morethanmodel: Recent Episodes
morethanmodel
Today on the podcast we have Sanne Vloet. Sanne started as a competitive gymnast and at the age of 14 and was discovered while taping for the hit television show, “Holland’s Got Talent.” After graduating high school, she left home to begin her modeling career in Paris, London, & Milan. After moving to NYC, Sanne was cast to walk for legendary designer Ralph Lauren, which opened the door to her later success as the face of countless fashion brands and walking in many fashion shows including the Victoria Secret Fashion Show. 2019 goals include continued collaboration with fashion and tech brands while focusing on creating content for her digital media platforms.
Shaina Danziger is a model-turned-director. With an international modeling career spanning more than a decade, she has worked with some of the top fashion houses and magazines in the industry, including Vogue, Harper’s Bazaar, Glamour, Fendi, Balenciaga, Issey Miyake, and Trussardi. I recently saw a new series on the Vogue Magazine youtube called “The Models” which is a four part docs-series shedding light on the complex power dynamics models face at essentially every level of the modelling industry. Soon after I found out Shaina was behind that series! I was so happy to see a publication as big as vogue, and truly as central to fashion as vogue creating this type of real, raw and gutsy content and I knew I had to have her on this podcast. Her directorial work can be seen at Amazon Prime, Rolling Stone, Vogue, Conde Nast Live, People, NME, and NY Daily News.
Today on the podcast we have my pal Katy Syme. Katy is a model, mentor and lover of all things food. She grew up in Bedfordshire, England, and started modeling full time in 2012, having graduated with a degree in Psychology from the University of Liverpool. She moved to London, where she continued her long term love affair with theatre, art, people, and eating. Moving to New York in 2014, having left her comfort zone of her beloved England, she felt a little lost with no friends, no clients, and no plan of what to do about it. From there, the idea of Artemis was born - a mentoring service, and information resource for girls moving through the modeling world. Her intention is to provide community, confidence and kindness through shared experience. 5 years later, she’s still modeling, still eating, and Artemis is a fully-fledged service.
Today’s guest is Ash Chew. Ashley Chew is a model and Fine Artist in New York City. After studying Fashion Design at Kent State University, she went on to work in production and creative for New York Fashion Week, Midwest Fashion Week and Miami Swim Week, where her curiosity for modeling and diversity started. Ashley and I met speaking on a panel about diversity in fashion for the New York Times Student Journeys program and I knew I needed her on this podcast right away! As the founder of BlackModelsMatter a movement that promotes diversity; and as a working model, she uses her platform to assure that more models of color are seen in print and on the runways. Today we’re going to talk about her viral movement: #blackmodelsmatter, the work she’s currently doing in diversity and also her opinion on more recent stories of the continuing difficulties designers and models of colour are facing.
Olivia Angel has been modeling for 9 years and has been based in NYC, Chicago, and LA. She has a degree in Communications and Public Relations from the University of Cincinnati. Olivia has always felt like she’s had a really good balance between industry life and real life. Olivia continues to model full-time while also substitute teaching. She’s considering going back to get her Masters in Education at Northwestern University next year.
Jason Gorskie is a corporate consultant, functional coach, personality profiler, and NLP practitioner. Jason graduated from the University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Science, Technology, and Society. After graduation, he moved to Europe to compete internationally on multiple professional soccer teams. During his five years overseas, Jason began to study neuro-linguistic programming and Jungian personality profiling, and is now certified in multiple practices. He has advised executives and professional athletes on how to improve their working relationships and enhance the overall quality of their lives. Over the same period, he’s provided professional training on improving relationships, conflict management, communication skills, as well as other related topics. Jason is currently working with Sanne Vloet on creating a social-emotional learning workshop for children in the community. Jason has modeled for clients such as Express, Nautica, and Northface.
Jacqueline Gould is a mentality coach, self-worth enthusiast and founder of YOUR INNER BABE, where she works one-on-one with clients of all ages to help shift their mindset from that of self-doubt to self-love through self-discovery. Growing up, Jacq struggled deeply with her own confidence. She started YOUR INNER BABE to help others learn to own their inner struggles and turn the whole damn thing around. YOUR INNER BABE bridges the gap between feeling alone and feeling supported. Together, she and her clients unwrap what gets in the way of prioritizing their own happiness, and kick the inner drama to the curb, paving the way to unrestrained acceptance.
