Who was your role model as a child an how did that help in being a model ?
It ’ s not so much a role model - but I grew up absolutely loving music videos . So I think that whole creative side of things definitely relates to the modeling industry . I also absolutely love Beyoncé and grew up with Destiny ’ s Child as my goddesses . But , again , I think it comes back to the creative side and probably also standing up for what you believe in .
What did your parent / s first think of you being a model and where they supportive ? Funnily enough , my parents pretty much pushed me into my modeling career and would have liked me to start it earlier . I think they are incredibly proud of what I ’ m aiming to achieve in this industry . They ’ re definitely very supportive - you could say they ’ re almost the leaders of my fan club . How do you feel about the industries representation of disabled models ?
That ’ s such an interesting question . Honestly , there simply just isn ’ t enough of it . I think it ’ s about 15-20 % of the global population that ’ s living with a disability , so logically about 15-20 % of media , advertising and fashion should feature someone with a disability . Sometimes it ’ s hard to believe that brands and companies are still neglecting such a large portion of their market . To me , it just doesn ’ t seem like smart marketing . If your were not a model , what other profession would you have been doing instead ?
This is a pretty easy question for me because I often have that sliding doors moment where I think “ what would my life look like if I didn ’ t have my accident ?”. I probably would have become a doctor in Australia , as that ’ s what I was studying at the time . And although I could still pursue that , my time away from it has allowed me to realize that modeling is what I feel passionate about at this stage in my life . I guess it ’ s a more creative side of myself that ’ s being allowed to shine through , which is a lot of fun .
What are guilty pleasures food wise ?
Oh my gosh ! How many pages do you have !? The list could go on and on ! Seriously , I ’ m a food lover . But if I had to choose , I think a good dark chocolate and chicken nuggets would be my main guilty pleasures .
If a young girl / boy wanted to be a model what would your advice for them be ?
If I were to pass on advice to a young person about modeling it would be that it takes a lot of persistence and hard work . You hear those stories of people going from nothing to international star “ overnight ”. But what you don ’ t often hear about it is what they did to be discovered and how much effort they put in before that . I would also tell them to trust their photographer and / or crew . If the crew are happy with the end result , then you can feel confident about your performance . For instance , one of the easiest ways I know if I ’ m doing well in a shoot is by the feedback from the photographer and crew as we are shooting . If they ’ re saying things like “ hold that pose - I love it !” then you know you must be doing something right .
Where do you see yourself with your modeling career in the future ?
Sometimes I wish I held the crystal ball that told my future - but unfortunately I don ’ t , and I ’ m not 100 % sure what lies ahead for me . I ’ ve just been featured in Stellar Magazine - which is an amazing magazine that reaches almost 3 million people in Australia . We did an incredible fashion shoot and I worked with some of the best in the industry . So I absolutely hope there ’ s more of that type of work in my future . But I also hope there ’ s more interviews and spreading of positivity and inclusivity . Some TV appearances would be fun and I ’ d love to wheel down a catwalk at a fashion week . But I ’ m taking it all one step at a time , so we ’ ll see what comes my way .