Growing up in rural Jamaica, Sasha-Gaye Roache had big dreams. Known professionally as Sasha Bling or BlingBlang, the effervescent personality said she knew from a tender age that she wanted the most out of life and vowed to give herself nothing but the best.

So, when she landed a job as a TV personality, BlingBling felt the stars align.

Now surrounded by some of Jamaica’s most popular entertainers, BlingBlang thought it the perfect opportunity to make a name for herself. Still, although she was in front of the camera, conducting interviews and networking, she soon realised (with a little help from one entertainer) her true calling was to work behind the camera. Thus her production company BlingBlangWork was birthed.

“I thought I was a ‘hot gyal’. But, when I went on an audition early in my career, the casting table told me, ‘You’re not what we are looking for’. I felt really bad so, out of pettiness, I said I would start my own company and decide who’d get opportunities. But then I landed FiWi Choice and became their ‘scoop host’. While on camera, though, I realised that this was not my style. I needed to be telling people what to do and how to do it,” she told OBSERVER ONLINE.

“Eventually I started to love the production side more than being on camera. I then started telling my friends my plans to start shooting music videos. I-Octane heard me out, saw my vision and from there, I never looked back.”

Today, her production company is celebrating its tenth anniversary. A proud BlingBlang said the accomplishment came through hard work and sheer determination as she was always one of few females trying to make it in a male-dominated industry.

“When I was leaving TV, my boss at the time told me that it was a big mistake because girls who leave TV always end up forgotten. Family members wanted me to go get a 9-5 with benefits instead of wasting my time travelling and shooting. But I had a plan and an undying passion. I left TV at the highest times and I’ve never had a reason to look back since,” she said.

Boasting about her accomplishments over the past decade, BlingBlang told OBSERVER ONLINE that she always knew she had to prove herself but expressed that the latter was never something that made her jittery. In fact, she revealed that she liked the idea of stepping up to the plate.

“Even though it’s mostly males in my field, I felt like my work stood on a solid foundation. Honestly, I never worried about that fact too much (a male-dominated industry). In my head, it’s not a competition of woman vs man. I’m too focused to think about that,” she expressed. “Yes, it is harder (to make it as a female in a male-centred business) but this is what I chose to do so I do my best to ‘not count the cows but to just drink the milk’ as mi granny would say. In due time, I knew my hard work would pay off.”

And that it has indeed. Over her ten-year tenure as a music video director, BlingBlang has worked with the likes of Vybz Kartel ( Any Weather), Alkaline ( Fleek), Morgan Heritage, Jashii, Rytikal, and I-Octane ( Headline Fi Front Page), which was on rotation on BET. She also recently shot a slew of videos for Spice’s comeback to the music scene following a life-threatening illness.

Dishing out the formula that has made her one of the most sought-after video directors out of Jamaica, BlingBlang urged young ladies, especially those from rural Jamaica to follow their dreams earnestly.

“I was never the ‘pick me’ girl. I always just did the work and when I put my mind to something it turns out the right way. Be creative because it is not about gender. If you are dope creative, you don’t have to worry about that sort of thing. I saw who I was from an early age. Stop wasting time questioning yourself and go get what you want,” she said. “And remember, growing up a ‘country girl’ is a flex. I was raised on moral principles and survival instincts etc. I know how to survive in harsh conditions and I also know how to fit into any environment.”

Bling went on to highlight that although her success depended solely on the choices she made, she had role models who kept her motivated along the way.

“I’m lucky to have had a grandmother who saw more out of life for me and a mother who worked hard to send me to school. I had teachers who went the extra mile for me to make sure even when I did not have, I was not without, especially as a kid with big dreams. They saw it and believed it and that made it easier for me to believe in me.”