The Many Worlds of Zack Bia

November 12, 2021

The question of “who is Zack Bia?” is now one of the past. The contents of his character and his reverential work allow this narrative to change and alter the seemingly questionable perceptions of him. If the answer still seems unfamiliar, on some nights he's a DJ, on most days he's managing his own label, Field Trip Records, and on some he's consumed with watching ‘Pretty Woman.’ Who he’s with, what he wears, and where he’s seen is just added fluff when his true intentions reveal that those extra factors are the least of his worries. It all leads back to his true passion — music.

Zack's reclusiveness juxtaposes with his sudden ubiquity as it interconnects through several dimensions of the Internet — crypto, fashion, and curation. But, the mogul wasn’t always a seemingly known and established DJ. Bia was raised by a single mother in Brooklyn, where he attended a French primary school, and got his first hustle off of curating iPods for an unknown fee — but it’s assumed that it still qualifies as an emblem for his business-savy beginnings. Through his authenticity, passion, and willingness to take a chance, he's landed in his position, connecting up and coming artists and signing them to his very own record label.

Interview and produced by Tiana Randall
Photos by Cassie Jekanoski
Styling by Ashly Tsao
Styling assisting by Marie Clair Calmels

Field Trip Records was founded in 2018 as an independent record label born in Los Angeles that forms a global outlook and outreach. What’s different about Bia’s label is that it remains uniquely independent while collaborating with other major labels, all the while keeping an “artist first mentality.” With Ssg Kobe, HVN, and Mallory Merk under his belt, it’s imaginable that Field Trip will turn into something beyond its imagination.

Even though it no longer remains a question, office caught up with Bia to find out who he really is.

So, there was a change from being just a regular college student, to being the mogul you are now. How did that change your mentality, the way you think, and the way you live your everyday life? Because it did seem like it happened all so fast.

I'll probably say this, I have a ton of friends that are young and really successful, right? And it seemingly happened to them one, sort of overnight, and two, at a very young age. Whereas to me, I think things are really gradually happening. So since it wasn't like some overnight thing, I was just sort of growing up with things that were happening. So just the mentality of it — I think it's not like an overnight change. And I think, I think the key is just — if you asked my best friends, I've always been the same person. It's just, you just start to work on different things and start to manage your time differently, but it's, it's, you have to just stay consistent throughout.

And what were those things you started putting more intention in and more time in?

I always wanted to work in music. I was wanted to DJ. When I was like 8, 9, 10 years old, this is when started becoming really popular, everyone would give me their iPods and pay me to curate their iPods for them. So my first hustle was like playlists maker. That's how I bought my first video games and stuff like that. And, so I always wanted to DJ, but it's sort of funny because it's like where do you start? I mean, I've been DJ-ing for years now, I've DJ'd all over, I've DJ'd festivals and all kinds of stuff. I do it because I love it, but I was wanting to work in music overall. So I was trying to figure out if I was going to do management, or start a record label, and build these things. And a couple of years ago, it came to a point where I've been working with young artists and established artists in a bunch of different capacities. And I had a couple of friends that were doing the same and one of our mentors, big brothers, came to us and was like, "it's time, you're going to start your record label." And, I haven't looked back since, I mean, that's everything else that I do, even if it's DJ-ing or throwing an event, it all feeds back into what I actually work on every single day, which is the record label. So we've signed some amazing artists and that's changing every day. You know, during COVID, now that shows her back, the strategy of how you roll out music, how you promote music, how you make music changes. So every day we're signing different things and working on different rollouts. We have a ton of music coming out.

So you were a really big music nerd growing up. I know you like J Dilla. What is your favorite J Dilla song?

There are just so many. He was so ahead of his time, considering the technology back in the day. I don't know I'm looking at all of these Slum Village lists, Pharcyde Tribe called quest beats. I don't know if I can pick one beat, but I think he's definitely one of my favorite producers. I'd say Pharrell, obviously — one of my favorite producers. I think when you settle in the nostalgia, you see how other records age, but like, I guess, you know, all that early Neptune stuff was so — people don't realize how much it changed pop music in general. Like Justin Timberlake's solo work, and that whole era of like, even like Timberland, like that whole era of pop music was insane.

Jacket by Prada, Shoes by Prada, Pants by Off-White, Jacket by Peels.

What are you looking for in an artist that you love to hear in other music since we're speaking of nostalgia?