Taylor is a Plus-Size Model, Designer and Entrepreneur. She has modeled for major brands and publications from Kohl’s to Bustle. Taylor is the founder of White Flower Designs (WFD) - a high-end accessories brand that raises awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s Disease in honor of her grandmother. She is currently finishing her final semester at University of Cincinnati in the fashion design program. She is also in the beginning stages of launching a size-inclusive, destination inspired swim line called, Nomads Swimwear, while simultaneously giving body positivity talks to high school students, actively working to grow and expand WFD and preparing to spend several months on stay modeling in Australia. @whiteflowerdesigns @nomadsswimwear
Today our guest is Christine Vi! Christine graduated with a degree in bioengineering with an emphasis on mechanics and robotics. She held board positions on the Society of Women Engineers and Engineering Design Team alongside the engineering makerspace to give tours and host events to raise awareness about STEM careers for young girls. Christine’s modeling work has ranged from a print shoot for Real Techniques to walking for Zac Posen. She won Miss Chicago Chinatown 2018 and is currently working on Model’s Menu, an account she created to challenge the stereotype of the model diet.
Ana Tanaka has not one, not two, not even three but FOUR companies under her belt and of course..is ALSO a model. Ana was born in Bolton, North England and started modeling at the age of 15. She’s now based between London and LA, travelling frequently to other destinations like NYC. Her first company: @wearejaperia was a staffing agency with talent from models and dancers to DJ’s and production. Her second company: @wekoko is a wildly popular online marketplace known for featuring adventurous and creative pieces for the risk taking, festival-going fashionistas. Her third and newest company: @femmecre8tive which she co-founded with her best friend Nancy Gomez is a full service production house offering an array of services from photo and video production and more - and they’ve worked with big names like IMG, Puma, NYFW and Yeezy to name a few. Her last company @eightbytanaka isn’t yet launched, so listen up to hear all about that!
Brittnee is a Canadian and International model having worked with brands from Hanes to Old Navy. She's a role model and a strong believer in practicing self-love. You may also know of Brittnee aka “Queen B” who was a fierce competitor on the Canadian Reality Television Show “Big Brother Canada”. She ultimately made it to the top four and set some serious records for secret power wins and HOH reigns. Brittnee is the proud dog mom of a mini-dachshund named Stephen, and a lover of all things Foodie. She has a food blog with her partner called “Oh Kale Try It” where they share their quirky takes on food around the world. Be sure to check it out on Tumblr and Instagram @ohkaletryit. You can find her traveling the world, working towards her dream of Hosting Breakfast Television and working on inspiring self-love every day.
Heide started modeling at age 13 in FL and eventually acting school brought her to NYC where she’s been ever since. Throughout her career, Heide always looked for ways to use modeling to do good things for the world and in 2011, she co-founded Models 4 Water with Georgie Badiel.In 2014 Heide went to Haiti with her friend Hana Mayeda to help teach English with the incredible non-profit English in Mind. While on that trip, she met non-profit, REBUILD Globally (which incubated the ethical fashion company deux mains, who she designs, models and produces for). Since then Heide has developed a passion for ethical and sustainable shopping and and she now sitson REBUILD's BOD and in 2016 led their team in hosting an artisan marketplace and wellness event at Madison Square Garden. Currently Heide is operating a blog Space For Anything, that also serves as a space for models to book appointments with me if/when they feel like they need a little extra support, whether it's help with communication, help solving a problem, or just someone to talk/cry to. It's something she really believes is lacking in the modeling industry, and her studies in psychology at Columbia inspired to bring such a support system where she felt it was really needed. Lastly, she recently began working as the showroom manager for ADAY, an amazing sustainable clothing startup whose mission she fully supports.
Amelia has been modeling for 17 years and has worked for clients such as Google, TJ Maxx, & Kohl’s. Outside of modeling, Amelia is a ghostwriter, entrepreneur, & mom to Delilah. She has ghostwritten 7 books, including 4 best seller and she has served as a content strategist or editor for many other successful books. Amelia is the owner of Pithy Wordsmithery a marketing content agency that helps people find the right words for their books and businesses.
