Ami Charlize World My
Challenges, changes and chasing my dreams
World My
Challenges, changes and chasing my dreams
Ebury Spotlight, an imprint of Ebury Publishing 20 Vauxhall Bridge Road
London SW1V 2SA
Ebury Spotlight is part of the Penguin Random House group of companies whose addresses can be found at global.penguinrandomhouse.com
Copyright © Ami Charlize 2024
Ami Charlize has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this Work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
First published by Ebury Spotlight in 2024
www.penguin.co.uk
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN 9781529939705
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Clays Ltd, Elcograf S.p.A. The authorised representative in the EEA is Penguin Random House Ireland, Morrison Chambers, 32 Nassau Street, Dublin D02 YH68.
Penguin Random House is committed to a sustainable future for our business, our readers and our planet. This book is made from Forest Stewardship Council® certified paper.
My Opening Letter
Hey guys … it’s me. Perhaps you already know me from TikTok or somewhere else on social media, where you’ve seen glimpses of my journey. On there, my life might look a certain way, but so much more has happened beneath the surface that I want to share with you – and this book is how I plan to do it!
Welcome to My World, where I’ll take you on an honest, no-holding-back journey through my life so far. Despite how it may seem, my path has been filled with challenges from a young age – and there are parts of my story that I’ve never fully shared before. You’ll learn my tips and tricks on how to grow on social media, and I’ll share the habits that got me to where I am now. But also, I’ll share what’s got me through tough times and the lessons I’ve learned to help me onto better things.
This book isn’t just about the fun side of success –it’s about being real about what it takes to get there, and dealing with all the other aspects of life: friendships, relationships, big decisions and much, much more. It’s about acknowledging the bumps in the road, but understanding that they’re just part of the journey. Because we call have our struggles, but it’s how we navigate through them that really matters.
Throughout these pages, you’ll not only delve into my story. You'll also find inspiration to start developing your own. Consider this not just a behind-the-scenes look at my life, but also a guidebook for those ready to embark on their own journeys – the toolkit you need to get you on the way to where you want to be.
Above all, this book is for you: to help you feel inspired, get busy, and realise you can do anything, whatever your age – because with determination and the right mindset, anything is possible.
So, let’s get started…
Chapter 1 Growing Up a Hobson
If you want to get to know me, then you really have to get to know my family too: the Hobsons. My family have played a massive part in me becoming who I am now – I’m so close to them, and they’ve really supported me in everything I do.
They’ve even all played a part in naming me. When I was born, on 13 August 2007, my mum and dad were stuck on what to call me. Since they already had two daughters who had lots of opinions too – Georgia, who is six years older than me, and Robyn, who is eleven years older – it made it even harder for them to choose. Every time they thought they were getting close to deciding, someone would pipe up and say, ‘No, I don’t like that name!’ So, it was really hard for them to settle on something.
Eventually, it came down to chance. The whole family was sitting in the living room watching TV, while my mum was reading the newspaper. Suddenly, she saw a name she liked: ‘What about Amelie?’ Finally, everyone agreed: that was such a good name for me. So, it’s because of what she happened to be reading in
the newspaper that day that I was even called Amelie –and maybe a few other people too. Since I was born, so many family friends have called their own kids Amelie, it’s really cute.
Get To Know Me … Again
One thing to know about me is that I have a lot of nicknames.
AMI: My sisters have always called me Ami (though they’ve had so many different nicknames for me it’d be hard to pick just one). A lot of my followers now know me as Ami too, simply because I was trying to register on TikTok, and the combinations featuring Amelie weren’t available – so I tried shortening it to Ami Charlize, using my middle name, and that one was free. That’s how random it was.
S n UGS OR S n UGSY: I don’t know why on earth they call me this. But my sister Robyn and my dad always calls me Snugsy. So random.
CHAR: My sister Georgia calls me this – it’s short for Charlize, my middle name.
AM: My family also calls me Am, including my Nanny Chris.
MAC MAC: My Grandad Les used to call me Mac Mac. The reason why is because –obviously as a joke – I liked to smack him when I was very little. I’d always say, ‘Smack smack!’ but I couldn’t say it properly, so it would come out as ‘Mac mac’. When I grew up, he just kept calling me Mac Mac; I was never Amelie. When he passed away my sister Robyn got me a teddy that said ‘Mac Mac’ on it. It’s lovely to have that, to always remember my grandad in a nice way.
