Modeling Advice Series: A Healthy Mind

Me with and up and coming model at the Pink Soles Model Clinic In Charlotte, NC.

In the first installment of my “Model Tips” I discussed the importance of maintaining a healthy body by way of a great nutritional diet and exercising regularly.  In this second installment I want to touch on the other side of Health a model must maintain – keeping a Healthy Mind!

2. Maintain a healthy mind:

When I first began modeling after winning America’s Next Top Model, I didn’t understand how booking jobs would affect my mental health. A lot of working models tend to be young, and some of them teenagers even. Modeling does not have the security of a regular nine-to-five job where you get paid every other week based on a secure amount of hours you put in.

Modeling is a job that takes great effort, time and devotion. Models have to stay in good shape and devote time to working out. They must get monthly hair appointments (if not bi-weekly) to keep their hair in great condition. They must get weekly manicures and pedicures. Models must get facials to tend to the condition of their skin. Models must also put in a lot of time and foot work in going to castings and go-sees. Once you do book a job, a shoot or runway show can consist of three or four hours of work. Or a job can consist of travel to different cities or countries with thirteen hour days. The demands of this career are more than what people may often think and require a clear, strong-minded head on your shoulders.

I loved travel and working on photo shoots. Run way shows are super fun as well! I really enjoyed modeling and I worked very hard to book the shoots and shows I did. However, like I said in the first installment of these model tips, booking the job was the most difficult part of modeling for me.

Of all the demands put on me by my modeling career, castings and go-sees were the most stressful. Models will go on hundreds more castings than the actual amount of jobs they will book.

The reason why is this: Different clients want different looks. As a model, I offer only one look… me! My look is going to be perfect for one vision and not so perfect for another. Most of the jobs I booked were looking for someone with a little more edge, someone with a little bit of androgyny. I normally wouldn’t book a job where the client was looking for the all American girl next door.

The point is that we are going to be right for some jobs and not right for others. In the meantime a model must continue to hone in on his or her craft and presentation. Eventually we will start to book more work and become more knowledgeable on how we individually fit into the fashion industry based on the current trends.

I had to keep this idea in my mind often. It is hard going to castings and go sees for two weeks, sometimes a month and not landing any jobs. It can take a toll on one’s self esteem. The stress of not knowing when your next pay check will come in is even more consuming at times. But we all have our own individual beauty and someone will see that and want to take advantage of that for the vision of their artwork and design.

In the meantime, we often have to get part time jobs to pay the bills. Trust me, I have been there. What I would suggest is getting a part time job in a retail store. The more high-end the store, the better. Working in retail locations, I further developed my knowledge of fashion, design, style trends and presentation. I learned skills that only help my career as a model and I appreciate all my day jobs! They have helped me stay afloat, stay alive and learn things I would not have been exposed to working solely as a model.

People think that just because I won America’s Next Top Model that I would become an overnight success story of Super Model Stardom! The truth is that I had to work my way to the top just like every other model in the industry. It was rocky road often times, but I accomplished my success with the knowledge I gained along the way and I cherish every moment of it!

For more advice on how to maintain a healthy mind and other great tips on starting your modeling career, please consider purchasing my iTunes book MODEL BEHAVIOR! Print copies are coming in January!

 

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