Amber has been a model for 16 years and despite being a model all that time, she was never able to find a bra in her size that was also in her style. She decided to take matters into her own hands, and retake control of her body. She researched and developed a lingerie brand called Liberté, designed to be stylish luxury lingerie for women with larger cup sizes (30C - 38G). Her kickstarter campaign raised over $30,000 and her 6 piece collection is set to launch later this month!
Kristina Cheraneva was born in South East Siberia in Russia. She's been quite the nomad for the last 5 years having lived in living in Bali, Thailand and the United States. Kristina started modeling in Bali in 2013 but before that, she had explored and found a passion for many different types of art; painting, jewelry, design, but mostly dance and performance art. One of her proudest accomplishments is co-founding a dance theatre in Moscow. With her performances there, she was able to create a deep sense of connection not only within herself, but with her audience through the complete spectrum of emotion. These experiences helped her to discover the healing power of dance. Since then she has been developing “Authentic Embodiment” a conscious dance practice that helps people connect deeply with their bodies through expression of movement. Using her experience and knowledge in the arts and modelling she founded “Mindful Models”, a social movement on a mission to bring mindfulness into the fashion/entertainment industries through a holistic approach to well-being.
My guest today is Courtney Phillips. Courtney has been a modeling for 7 years and is represented by Ford Models. Courtney is an entrepreneur, a creative and is the co-founder of ROYAL media, which is a transmedia company that amplifies the unheard voices of Black life as a means to inspire, inform, and deepen empathy of the black community - A movement she catalyzed because she recognized the immense need for diverse cultural representation at broader scales. As a creative, Courtney desires to curate unique, original spaces that give breath to more inclusive manifestations of authentic being.
Dani is a full-time model in NYC, but hails from Canada just like me! Other than modelling, Dani is also a health coach and a basketball enthusiast. She’s organized many workout and basketball related events in NYC but is currently focused on her “Lady Ballerzz” which is a basketball style workout for women! She also recently started a youtube channel with a friend that’s dedicated to all things basketball! I don’t want to talk too much about it though, I’d rather you hear it from her! Click play to listen to her episode!
Larissa Drekonja is the founder of Neon Coat. An amazing app offering free deals and cool offers to models all over NYC. Being a model herself, she understands the power of a following and the need for models to have a supportive community. Through Neon Coat, she addresses both of these things. We hope you enjoy this episode!
Anne Therese is a model activist from Sweden. She has a college degree in Business and International Marketing and she was midway through her masters in Branding & Integrated Communications at City College of New York when she decided to pause her studies and fully focus on her own business and her mission as a role model. Her passion is speaking for those who can’t speak for themselves: the animals, nature and our oceans. She wants to be a model that uses her voice to help promote brands she believes in and and speak up for ways of living that she thinks is beneficial for people and for the planet as a whole. She has always been a passionate environmentalist and is so happy that she is now dedicating her full time to help promote this cause. Anne also has a podcast called - Hey Change, Finding Happiness in New Realities with Anne Therese - and she is the co-founder of the Ethical Talent & Modeling Agency called Role Models Mgmt. Anne currently lives in San Francisco with her boyfriend.
Sophie is a model with Milk Models in London, and is a huge advocate for all things mental, spiritual, and emotional health as well as self-empowerment and self-development. She has worked with a wide array of clients over the years - both high fashion and commercial. She is a qualified personal trainer and nutrition coach, working for the holistic wellness brand Bodyism and advocating for a mix of science and spirituality both inside and outside of the gym to live the healthiest, best life possible. She suffered severe depression whilst she was a teenager, incidentally the same time starting modelling, and sought out a means of escape and strength at a time when she was at her lowest. It was through movement, nutrition, as well as mindfulness and seeking a spiritually-empowering path and self-development that she became healthy again, and motivated to spread good energy to those who felt vulnerable and lost in life. She has two brands: the first, A Model Example, aimed to promote physical and mental health within the industry and for non-models alike, and The Cosmic Movement, her newest venture which focuses more on the spiritual and scientific side of fitness and self-development.