So that’s me – for a start. Then, as I mentioned, there’s my two sisters, Georgia and Robyn. They’re both in their twenties. Then I’ve got my mum and my dad, Mark and Dawn, and our two dogs, Bluie and Hugo, who are part of the family. Then there’s the whole extended family of grandparents, cousins and the rest.
So, let me introduce them all …
Meet The Parents
My family have always been there to cheer me on, but especially my mum. I am so close to my mum. She and my dad were teenagers when they met in a bar in Essex, where they grew up. Mum worked in an investment bank in London before she had children; she had a really good job and enjoyed working there. My mum and dad married in 1995 in Barbados, and then just under a year later Robyn was born. Mum returned to work and Robyn was cared for during the daytime by my mum’s parents, Nanny Ange and Grandad Jim. I think for her it was pretty hard having to leave Robyn with her mum and dad all the time to go work, as my dad was working a lot too. So, after my sister Georgia was born in 2001, my parents were in a position where Mum could leave work and stay at home to look after the family while Dad was starting his own business. And then six years later, I came along. Honestly, my mum’s always been such a genuinely nice person. Sometimes I think, How are you so good at this? Because she’s always so caring with everyone, no matter who they are, and she’s brought me up to be nice to everyone in the same way. She’s also the best host ever. We are the funhouse family – we always have people around – and a lot of that is down to my mum being so welcoming.
As well as the importance of treating people well, another big thing she’s taught me is how to handle haters, whether that was bullies at school or people hating online. Her advice is that zero retaliation is better than giving them something. I used to get quite fixated on the things that people said, and she would always tell me: ‘Just stop caring. You can’t focus on what people say. You know yourself. Don’t retaliate, give them nothing back – then they can’t keep fuelling up on your reaction.’
My mum is definitely my number-one supporter, always – with my career, too. Every company I work with now, as well as my management, love her because she obviously cares about me as her daughter and she’s very hands on with it. But not too much, which I really appreciate! In my industry, some younger people’s parents get overly involved, whereas my mum has been very good at getting involved up to a point – always making sure she knows exactly what’s going on – but not being too strict when it doesn’t matter, and letting me live my life. Outside of work, we will literally just chat for hours. At least once a week, we’ll sit down together, watch something on the telly, and talk and talk about whatever’s going on – about absolutely anything and everything.
Real Role Models
My dad’s such a big role model for me, even though sometimes he grinds my gears! We are so close. I have wanted to be like him and work as hard as him for as long as I can remember. He started his own business before I was born. From a young age, he didn’t want to have someone bossing him about – he wanted to be the boss. But he hadn’t done well in science at school, so no one really expected him to come out with a water-treatment business years later! He found it really interesting, though, and did a brilliant job: he always puts 110 per cent into everything he does. He sold that company a few years ago, so he was technically retired before he was 50, but I think he’ll go back to doing some other sort of business. Despite working so hard, my dad was really involved in my life when I was growing up, which I appreciated. When I was at school, I could always see him after I finished for the day. With his job, he had some flexibility in terms of when he went to work, so sometimes at six o’clock in the evening he’d get a burst of energy and say, ‘Right, I’m gonna go in now!’ No one else would be there and he’d just get everything done that he wanted to do, which I thought was quite cool. That’s where I got the mentality of valuing being able to do what I want to do, and to be in charge of that.
From a young age, I didn’t like other people having control over what I did. I always wanted to have my own career where I would decide what I was doing as an individual, and so my dad was quite a big inspiration. He’s also shown me what it means to know what you want in life. At the same time, both my mum and dad have brought me up to be totally grounded. I am lucky enough to get a lot of opportunities these days, so they’ve always wanted me to be very respectful and not get too ahead of myself.
Benefiting from the support system I have in my parents has been so important. I know I’m so lucky to have it. But regardless of whether it’s family or friends or even a teacher at school, there is always someone you can look up to – and it’s good to be able to do that, to find a real role model. Sometimes people find it a bit embarrassing to admit, ‘Oh, I’ve looked up to my dad since I was a young age.’ I know some people would prefer not to admit that their parents have really helped them become who they are, and would rather name a celebrity. But, if you’re lucky enough to have parents who’ve supported you, I think it’s important to be able to say, ‘My mum and dad (or another family member, or someone really close to you) has actually helped me become the person I am today.’ Because without my parents, I probably wouldn’t be where I am.