So, we work with this artist Yeat, and so the parallels we'll make is like when you see an artist — and you know, comparison is a tough thing, but especially when you're comparing artists and they're so unique. But take an artist that Young Thug for example, who's such a strong individual has own lingo, his own way of dressing, his own sort of like universe built around him. And I think anytime you see an artist that has their whole own movement that people are following. Like Yeat has his own lingo, his own way of dressing, his own sound. And he's like this new sort of combination of a lot of things from the past. He's like 1/8th Carti, 1/8th Yung Lean, he's like all of these things. And whenever an artist has all their own stuff going for them, you can help build that out. Because all we're really doing is — how do you take an artist's vision and make it reach as many people as possible? How do you help and give them the resources?

And what made you want to start that initiative, because it's one thing to be like, "Okay, I'm going to have one artist that I manage" instead of starting a whole record label? Because taking on that responsibility must be a lot.

I felt like we were uniquely positioned where we were finding all this stuff early. I was already the one that was like behind the scenes, introducing the younger artists and the bigger artists, and making those things happen. And then we realized like we were breaking songs through the club, we were breaking songs through showing our friends. We were breaking by being a studio and making these link-ups happen. And so we realized that we should sign our own artists and develop them and whatever. And you know, when I signed this kid, SSG Koby, and we realized as we started to develop him, there was a whole scene of kids that were also making similar music, and they're all growing. And it's kind of like this SoundCloud 2.0, whereas 2016, might've been like SoundCloud 1.0.

There's a whole scene that's carved out. And we started to see that we can give all these kids the resources and all these artists resources, and help them strengthen what they're doing. Through the live component, through helping them market their music, whatever. And I thought that we had a sort of new take on how to market and distribute music. We figured this is like our best way to tackle this, to start our own label, assign artists. And we have all the leverage with major labels anyway because they have the culture, the people, and the hype. And then the major labels have things that we don't have, which is global staff. And like the budgets that we want to unlock, or whatever. So we found the system where we keep our label independent, and we sign the artist, and then we take that individual artist to a major label and partner with the label, but only on that specific artist. And so we have no exclusivity anywhere we can kind of like move however you want. So like that model has been really successful for us.

And you do so much along with that, you work within fashion, DJing, and crypto — is this your favorite thing to do out of everything?

Yeah. It all feeds back into the music. You know, I grew up wanting to be around fashion, lining up for sneakers, and always wanting to be around, and reading magazines or whatever. We kind of like bust down the door and kind of like got into the fashion world. All that is just is — it's pure. We love it. And all that is if anything's cultural cachet to position our artists, everything we do feeds back into the music.

Top by Prada, Jacket by Prada, Pants by Off-White, Shoes by Prada

Would you move into film or scoring films one day? I think scoring movies is the most intricate and incredible thing anyone could ever do.

It's unbelievable. If you ever do something, you want to do it, right. Like scoring movies is an amazing thing. And if I feel like we're in a position where I can really do it justice and we can put together something really special and dedicate the right amount of time to it, then definitely. I want to get into film eventually. I want to keep building up the record label and then, you know, same way any other major, like media conglomerate — then into the film and all that good stuff.

What would you want to do in films specifically? Would it be the music side or would you like want to produce films?

Produce films. But, we're talking 10 years down the line.

I feel like sometimes when people think about you, they have this conception that you grew up as some random rich kid and like got access to fame through nepotism. And especially when we talk about clothes and culture, there is like a vulture mentality to it as streetwear progresses further into the mainstream lens. So what style did you have growing up and how are you implementing that into what you do in fashion now?

That couldn't be further from the truth, I grew up in Brooklyn, like three blocks from where Barclays is. And like before It got gentrified or whatever, you know, whatever happened to that area. I haven't been back in awhile, till recently, I've been going back now. My style came from like — well, one, I started going to a private French school, uptown, my mom's French. She put me in this French school and I was commuting, and you have to wear a uniform. So during the day I was like 'how can I like put this uniform together in a way that's like my own?' I was wearing like dress shirts and ties every day. And for me, it was like, 'what kind of cardigan I'm putting on?

What kind of shoe am I wearing? How am I cutting my pants?' But I used to skate every day. I stopped skating probably when I was like 13, 14, because I had a really bad bike accident. And I started playing sports and I was I was focusing on whatever, but like I grew up going to Tompkins Square every day.

You had skate dreams?

I had skate dreams, for sure. I mean, I was one of the first kids skating at L.E.S. Like I was little kid when it just opened, I was skating every day. I don't think people even know that. And that's how I started liking shoes. And I was wrecking all my shoes. My mom's like, "Why do I keep buying your shoes? And then you just put holes in them. Then you ask me for another pair, like the next month." That's kind of like where it all came from. Like my mom was French. She
was always putting me on to the coolest stuff and you know, hand me downs and vintage stuff.

