Katja Mia on turning 30 and being happy in her body
As Katja Mia continues to grow her career in Irish media with a new prime time show on 2FM, the Dubliner chats to Janice Butler about going from TV to radio, why her new women's health documentary is so personal, and finally feeling happy in her body as she turns 30.
There’s a new generation of radio and TV presenters moving up the ranks and making a mark on the industry. They’ve grafted through their 20s, generating popularity and followers on their social media channels and then translating that into mainstream media.
Katja Mia is one of these talents; in her early 20s, she took a gamble, left a full-time finance job to focus on her social media, with the aim of getting on the telly. She was ambitious, honest, relatable and real, and the gamble paid off.
Now, as she enters her 30s, she’s riding high on the national airwaves as the new co-host of 2FM’s drivetime radio show (along with Laura Fox), and she’s grateful for that chance she took on herself.
"I’ve been dying to turn 30! I felt like I was 30 for a while," she laughs when I caught up with her recently."My 20s have been a really good run. It was a lot of graft that still isn’t over, but it was the beginning of my career, so I owe a lot to that version of myself that really took a chance and took the risk of leaving a stable job and going into an industry that I really didn’t know anything about.
"I’m grateful for how risky I was in my 20s because I feel like it’s one of the few times in your life where you can take a chance on your dreams and ambitions. But it also comes with so much; I feel like in your 20s, you're in a very people-pleasing mindset. You’re still unsure of yourself, you second-guess yourself, and you don’t really have boundaries – that was my life experience anyhow."
When I first spoke to Katja Mia, she was appearing on Dancing with the Stars, class of 2024. She was one to watch and impressed audiences and judges, making it to the quarter finals. At the time, she was co-hosting The Six O’Clock Show on Virgin Media, having moved from Ireland AM where she was an entertainment reporter.
"Every time we talk, it’s like a mini graduation of some sort," she laughs. She has always struck me as someone who is laser-focused on her career path, but with a good mix of relatability - the key to success.
She’s a woman with limited time at the moment, with a new radio show and a summer wedding to plan. When we catch up, she’s only back from a day of filming in Cork for her women’s health documentary that she’s filming with Virgin Media, which will air later in the year.
Having been diagnosed with endometriosis and hyperthyroidism after years of looking for answers with her own health issues, Katja says this topic is a personal one.
"It’s really close to my heart," she comments.
"I’m excited about putting it out there because it’s one of the more meaningful projects I’ve worked on, probably the most meaningful," she adds.
"Women are told far too often that their health concerns are in their head, that they’re exaggerating it or imagining symptoms. It’s medical gaslighting. I’ve shared my experiences on social media, and the number of comments I’ve received from Irish women with their own stories is overwhelming and shocking," she explains.
Since her health issues were diagnosed, she’s been on a well-being and fitness journey in the last year and says she’s feeling the best she's ever felt.
"I’ve been chasing after my health for a long time, looking for answers and trying to feel comfortable in my skin. During Covid, I put on a lot of weight; I was emotionally eating. I was all or nothing, I was either in the gym, dieting and counting calories, or I’d throw the towel in, and binge eat.
"Either side is not healthy. I was always chasing balance, and now, for the first time in my life, I feel confident in my body; I know what it needs. I’m happy to say that I’m happy in my body now," she adds.
She’s also been open on social media about going on an GLP-1 weight loss medication, which she was prescribed and has made a huge difference to her life.
"My doctor prescribed it for me last year due to my thyroid issue. No matter what I did, my weight wouldn’t budge. I did it the right way, with a medical professional, and it’s worked really well for me. My body responds now to exercise and eating well. It’s not like you take it and sit on your arse; I’m exercising and putting in the hard work, but at least now the hard work is paying off. There’s no shame in it, once you’re doing it the right way."
Professionally, there’s a lot going on for Katja; she’s made the move from Virgin Media and The Six O’Clock Show, where she learned her craft, to co-hosting 2FM’s drivetime slot with Laura Fox, having filled in on Bláthnaid Treacy’s weekend show when she was on maternity leave. It must have been a hard conversation, telling her colleague and co-host Brian Dowling that she was leaving?
"I love Brian so much. I got very lucky working with him. He’s such a great example of what a colleague should be, and he’s so professional. I learned so much from him. Because of him, I know the industry a bit better and can speak up for myself more," she comments.
"But I was approached after my time filing in for Bláthnaid, and conversations were happening. It was time to take the next step in my career and to do something that scared me. I’m aware that most of my experience in broadcasting is in television, but I’ve thrown myself into radio, and I’m like that in life. I apply myself so quickly to jobs and challenges, I don’t do things in halves," she laughs.
She’s also the narrator of BackStory, a new series starting on RTÉ One on 8 June, a four-part show which follows the journeys of four young Irish people, whose parents are immigrants to Ireland. The young people travel back with their parents to their ancestral homeland and reconnect with the culture, family and traditions. Katja’s parents originally came to Ireland almost 30 years ago from Burundi in East Africa. She remarks that this made her participation in the show very personal.
"It was emotional because it was so relatable to me. I think people will be so interested in seeing the places they go to and their stories. I was really proud to be part of that project," says Katja.
Last year, she got to reconnect with her own family history and traditions in a special way, when she and her fiancé, Daragh Curran (also known as the Guinness Guru), celebrated a traditional Burundian engagement ceremony, known as the Gukwa.
"It is a core memory," she reminisces. "We were celebrated in the traditional way, which was really important to me because I’m so proud of being Burundian and Irish. It felt like a fairytale ceremony for me, and Daragh loved Burundi. It was so lovely being able to bring him to where my grandparents lived and where my Dad grew up. It unlocks a part of getting to know someone, that bit more because so much of my story is also Burundi," she adds.
The couple have just had the legal part of their wedding ceremony in Dublin, and later in the autumn, they will travel to Italy to celebrate with family and friends. "I’m so excited. I’ve been with Daragh so long, coming on nine years now. I feel like we’re already married, but I can’t wait to have the big celebration in Italy. It’s going to be so amazing," she says excitedly.
Funnily enough, her co-host Laura Fox is also getting married later this summer in Italy, so the pair have been able to bond over all things wedding-related. "Even our partners have become friends; they’ve kind of clung to each other," she laughs.
"Laura and I first met on Dancing with the Stars the year we were both on it, and we hit it off then. Getting to work with her is brilliant. She has a lot of experience on radio. She’s got a feisty, hot personality; she’s my kind of girl," she gushes.
With her 20s behind her and the foundations of her career laid for success, it will be exciting to see what Katja does in this next decade. Her own hopes are for more personal and professional growth and that great joy of growing older: caring less what people think.
"I hope for my 30s, and with growing older, I’ll find my voice more. I feel like I’ve overcome the imposter syndrome for the most part; I own my space a bit more. I’d like to care less about what people think and be unapologetically myself," she states.
"I want to keep working hard, growing as a broadcaster and being open to more creative projects. And not completely slowing down, but getting a better work-life balance for sure, so yeah, let’s see."