All About My Sisters
As they’re a bit older than me, my sisters have also been very involved in bringing me up: they are very bossy, I must say! They both act like they’re my mum, but they do it in a good way, and they’ve really helped me too.
Georgia, my middle sister, is definitely the bossier one – but that is because she’s very, very caring and she wants the best for people, including me. She is super motivated and works so hard. She’s tough, but also one of the most considerate and thoughtful people you’ll ever meet. As for Robyn, the eldest of the three of us, she really is the nicest girl. Honestly, she’s so polite and everyone who meets her always says: ‘Ah, she’s so lovely.’ If I could sum Robyn up, it would be sweet and loving. But both my sisters have been so supportive of me and of what I do. Even today, they are always commenting on my videos and promoting me, even on their Facebook accounts for the family to see.
We do have our arguments, but not half as many as you might think. And we’ve closed the age gap as well –you feel it less as you grow up. Some days I’m really close to Georgia, and then the next day I’m closer to Robyn. So when people say, ‘Who’s your favourite sister?’, I actually don’t have one. It just depends on the day!
My mum had a home birth, so I was born in my mum and dad’s room in our old house – we later moved to a
different part of Essex, to the house we’re still in now. That meant my sisters met me minutes after I was born, and we’ve been close ever since. They both still live at home with me, and have done my whole life. I love that we still live together. At the moment, they’re talking about travelling and moving out but I’m not keen on that idea at all: I don’t want to be the only child!
My Grandparents and Me
I’m really close to my Nanny Chris, my dad’s mum –we’ve got a very strong bond. I go around to hers for sleepovers at least once a month, which I love. She was divorced from my Grandad Les, but they always used to spend time together even after that. They still got along well but just couldn’t live together any more. She always says to me, ‘He was definitely my soulmate.’ And one of the last things he said to me before he passed away was, ‘Nanny Chris is always going to be my soulmate, that one.’
Grandad Les was such a kind, thoughtful grandad, always worrying about us all and calling every day to make sure everyone was OK. When he was young, he was a good footballer – he had played for England as a boy, and Northampton Town and Sheffield Wednesday as an adult – and he was also in the Parachute Regiment. He was such a fighter: he was told after a terrible
accident that he would never walk again, but he did, even managing to work as a social worker in London. When Grandad Les passed away, during one of the pandemic lockdowns, we went to Sheffield to scatter his ashes, and got all the Sheffield Wednesday merch, which was really lovely. He had grown up in Sheffield, so we went to see the house that he’d lived in as a kid. Losing Grandad Les was an eye opener, because you don’t think anything’s ever going to happen until it does. It definitely brought home to me that you never know how long you’ve got with someone, and that it’s so important to care for your grandparents.
Nanny Chris, meanwhile, got diagnosed with cancer a few years ago. She ended up living in the annexe at our house for quite a few months while she completed her chemotherapy. On a school night, I’d come home from my dance class or whatever I was doing, and we just used to sit and talk. She’d tell me all her childhood stories – the things that she used to get up to – and all about my dad when he was younger. She moved back home after her chemo ended, but since then we’ve just got even closer.
She’s such a supportive nan: she’s literally downloaded every single app just to watch me on my socials – she’s even got Snapchat! I don’t think most nans have Snapchat, but she does. ‘I don’t care if I can’t post on it myself, I just want to watch what you’re doing,’ she says. She is so funny and loves to laugh. I am always
pulling pranks on her for hilarious TikToks, even roping her into ads with fun brands. She loves it! Nanny Chris is the sweetest and would do anything for her grandkids. My nan has some really wise words, too, which have helped me out over the years. If I’m dealing with negativity, one thing she always says is: ‘Don’t rise to it. Don’t listen to them, ignore them.’ If I’m getting wound up over something, perhaps something I’ve seen online, she’s the person to calm me down. ‘Don’t listen to them. Don’t respond to them. Just ignore them, block ’em!’ She gets so involved with it, but she does know what she’s talking about.