I was always inspired, like I used to want to dress like 'The Great Gatsby' in the Robert Redford version, the 1974 version. And they were like knit sweaters, polos, and all that. And like that was inspiring and very French. And then obviously, I was skating every day and I was buying like Etnies and skate shoes or whatever. I was just figuring it all out. I never thought that I had to stick to one style. I was kind of just like, you can do all this different stuff.

Who's your favorite skater?

My favorite skater is this kid named Zach, he skates for Illegal Civ. Yeah. I just think he's smooth. It's just steez. You know, I went to high school with Mikey [Alfred] from Illegal Civ. Mikey's the greatest of all time. I love all those kids. And like every time he'll post a clip of Zach skating, I'm like this kid just so smooth. It's like just steezy on a skateboard. Like he hits all the swag points, all the style points for just for like how smooth he looks at the skateboard. But then like he gets like mad pop.

Well, I just like what Illegal Civ is doing so much because it's really highlighting that they're building a business around being friends. Like you can tell that these guys all love each other. You can tell that they're all like the best of friends, you can tell they go on these trips and they're just like joking around. They've got each other's backs and like through the skate videos alone, you can like see that camaraderie.

So speaking of business, I feel like people are familiar with you due to who you're seen with. I hate this word and act, because it seems so transactional, but it's "networking." What is your approach to it? Because I assume you don't do it in a sleezy way.

I never asked for any favors. I never asked for any favors. I think the only reason I have all these connections is cause I don't try to make all the connections. There's people that I met, that we became the best of friends five years after we met the first time because I'm never like trying to force a lunch or whatever. To me, I'm just like, let me just focus on what I can focus on, which is like building my company and building my things . And then, you know, do cool shit on the way and linking people up with other people. I always actually like to introduce people to each other and let them do amazing stuff. But sometimes it comes back around, sometimes it doesn't. The best ways that always supposed to be genuine. Kids are smart, right? Even talking about as consumers, kids can tell when you're posting stuff for your friends and kids can tell them when you're posting stuff that's paid for. So I tell people, if you're gonna post the music, do it because you actually like it. People will catch attention anyways.

Like, Field Trip— our record label, we just curated the music side of ComplexCon. So we curated the whole stage, and what do I do? I booked the whole stage full of my friends. Like, Lil Yachty who's a dear friend and never DJ'd before, but he's always telling me "I want to be DJ" So I was like, "yo, why don't you DJ for the first time? Like start selecting music. Like let's not even call it DJ-ing And it could be your first set of selecting music live." So his first set ever is on
our stage at complex. That's the whole thing, like how do you tie together friends? Like he sent me an open verse three months ago. He's like, "what do you think of these songs?" I was like, this is fire and sent it someone else. I sent it to this kid, Kobe who we signed. Kobe put a verse on it.

And we've been sitting on it for three months. We just kind of have it in the vault. The other day, we all happen to be in New York. He was staying at the Mercer, so I just went to go have lunch with him. We're hanging out. My artist Kobe landed at Newark because he had to come into town for a rolling loud. So he's landing and I'm like "Yo Yachty, why don't we shoot the video to that song right now?" And he's like "okay, bet." I hit Hey Kobe's manager, I was like "Yo, when he lands, bring him straight to the Mercer." So he comes to the Mercer, you know, 17 year old kids, fresh off a plane.

I'm like, "Yo, just go change in the bathrooms," he's opening his suitcase, changing in the lobby of the Mercer, puts on a fresh fit. I hit my two friends, one that has a VHS camera and one that has like a little handheld. And I'm like, "yo, both of you guys pull up to Mercer, one of you bring a beats pill." They all pulled up at the same time, I'm like just start filming and we'll just walk around the neighborhood. And we just started playing the song off of like a beats pills. The reason the video is cool is because it's just real and raw.

You were talking about people always wondering what you do. Has there ever been a moment where someone has been so bold and then come up to you and has said, "So what, what do you do? And what do you say?

It happens. I say " I own a record label, I DJ, a couple of other things, but they all lead back into music."

What do you like to do on your day off? Do you ever have a day off?

My personal life and work life is one of the same.

But what do you like to do in your free time? What are you and your friends doing?

I watched pretty woman with my friend the other day. Look, I've been out more than I haven't. So I don't know anything else. When people won't understand and are like "why are you always out and stuff?" And I'm like, you guys realize that throughout the history of like art, music, and business— being out has always been the most common ground. Because where else than like a bar, party, or a restaurant, can there be a skater, a businessman, an actor, college kid, and everyone's in the same room that are all brought together by either food or music. And so to me, it's a beautiful sort of place that if I'm not doing anything, why would I just be out with a couple of friends?