Bali is a Canadian model hailing from Brampton, Ontario. Bali recently grazed the cover of Glow Magazine as the first Punjabi cover model, which is amazing for visibility and also just straight up impressive. From one brown girl to another, we know how important visibility is for our community and I’m so happy to see another brown girl getting exposure in our industry. She worked on a really cool oral history project with her cousin and a friend where they documented stories of amazing indian women and mothers who immigrated to Canada. Coming from a punjabi Sikh family, Bali was raised with the principles of compassion, selfless service and social justice. She became involved with Khalsa Aid which is a faith based NGO based on those very principles.
Today on the show we have Natalie Torres. Natalie is originally from Houston, Texas and has been modeling for around 8 years. She is a certified personal trainer, holistic lifestyle coach, advanced Reiki practitioner, spirit guide and meditation coach, as well as a blogger. She has worked for clients such as Platex, DKNY, Tommy Hilfiger and Self Magazine. www.wellnessbynat.com
Our guest today is Sinead Bovell. Sinead is quite possibly the most well rounded person I’ve ever heard of. With a major in finance and a minor in chemistry PLUS a master’s in business and working as a management consultant, she decided to completely change her life around when she was scouted as a model at age 25. But her first magazine cover was actually at her university! She was featured for having a top GPA and getting the most competitive job at MBA school. Now, she’s based in NYC as a model but is also a partner in a tech start up and a political affairs intern for a non-profit.
Our guest today is my friend Renee Peters. Renee is a model and sustainable fashion blogger from Nashville.In the middle of earning her bachelor’s degree in Animal Biology she was offered a modelling contract and decided to explore it. While traveling for modelling she learned a lot about the world, and herself. She adopted a plant-based diet which she’s found to not only impact her health in a positive way, but also to impact the environment. She returned to American to finish school and, she found that not only had she changed her diet but also her way of life. She then moved in NYC to pursue modelling full time and launched her blog Model 4 Green Living. With it, she wants to lead by example and demonstrate how living sustainably is not only good for our bodies and minds, but how it’s good for the the environment as well.
Britt Bergmeister is a Canadian model living in NYC. Between the ages of 12-18 she had the unique opportunity of living in Tokyo and when she was 18 she moved to NYC to pursue modelling full time. While here, she trained really hard with a personal trainer but she didn’t really value their methods. To her, they didn’t seem attainable for a long career, which she wanted. She figured it would be more about her health and what she was putting into her body so, she studied nutrition and loved it. She wanted to teach other models about it as well but found that that would probably include going back to school and getting another degree. Then, her mum came up with the idea to start a company cased of the “Off Duty Model” look. Around this time, we both attended a cool event for models hosted by Cameron Russell, about the platform models have and using that platform to create meaningful change the world. She formed her company ODM/ODC shortly after that and took a course in starting your own sustainable fashion brand, Factory 45. ODM/ODC continues to grow as she learns more about sustainability and ethical fashion.
Bernadett Vajda is a model, political activist, motivational speaker and personal stylist. She lives in NYC and has her own booming personal styling company. She has modeled for brands such as Lane Bryant, Old Navy, Swimsuits for All, and has been featured in Glamour and O Magazine, she is a certified image consultant for people from all different backgrounds - Authors, doctors, mothers, models, and students, to name a few. Bernadett attended Suffolk University in Boston, graduating with a Political Science degree and after moving to New York, attended FIT's Image Consulting Program. Our favourite part of her bio on her website: "Bernadett is a woman with many guises, using her brains and brawn to inspire women of all ages, at all stages, to be the best version of themselves."
Summer Rayne Oakes. Summer is a model, author, environmental activist and creator. As a model, I found it really cool that Summer was the first “eco-model” which means that she practices values-based modelling, working with ethical and sustainable companies. She’s worked on so many projects it was hard for me to narrow it down, so I’m gonna name a few of ongoing and more recent ones. She wrote a book called Style, Naturally which teaches consumers how to make informed choices when shopping, marrying the fashion world and environmental sustainability in one best-selling book. She started SUGARDETOXME (sugardetox.me) which is an online resource and a cookbook to help people get healthy by kicking our overconsumption of sugar. She’s also helped to launch a couple cool companies and apps like GoodEggs and Farmstand - both about helping people eat better. She also co-founded the company LeSouk, an online marketplace connecting designers to sustainable material suppliers. Most recently, she’s launch her YouTube and blog Homestead Brooklyn where she helps people become more aware of nature in the city in the simplest of ways. You can learn more about her on her website: summerrayne.net or homesteadbrooklyn.com. Her work has been featured everywhere from The New York Times to CNN and now we’re so glad to have her on More Than Model Radio!