Then, on my mum’s side, as I mentioned earlier, I’ve got Grandad Jim and Nanny Ange, and I’m really close to them as well. Nanny Ange is so sweet and loves keeping up with my journey. Grandad Jim, on the other hand, is like the worried grandad, always concerned about the risks of being known: ‘Watch out for this, be careful with that.’ He stresses about what I’m doing on my socials all the time: ‘What’s going on?’ It’s not something he follows himself, understandably. I’ll just explain, ‘No, it’s all fine, I just post Get Ready With Me videos!’ Nanny Ange is more relaxed about it. But they’re both really supportive. Grandad Jim used to be a chauffeur, driving around celebs and bands, so he has so many stories! He’s always cracking jokes, making everyone laugh, and striking up conversations with anyone, anywhere.
Count the Cousins
I’ve got a lot of aunties and uncles – my mum has one older sister, Jackie, and two younger brothers, Jamie and Stephen, and my dad has one younger sister, Debbie. Which means I have loads of cousins – seven of them! On my mum’s side, there are five. Jackie has four boys: Thomas, Joseph, Dominic and Paddy, who are similar in age to me and my sisters. It’s funny that Auntie Jackie had all boys and Mum had all girls. Paddy is my youngest cousin. He’s only 20 days older than me – which means I’m the youngest of the whole family. My great-grandad Charlie on my mum’s side of the family passed away just before Paddy and I were born, so that is who we are named for via our middle names: Paddy has Charles, and I have Charlize. We all grew up to be very close as well. Jackie is a music teacher at a primary school and used to teach me the piano as a kid. When I was younger, I used to visit her at school because I was so intrigued by what teachers really did. And then there’s also Nathan, my uncle Jamie’s son, who’s in his twenties.
On my dad’s side, I have Eden and Flynn. Eden is like another big sister – she’s my only female cousin, so it’s a special relationship. I remember when I was going through a break-up, she came and picked me up and took me to McDonald’s to try to cheer me up.
She’s always giving me good advice, and if I ever have any problems I always go to Eden to get her take on them. We get along so well. Flynn’s her older brother; he’s the sporty cousin. He gets on really well with my dad in particular, who sees him like a son. Really, we’re very close to both sides of the family. My aunties and uncles have always been so supportive of me, which I do appreciate.
Welcome To the Zoo
Our pets are part of the family, too. I’ve always lived in a house full of animals. When I was younger, we had some really random pets. We rescued Pascal, a bearded dragon, from someone who said they needed to rehome him in the next two days – I don’t know exactly why, but my mum’s reaction was, ‘Let’s take him!’ We had him for ages, and he was the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life – I honestly loved Pascal so much and I was gutted when he died. We’ve had hamsters, too, but mostly we’re a dog family.
I think because I’ve grown used to having them around from a young age, I would never want to be without a dog. They’re just so loving and we’ve always had such lovely dogs. For me, having dogs offers an extra layer of comfort to your day – I don’t even like going in my room without my dog Bluie!
So, let me take you through them all:
BUSTER A n D BUFFY: I grew up with Buster and Buffy, who were the most beautiful Staffordshire bull terriers: Buster was a little black Staff, and Buffy a ginger. They were the cutest pair – we’ve got pictures of me as a little girl cuddling with Buffy in particular. I loved her so much. Sadly she passed on my mum’s birthday one year, which was a really horrible day. Because I was so little, both of those dogs were very protective of me when we were out in public. Buster, if we were on a walk, liked to strut in front of me and make sure nobody else could get close.
PHA n TER: Our lovely black greyhound Phanter was a former race dog: he raced under the name Malbay Phanter. We’ve got so many videos of us as a family watching him on the telly when we owned him. After Phanter retired, my dad decided to take him in from his kennels, because a lot of greyhounds cannot find homes after they retire. He might have been fast when he was racing, but once retired he was the laziest dog I’ve ever met and so lovely. Sadly, Phanter passed away in lockdown – the worst thing about having pets is that you don’t always get very long with them.
HUGO: We got Hugo, a blue Staffordshire bull terrier, when I was ten, and he’s still with us today. Hugo was the first dog that I ever had from a puppy. None of us girls knew we were going to get him. At the time, Buffy had recently passed away, so we thought it’d be nice to bring a new dog into our family. My sisters and I were begging and begging, but my mum told us our dad didn’t want one. Then one day, I remember, he just showed us a picture on his phone of some puppies, without saying a word. We were all really confused until he just started to smirk and we began to clock on! We got Hugo the week after that, and I was obsessed with him. Every morning I’d get up an hour earlier before school just to sit with him downstairs and play with him.
