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FIF: Samantha Payne

Meet our "f**k it!" Friday Queen this week - Samantha Payne!

HI THERE. Welcome back to F**k It Friday - a weekly feature from MTV Breaks that’s all about saying a big “f**k yeah” to the most excellent people who’ve said “f**k it!” (probably) and taken a leap of faith to make big things happen.

Cos it’s not about just having ideas – it’s about working hard, seizing opportunity, believing in yourself, and 100% following them through!

So who’s next up in the FIF roll call of honour? Drumroll… it’s SAMANTHA PAYNE! She’s a tech-savvy power woman with a whole company to her name, and it’s called ‘Open Bionics’. She’s its Chief Operating Officer (hello LinkedIn Superstar status), and the company is all about building prosthetic limbs that are affordable AND aesthetically pleasing for amputees. Basically, she’s not just smart AF, she’s a pretty great person too.

And how did she get there? By being open minded and exploring the tech industry without confining herself to limitations. Basically she said “f**k it!” and built a hugely successful career in a male-dominated field, and she’s constantly pushing to beat those stereotypes and encourage young girls to explore science and technology as potential career paths too. She wants to promote the message that those fields are equally accessible and available for ladies.

She says toys girls play with while growing up are one of the ways that pesky stereotypes are enforced, and thinks toys should instead be opening kids’ minds to new possibilities in those early malleable years. “It is essential for brands like Barbie to be really responsible in how they’re marketing to these young girls,” she said in an interview with Dazed, saying how much she liked the Game Developer Barbie that came out, who wears trainers and carries a laptop with a real code on its screen.

She’s also not afraid to be outspoken. “I always call inequality when I see it. So if I go to a conference and it’s an all-male panel I will call it out on social media,” she said. “This isn’t just about women either, it’s about different ethnicities. There are other voices who deserve to have a platform.”

Basically, Samantha is our dream “f**k it!” Queen, fighting for equality in a field where employee stereotypes are about as outdated as an Axel AX-20. Yep, that’s a specific technology reference. And, yes, we may have looked it up especially. But even if we’re not, we’re proud of all you gals who ARE tech-savvy, and of Samantha who’s out there fighting for your future careers.

HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE!

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