Ruby Slipperz talks to us about mental health

Ruby Slipperz talks about mental health

Have you been to a Ruby Slipperz (aka Michelle Schneider) show?

I have — many times — and I’ve laughed and I’ve sung and I’ve danced ‘til my feet blistered.

She is Toowoomba’s ultimate rock and roll queen and I think she is fantastic.

A true pro, with entertainer’s bravado and a powerful voice, you would never guess Michelle has struggled with major clinical depression and bouts of anxiety ever since she was a child.

She is now a proud ambassador for mental health and advocates for a kinder world with better understanding and acceptance.

Her experiences on stage, and with mental health, make her an ideal mentor for others who dare to dream.

“As an entertainer, you have this little bit of power on stage,” Michelle said.

“But, ultimately, you have to put yourself out there; you have to take on the audience and you have to deliver the goods,” she said.

“Everyone’s an expert in this industry and they’ll all tell you how to do your job — that’s why we lose performers.”

Let’s go back to Michelle’s formative years: she was a chubby child and, in the ‘70s, you got teased for that.

Cracks in self–esteem begin early and they run deep.

“In high school, the weight just fell off and I didn’t think much more about it; all I wanted to do was join a band and start singing.”

At 13, she joined the Toowoomba Country Music Club, which met at the infamous Crown Hotel.

By age 14, everyone in Toowoomba knew this girl had talent and she was invited to join a local band called ‘Hot Prospect’.

“It was the ‘80s, and we performed at the Matador Lounge (where Toowoomba Regional Art Gallery is now) from Thursday to Saturday afternoon, then we’d drag all that heavy gear across the road to Charlie’s Bar at Telford’s (where Burke & Wills Hotel is now) for Saturday night, and again for the Sunday Session.

“It was hard work, but we were paid big money — around $450 for each gig.

“I left school and, for six years, worked at an insurance firm by day while playing in the band by night.”

Michelle met John Schneider at 16, was engaged at 17 and married at 18.

Forty years later, this happy couple still light up each other’s lives. “Looking back, I would get dark. “John would say, ‘one minute you’re happy and the next, no one can talk to you’; we weren’t aware back then and we just did the best we could.”

Michelle and John joined a professional five–piece band called ‘Word of Mouth’ and their agent booked gigs all over the state.

It was a fabulous time with outrageous costumes and spiky hair until, one night, they met a big industry agent and it changed Michelle’s life.

“He told us the band was really good but the singer was too fat,” she said.

“That was all I could take away from that meeting.

“Then the Bulimia started and the panic attacks — I’d drink too much, take laxatives, diet pills.

“I was so unwell, but I was skinny. “Thank God I didn’t get into drugs. “I’m just glad we know better now. “Anyway, we were getting lots of work but I began to hate it.

“I’d dread going on stage; I was paranoid, afraid I wasn’t good enough.

“I still didn’t know I needed help. “My diagnosis with depression came later, at a time when my life was actually really good.

“I was working at 4GR with John Krosh and we had the number one breakfast show, but I hit a terrible low.

“I went to the GP and will be forever grateful that he didn’t send me away with a script; instead, he sent me to a psychiatrist and I’ve been under her care ever since.

“That care has involved a variety of treatments that have helped me understand myself and my limits.”

In 2003, when she had her

“I want to share my story; how I overcame what I went through. I hope that one day it will be someone else’s survival guide.” — RUBY SLIPPERZ

daughter, Michelle found God.

“Faith has changed my life more than anything; it guides me and gets me through the tough days.

“So, here I am in my 50s, and life has never been better.

“I understand what’s going on in my head, I have my family and my faith, and I have a new business guiding others — proving that, yes, it is a long way to the top if you want to rock and roll, but you can come out the other side.”