We still love him to bits, even though he is a bit of an odd dog, I’ll admit! If he hears a specific song – ‘Little Bit Leave It’ by Chris & Kem – he’ll sing and dance: he’ll give a high-pitched bark and chase his tail so quickly it looks like he’s trying to spin. It’s so funny, he just seems to love the start of the song. No one trained him to do it – one day, when we were all dancing and singing along to it when it first came out, all of a sudden Hugo just started dancing to it too. Now it’s more his song than ours.
The other thing about Hugo: he loves men. He doesn’t not like us girls, but we always say he’s my dad’s dog – he and my dad have got some sort
of bond that my sisters and I don’t have with him. Whenever our extended family come round, Hugo will lick them to death, but he’s never ever once licked us or kissed us. Out of him and Bluie, he’s definitely the dog to give you more of the cold shoulder. But he does have a special bond with Georgia, just as I have with Bluie …
BLUIE: We like to be able to rescue dogs in need, so when one of my aunties who works as a dog groomer told my dad about a dog that really needed a home – the owner couldn’t look after her any more – she knew my dad would say, ‘OK, we’ll take her!’ I remember it so well, how my dad suddenly announced on the family chat: ‘We’re getting a dog.’ We hadn’t even been talking about that – we were happy with the dogs we had at the time – then he sent us this picture of Bluie. I remember thinking: Oh my God, she’s such a cute dog! Bluie is an XL Bully, a type we’d never had before, so I thought, This is going to be different …!
When we met her, she wasn’t yet a year old and already massive. She was the best-trained dog you’d ever seen though, and we all loved her. Still, my mum and dad weren’t 100 per cent sure, saying: ‘There’s a lot going on at the moment. We don’t know if it’s right.’ And I went upstairs with Bluie, bawling my eyes out, ‘She’s not going! She’s my dog!’
Ever since then, she has slept in my bedroom every night. I’m her favourite – we all know it!
We did have a scary incident with Bluie soon after we got her. I was doing schoolwork in the kitchen, and I was keeping an eye on the garden, where I’d let the dogs out for a wee. It was a snowy, icy day, and the cover was off our outdoor pool because some work was going on at the time – in fact, the surface of the water had frozen over. We’d been careful with the dogs because of that, but they had always been good about staying away, so although I was looking out regularly I wasn’t watching them every second. Then, at one point, I looked outside to check on the dogs and couldn’t see Bluie – all I saw was Hugo circling the pool.
I knew instantly something was wrong and ran outside. Bluie was in the water and unable to get out: I actually had to punch the ice near me to make a hole so I could grab her and drag her out, then I started screaming for my mum. It was quite traumatic, but thankfully Bluie was OK and back to her normal self in a few minutes. My auntie, who works with dogs, says that if you help a dog they will remember it, and I can believe that. Honestly, Bluie and I are inseparable whenever I’m at home. She’s like my shadow; she does not leave my side. I feel like every time I Facetime my friends, they ask, ‘Who is snoring?’ And I have to explain, ‘It’s my dog!’, trying to shout over her.
Since we took her in, the rules have changed for her breed, which is now banned, but we’re still allowed to have her in case you’re wondering (there are certain new rules you have to follow these days, if you have an XL Bully). Personally, I’ve had such great experiences with XL Bullies and I don’t believe every dog of a particular breed should be treated the same way. In my opinion, the focus needs to be on how owners train and look after their dogs, and not just about what breed a dog is. Of course, I’m still very upset for the people who have been hurt by those dogs.
My Family
THIS or THAT
Family time or alone time?
Family, 100 per cent.
Loud crowd or quiet clan? We’re loud!
Always late or always early?
Always late – but I blame Robyn! She’s always getting ready.
Giving or getting advice?
I like giving it, but I never listen to my own advice …
Playtime with pets or cuddle sessions?
I love cuddling with my dogs.
Hot chocolate at home or out and about ?
I’d say going to Costa, but my sisters would say at home: we all like having a hot chocolate together in the living room.