As a young girl, I would always dress up with my younger sister and we would walk down the hallway at my mother’s house as if it were a runway. We would always “strike our pose” and pretend we had a crowd of people watching us. As a teen, I didn’t have those “perfect” looks all the other girls had. I had to wear big glasses, my teeth were not straight, my hair was always pulled back into a ponytail because it was so long and nappy. Growing up I was always getting picked on. I have accumulated many hurtful nicknames ranging from midget, vampire, bulldog, granny, and many more. Countless times I would go home and cry. In the 8th grade, I had to get bifocals, which led to more bullying. During my freshman year, I bought my first camera and loved taking different pictures. Trying to figure out what angles I thought I looked good at. My mother wasn’t very supportive of it and countless times told me that I wasn’t model material because I didn’t have that perfect image all the other girls had. From all the bullying it led to a long struggle of almost 4 years of anorexia and bulimia. At the age of 16, I begged my father for some braces to correct my teeth. After I graduated, my braces were removed and I bought myself some contacts. For a while, anyone who saw me didn’t recognize me at all. To me, that was a new beginning. I decided to go to cosmetology school to get my license to do hair and makeup. Shortly after receiving my license, I found out I was pregnant for my now 2-year-old son. I was working a part-time cashier job and was worried about how would I take care of my son by myself. So I put out an ad to do hair and makeup. A man named Peter Foster was the first person I began doing hair and makeup for his clientele. He asked me one day if I ever thought about modeling. I was hesitant at first because I was 8 months pregnant but gave it a try. I thought that was going to be just a one time chance, but then another photographer wanted to shoot with me. After that, I was getting messages left and right. Modeling has helped me boost my self-esteem and to meet a lot of great people. I love every second of it and can not wait to see where this year will bring me.
What does fashion actually mean to you? What inspires your passion and what excites & motivates you about modeling? Fashion to me is being able to express oneself through the clothing we wear and the colors we choose to wear. My son helps inspire me and gives me the motivation to model.
What do you think, Is it important to attended fashion modeling courses? Do they really help newbies to get a foothold in the Fashion Industry? No, I don’t feel it is important to attend a fashion modeling course. If a person decides to go that is their decision but I don’t feel it is a necessity. Fashion is always changing, why teach a person to dress the recent fashion when it changes within the season.
How you communicate with other netizens, especially your subscribers? Are you patient? polite? friendly? How often you reply to them? I am very polite and friendly to everyone. I also have a lot of patience with people as well. I generally reply right back unless I am busy, then it is within 24 hours.
Has modeling changed other aspects of your life? What does your career do for you? Modeling has given me the self-esteem I never had before. It’s given me the courage to feel good about myself and the skin that I’m in.
Is there anything you dislike about modeling? There are a few things I dislike about modeling. Many photographers try to push you to do something you don’t want to, and if you are not comfortable doing it some photographers become very rude. I also don’t like it when other models let their looks get to their heads where they think they are better than others. Or will judge models of a larger size. I feel we are all equally beautiful no matter what size a person is.
And what are some things you dislike or want to change about the fashion industry? I’d love to change the outlook most fashion industries portray on young adults. They make it seem like being a size 0 is the ideal size but doesn’t show that a size 5 is beautiful too.
How you prepare yourself for a modeling shoot? Preparing for a shoot is like a circus show for me. I have a toddler that tries helping me so it makes getting ready a little more amusing. A week before a shoot I choose 4 outfits. I try them all on to make sure they all look good. Two days before I will try them all on again to make sure I definitely want to wear it (usually involves me changing everything again.) The night before I will wax my eyebrows, wax my legs, mess around with makeup doing about 10 different looks. I’ll mess around with my hair to try to see how I’d like to have it for the shoot. Then I’ll shower and have everything all laid out for the shoot. The day off I juggle doing my make up while my son brushes my hair (teasing is making me look like I have a fro). Then I will fix my hair while he plays with his toys.
What has been your best fashion look? What was your biggest fashion mistake? My best fashion shoot would probably have to be my cowgirl boots, cowgirl hat, flannel shirt, and shorts. My fashion mistake, I wore a pair of jeans too tight and my gut hung right over the top of them and the buttons on the shirt I wore that day popped.
What are your favorite types of outfits to model in? What are your least favorites? My favorite outfits would be my flannel shirts or my dresses that I can wear my cowgirl boots with. My least favorite, umm I haven’t run into one yet.
Any ultimate goal to fulfill as a model? How do you see yourself progress in this field? My goal is to further my career as a model and maybe one day make it in a magazine. I’d like to shoot with more photographers.
What kind of shoots would you like to work on in the future? I really want to do a body paint shoot sometime in the future.
Which country you are from? Tell us something about your city, your favorite hang out spots there? I am from the United States. I grew up in a small town in the state of NY. The town was a small run-down place. With not many job opportunities and a lot of drug sales, fights, and people on food stamps or cash assistance. I didn’t like to hang out in my town because of all the problems that surrounded us. So I either hung out with my friends at my house or out of town.
What do you like to do for fun & entertainment? I love going to the movies and watching a horror movie or going to the beach with my son. I loved going camping when I was younger so when my son is old enough I would love to take him camping too.
What is your perfect day? My perfect morning is my son coming into my room and kissing me on my forehead telling me “good morning mommy” and seeing his cute big smile that he has. I will usually make us breakfast and then we will sit on our couch after and play with his blocks. If the day is nice out, we go for a walk to the park and I let him play for a bit. We love having our small picnics at the park by our house. After we will walk back home and play some more with his toys and then I will prepare dinner. At the end of the day, he gets his bath and we will cuddle on our couch while I read him his bedtime story and tuck him into bed and finish my night with a small glass of wine before I fall asleep.
Do you eat nutritiously? Tell us about the diet you follow on a regular basis? Is there any food which you avoid eating? I have a weird diet. I eat everything organic. I hate a lot of meat. The only kind of meat I will eat is fish turkey and chicken. I avoid eating eggs nut and blueberries due to allergies.
How often do you exercise or go to the gym? How much time do you spend there? I go to the gym about 2-3 times a week and I’m usually there for about 3 hours.
Excluding all complicated beauty & fitness mantra, what do you think to be the easiest way to look pretty and glamorous? Feel comfortable with what you are wearing.
What modeling projects have you done? I have only been doing some side shoots. I haven’t done any projects yet because I was building my profile.
What are your experiences in the fashion industry? What is fun and rewarding about modeling? Do you have any advice for other aspiring models? Modeling can help boost a woman or a man’s confidence. My advice to other aspiring models is just to stay true to yourself. Don’t do something others want you to do and if you want to do a certain shoot and someone tells you that’s stupid do it anyways. Just because it is stupid to one person doesn’t always mean its stupid to others.
Tell me about your favorites. Favorite color: blue, model: Tyra Banks, Film: a walk to remember, Actress: Mandy Moore, Singer: Luke Bryan. Hobby: crocheting. I like to read Maxim magazine.
What device do you use for accessing the Internet? I use a smartphone and my laptop.
Where netizens can find the latest news feed about you? On my Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/KatyModeling
Your ultimate message for netizens? Everything is beautiful no matter who you are. Always be true to yourself and hold your head high.