However, despite these small-town roots, she spent her childhood in the bustling port city of Cape Town, South Africa, after her parents immigrated in 1997.

It is here that she drew inspiration from the country’s unique wildlife and environment and was gifted her first film camera at the age of ten.

After returning to the UK, Shayla went on to study Film Production at the University of Central Lancashire and graduated in 2020 with a full Honours Degree. During this time, she additionally landed her feature-length directorial debut in the independent, 2019 adaptation of ‘The Haunting.’

Always in pursuit of new stories and exciting experiences, Shayla worked on a number of narrative, corporate and case study projects in the years that followed, as well as gaining experience on large-scale productions such as Netflix’s The Irregulars.

She later found success in running a department as Head of Media, before becoming one of the founders at TV Head Productions.

In her downtime, Shayla often turns her creativity to various pursuits, including painting, animation and voice acting, usually with the ever-present shadow of her pet snake, Crowley, looped over her shoulders.

Unafraid of living life to the fullest, she has undertaken activities such as open water experiences with great white sharks and skydiving, with her sights set to climb Mount Fuji in the near future.