.” If you’re here, you’re welcome. We treat people with love, kindness, and compassion. The same day Meredith invited me to the cacao ceremony, I dealt with a racist situation. Racism has nothing to do with words. It’s a feeling, and it doesn’t change. I’ve reached a point where I decided I’m not going to let this person ruin any more of my day—not another minute. I decided to meditate, which I learned from you and your family. I was able to send positive vibes for this person, to seek out forgiveness, to pray for this individual to find their own sense of happiness, their own sense of peace, to really find out who they are. Once you know who you are, you’re not going to lash out at people or project on them. Human beings can vibrate at a much higher level, but we need to do the work.
IB: Who else helped you get to where you are today?
AM: Santa Barbara Middle School is the gift that keeps on giving and will be with me forever. I’ve also had amazing experiences with your family. They have taught me so much about meditation and spirituality. Having a spiritual practice allows me to evolve. I’m able to seek out how to be better each day. Your family believed in me and supported my aspirations. When I went to New York, I knew I had a whole tribe back home supporting me and sending love. When I was 15, I got my first job at The Palace Grill, and those friendships have lasted for years and years. I was just there a few days ago for a meeting. The owners, Michael and Sandy DeRousse, have always been a big part of my life. John Thyne has always given me great legal advice, and he’s big in philanthropy and has opened up my eyes to being involved in that. I’m also grateful to CorePower. We did a module on racial justice and inclusivity at their 300-hour teacher training. How do we open doors to the yoga space for everyone? What kind of words do we bring in? What do we eliminate? What can we do to bring in more color? How do we reach within out to the community? I was able to have conversations with management in CorePower and be heard and received. The owners have been very supportive. That’s how I’m finding my ways to be involved within the community and see how we can bridge the gap, bring more color within our community, awaken those of color already within our community.
IB: How does your work in real estate fit in to your modeling career?
AM: It’s been fun to shift from being a model on set to the real estate mindset. There are a lot of young kids in the community with very bright futures. I’d love to see us all doing our part through real estate. I love learning. I love all the insightful, incredible people in the real estate industry in this town. The portfolios are unreal. Each home I walk into is so unique. The buildings here are so sacred. Regarding modeling, after taking a break I just did my first major shoot back in New York. It was great to be back on set. I feel more driven, more energized, and like I have even more of a clear vision, which is to advocate in the modeling space. Models go through a lot, and we need a union. We need the community to wake up to what’s going on in the industry. Change is going to happen; it’s just a matter of when. I’m looking forward to creating more love, more support, more community, more change. ●
Isabelle Bridges is founder and CEO of The Mother’s Empowerment Membership™ blog, book, and podcast. @isabellebridgesboesch. Look for Achok Majak’s return to the fashion world starting with New York Fashion Week in September. Follow her journey with us @santabarbaramag.