My guest today is my friend Leyna Bloom. Leyna is a beautiful trans model from Chicago who is living life as a full-time model in New York. Leyna does incredibly important activism work as a black model, as a trans model and as a model in general. She’s walked in NYFW with Chromat for 4 seasons, and closed 2 shows and 2 years ago she graced Candy Magazine's cover with 13 other trans models fearlessly bringing awareness to the trans community. I’m so excited to get into this episode so let’s just get started! Leyna thank you so much for being here with me!
Today on the show we have Madison Schill. She is a former international fashion model, co-founder of Mind Over Model, former fashion writer for Elle Canada, and is now a final year student at the University of Toronto finishing her degree in Metaphysics, French and Astronomy. She is also the associate producer of the film Straight/Curve, a contributor for Obsessee and founder of her latest project, Su-La-Po. Her first international fashion week landed her in forty-three shows, one being Oscar de la Renta. Madison has been in Italian & French Vogue, Marie Claire, Nylon, and a L'Oreal campaign and has written articles for The Huffington Post, i-D, Glamour, Vogue Spain, and of course Elle Canada.
Mouna Traoré is an emerging actor, writer and award-winning filmmaker born and raised in downtown Toronto. While pursuing her bachelor’s degree at The University of Toronto, she simultaneously embarked on a career in film and television. Over the years, she has appeared in a variety of roles including MGM’s Carrie remake, Ransom , Rookie Blue, Beauty and the Beast, and The Book of Negroes . You can watch Mouna on Mondays at 8pm on CBC’s acclaimed series Murdoch Mysteries, as the newest cast member, Rebecca James. Mouna not only has the ability to step into diverse roles but she also writes and produces her own work through her company The Mini Films along with co -founder Elizabeth Melanson. Their second short film, Adorn (2016) won the award for Best Short Film at the Montreal International Black Film Festival and is continuing to screen at festivals in Canada and the U.S.
oday on the show we have my good friend Sinead Blaney. Sinead has been a full-time curve model for 3 years after previously being an agency booker. Sinead has worked for many brands including Simply Be, Evans, Target, & recently landed the cover of Look Magazine in an issue celebrating curvier figures. She is half Jamaican and half Irish and had struggled a lot with her hair and body shape growing up in a predominately white area. She's an ambassador for Mixed Chicks and spends a lot of time talking to younger girls about embracing their natural hair and beauty.
Today on the show we have Melissa Koole. Melissa is a Dutch model discovered at just 14 years old. After 3 years of struggling with weight she decided to pursue business school at Rotterdam University. 4 years later, she decided to give plus size modeling a shot and now lives in New York City as a full-time model. Melissa was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome when she was 19 years old. She went to the doctor on her own because she felt that she was experiencing developmental problems and wasn’t functioning like her peers. Although she was always afraid to speak about her syndrome in the past, she now wants to use it as a way to spread awareness about Asperger’s and help others who have it as well.
My guest today is Cleo Abram. Cleo is a model with New York Models and talent agency CESD and has modelled for many brands from American Eagle to Estee Lauder. She’s also the lead brand strategist at Vox.com (with a V, not an F!), which means she works on how Vox makes money as a political news organization. She’s also the founder of her own political news site The Short Version (http://shortversionbycleo.com/), which breaks down each week’s most controversial subject of debate and explains: what's happening, how it affects you, and the best arguments on each side. I’m so excited to have another politics nerd on the show!
Today on the show we have Brielle Anyea. Brielle is a plus-size model based in the U.S. and has worked for clients such as Panache, Evans, Asos, River Island, and more. She is an advocate for diversity in fashion and is currently launching her own online plus-size shop called Plums and Cherries that cater to curvy women specifically.
