It was 2007, and Australian mindset coach and author Erika Cramer was living in Florida. Her husband had recently passed away, and she was ready for a change after a decade serving in the US military.
She was pursing a career in modelling in Miami, and one day, received a message on MySpace with an opportunity she couldn't pass up.
An executive producer wanted her to audition for MTV's reality television series that Sean 'Diddy' Combs hosted, Making the Band.
"This seemed so exciting, and it was going into the realm of where I thought I wanted to go," Erika tells Mamamia.
The producer also invited her to one of Diddy's infamous white parties.
At the time, Erika had been living in Orlando, Florida, whilst the party was being hosted three hours away in Miami. Diddy's team insisted on booking her a flight.
"I'm like, that's weird," Erika says. "Nobody flies to Miami at that time, we all just drove down."