Growing up, I didn’t have any role models who matched my melanin. 

When I switched on the telly, South Asians were cocoa-coloured caricatures—corner shop attendants, cabbies, and curry-loving bookworms.

There was no M.I.A nor Mindy Kaling. No Never Have I Ever nor How To Be Indie. No Riz Ahmed nor Rupi Kaur. 

And, like most children of first-generation immigrants, my parents had mapped out my future on an invisible whiteboard. (A bit like How To Catch A Predator, but, you know, less creepy.) 

I would become a doctor, lawyer, or engineer. I would have a white picket fence, 2.5 kids, and of course, a Toyota Camry. But, above all else, I would have an easy, boring life. And who could blame them? Stability is sacred for the South Asian parent.

But, I’ll have you know: I didn’t want any of that. I wanted to be an international dance choreographer.

So, inspired by the AFR’s Power List, this is Brown Boy Magazine’s Power List. Part one of a non-exhaustive list of CEOs, creatives, and changemakers from the South Asian diaspora in Australia.

This one’s dedicated to all those little brown Aussie kids out there. You’re going to be CEOs, politicians, and performers. You’re going to change the world. And I hope to write about you one day.

(After you study law or medicine, of course.) 

Save me an autograph. Or perhaps an NFT. Apparently, you kids are into that. 

XOXO, Brown Boy

1. Samantha Ratnam

Political powerhouse. Climate crusader. Anti-racism activist. Dr Samantha Ratman (@samantharatnam) is adding some much-needed melanin to the face of Australian politics. 

After fleeing Sri Lanka at the beginning of a civil war, Samantha and her family planted roots in Melbourne, Australia. Now, Samantha is the leader of the Victorian Greens and a champion for marginalised, underrepresented Australians.

Whatever your political persuasion, you can’t deny that Samantha makes you feel all warm and fuzzy to be a part of Australia’s South Asian diaspora:

2. Miriam Rizvi (Mim Beanie)

Unless you have kids between three and eight, you probably haven’t heard of The Beanies (or their popular hit, Where Does My Poo Go?). You, like me, are probably too busy making it drop, macaroni in a pot, to WAP.

Miriam Rizvi (@mim_beanie) co-founded the ARIA-nominated children’s music group The Beanies. And, as far as outside-the-box careers go, Miriam (or Mim Beanie, as her audience knows her) probably has the best job in the world. 

Step aside Play School, Mim Beanie is taking over. You jelly? I am.

3. Manoj Dias

Master mediator Manoj Dias (@manojdias_) traded 70-hour weeks in a corporate meat grinder for self-love, compassion, and mindfulness. Manoj is the Co-Founder & Vice President of Mindfulness at Open, “a modern studio designing a new way to practise mindfulness.”

Before Open, Manoj founded A–SPACE, “Australia’s first multidisciplinary drop-in meditation studio with a special focus on creating access for BIPOC and youth”.

He shares his time between Melbourne and LA helping countless humans—including Googlers and Netflixers—“trade mania for pause, so that they may live fearlessly in honour of a happier and more meaningful life”.

Slow down, breathe, and let his utterly buttery voice lull you to sleep:

4. Shemara Wikramanayake

Slowly but surely, South Asians are taking over the world’s top companies—even if we still get mistaken for Uber drivers.

There’s Sundar Pichai at Google. Satya Nadella at Microsoft. Shantanu Narayan at Adobe.

And here in Australia, there’s Shemara Wikramanayake—also, suspiciously, with S as her first initial 👀—at Macquarie. As the numero uno at the $70 billion behemoth, Shemara is actually one of Australia’s most powerful business leaders of 2022.

5. Rowi Singh

Edgy. Creative. Changemaker. Rowi Singh (@rowisingh) is our Monet with a makeup brush. Our Basquiat with a beauty blender. And our Frida Kahlo with foundation. 

To call Rowi a content creator would only underplay her talent and rampant creativity. Rowi is an artist—her face the canvas—creating kaleidoscopic, colourful looks inspired by her South Asian heritage. 

Flip through Rowi’s Instagram for even a minute, and you’ll feel like you’re on the set of Kuch Kuch Hota Hai.