Today’s guest is Jessica Perez. Jessica is not only an accomplished model she is also the founder of an amazing personal finance app called Tycoon. Tycoon helps models and other freelancers keep track of their jobs and when they can expect payment. I know for me, I love the app because it’s where I can keep a running list of all of my jobs from all of my agencies around the world in ONE PLACE and I know exactly when the payments are overdue so, for me it’s been pretty paramount in helping me stay organized.
Today we have Jada Sezer on the show! Jada is a curve model signed with Models1 in the U.K. She has a degree in Counseling and Psychology as well as her Masters in Child Psychotherapy. Jada is an Ambassador for Young Minds Charity and one of the latest faces of the newest L’Oreal campaign centered around self esteem and feeling beautiful in your own skin. Jada has worked with Asos, Teen Vogue, and recently released a premium women’s wear capsule collection last fall.
Today’s guest is my girl Iskra Lawrence. Iskra and I worked together on Aerie and the All Woman project and became good friends in the process. With over 2 million followers on instagram, she’s built an incredible community on body positivity and the encouragement of self-love. She has a whole list of accomplishments - to name a few: she is the global Role Model for Aerie and the brand ambassador for NEDA(National Eating Disorders Association). She has a Ted Talk coming soon, which I’m so excited about. Click play to listen!
Today’s guest is my good friend Renee Mittelstaedt . Renee is a fellow Aerie girl and accomplished model but she’s also a fellow nerd and university grad, she just graduated and won the Mathias Bielski Award at her convocation. For Renee’s episode, there were so many topics we could talk about, but I think the main one we have in common is balancing university with modelling. I know for me, it wasn’t easy at all and Renee approached it a different way than I did, so we’re going to talk about that.
Today’s guest is my good friend Clementine Desseaux. Clem and I are both signed to Muse Models here in NYC. She is the co-founder of the amazing All Woman Project which I was so lucky to be a part of. She also has a wonderful fashion, cooking, lifestyle and beauty blog called Bonjour Clem (bonjourclem.com) which you should go check out for some style inspo and a yummy recipe or two! By far though, I was so impressed (and inspired) when I learned that Clem has her own creative agency called Les Mijotes. I love it when I see young women being so badass, I mean running your own creative agency in your twenties? That’s pretty awesome.
Today’s guest is my beautiful friend Charli Howard. Charli and I are both with Muse Models and she has the interesting experience of being signed to the straight size board and the plus size board of our agency. Just last year Charli wrote an open letter to her former modeling agency, calling them out for body-shaming her, which inevitably went viral. She recently spoke on a panel at Refinery 29’s 67% symposium and is the co-founder of the amazing All Woman project that I got to be a part of.
We're so excited this week to have Danika Brysha on #mtmradio. Danika is an amazing model having worked with brands from Benefit Cosmetics to Old Navy. She's a role model, wellness personality and self-care coach. Danika is the founder and CEO of Model Meals - a healthy meal delivery service that she was inspired to start after her own challenges with food. You can find her on the Food Network's Chopped, speaking at women's empowerment events and working on bettering herself every day. Be sure to visit ModelMeals.com and follow them on instagram at @modelmealskitchen. Don't forget to follow Danika on instagram and twitter @danikabrysha!
Today we sit down with Ebonee Davis. Ebonee is of course a successful model, having worked for everyone from Sports Illustrated, Urban Outfitters, Victoria’s Secret, Mac Cosmetics and Calvin Klein. I love that she embraces her sexuality and shows women that they can do the same. She also fights against the notion that women should compare themselves to one another and be in competition with each other. I always appreciate her constant support to me in an industry where a lot of girls hate on each other instead of showing love. But what’s my favourite thing about her? She uses her platform and her following to raise awareness around issues like social justice. And I especially love that she’s one of the few people that understand how fashion has a place in social justice and in politics. Listen now to hear all of that and a lot more!
Welcome to More Than Model Radio! On each episode we interview a different model and we talk about anything and everything OTHER than modeling. We're not saying we don't love our jobs... we do! We're just saying that a lot of the time models don't fit the stereotype that society has created for us. So, on this podcast our aim is to explore the minds of models who have a little more going on. Whether they love baking, social activism or being a mom - this podcast will demonstrate how multi-layered our lives are and the ways in which our job doesn't define us as human beings.