What are you, what is your biggest theory? Or words to live?

Be a good person.

What does that mean to you because that's pretty subjective.

So going back to like what we were talking about earlier, like how do you do things in the right way, like maybe network or whatever. It's like to me, where my life is so interdependent on developing places, dealing with art, artists are human beings and very emotional. It's a very personal thing to put your art into the world for anyone to consume. So it's like always make sure you put artists in the right positions. Like, I don't do a deal if it's only a financial thing, I have to be like an actual emotional alignment. That's kind of how I treat everything. So being a good person sounds like stupid and trivial, but it's that's the golden rule. Don't be an to asshole to anyone.

Being a good person is like don't try to make a little side deal. Don't fuck anyone over. It's like realizing that everyone has their own shit going on in their life. You know, every individual lives a life as individual as your own.

They have their own complexities, their own world. And you have to kind of respect that and keep that in mind when you're talking to anyone — it forms empathy. Speaking of, hypothetically, if this was Zack Bia's world, you were in charge — what does this world look like, what're the rules, what is going on there?

It's hard to imagine a world that's so different than what's happening now in terms of like, what do you change? What's the first thing you change? What's right to change? I think we're experiencing it now. Everything's changing. And I'm not going to go on some full crypto, you know, dark web conspiracy talk. But I think the everything has to change or education has to change. I think the financial institutions are going to change. And the way my world would look like it's just a world in which —I was raised by a single mom. Everyone has their own complexities. And I seen the things she struggled with and things my brothers had to balance with dealing with school and trying to build a company. And the balance of family and work and different priorities. So I think just based on my own experiences, it's just a world that would sort of change the things that personally affected me. It's a different education system. It's a world that prioritizes different things.

I wish I could, I could answer it that simply. And maybe the sky would be orange. Maybe I'm attacking it too deep. Maybe I have to just be like, yo, there'd be Yeat playing in the streets. And the sky is neon green.

No, but it is like uncovering the whole education system, systemic racism, like everything that we've, that we know that we don't even think is like a problem that would have to change as well.

Whether we're conscious of it or not. We are products of all these different things. And every block you grew up on profoundly shapes you as a person. I went to a nets game, and I only say to preface it with this, not sound cool, but it's all the players are my friends. I'm there with some cool people, whatever. But I grew up three blocks away, not knowing a single person, just a kid from Brooklyn whose mom just moved up from Paris. You know, like just sort of learning all this stuff on the fly. And my only two friends at the time were these two kids who lived on my block in Brooklyn. I moved out of Brooklyn when I was eight, almost nine. And that's the place I've lived in the longest, my whole life. I've moved 13 times since then. I've traveled a lot of, I met a lot of amazing people. I've been able to accomplish a couple of things. So long story short, my road leads me back to Brooklyn and I'm at this nets game. It's like an afternoon game. And I'm like, you know what? I haven't been back to my child at home since I left, you know, over 15 years ago.

So I'm walking down, Brooklyn, I'm walking around the arena. I'm like 'That Modell's is where I bought my first pair of Jordans. This little crack in this street was where I fell on the skateboard, this little P.S. is where I caught my first football.' Like all these funny things. All this nostalgia is coming back. So I go to my old house and it looks different now, you know, it's been cleaned up, but the block, the curves are still the same because it's been historically zoned, or whatever. So I'm looking at my old house. I'm thinking about how much has changed. And I moved up to Manhattan, I moved to LA, I've done just all this crazy. It's kind of overwhelming. I call my mom, like, where do my friend Gabriel live? So I walked down the block. I'm thinking about like my birthday parties on the block, and all these other things I have completely not thought of. I'm ringing the door bell, no one answers, I ring again and my mom's friend opens the door. She sees me and immediately starts crying. 15 years, recognizes me off the rip. She runs through to her bedroom, pulls a picture of me and her son at his third birthday. It's on her nightstand to this day.

So, to put it into perspective, that's just how life goes. It can take you in all of these crazy directions. And to be at this game 15 years and to be at a Nets game to see all my friends play, and I grew up two blocks away. So from Brooklyn, to around the world, to come back there. That's just like the story of my life.

Culture

The Cost of Queendom

December 17, 2024

One summer afternoon in New York, a few days after their New York premiere of the acclaimed documentary Queendom, office met up with documentary filmmaker Agniia Galdanova and producer Igor Myakotin at a tattoo parlor on the west side of Manhattan. While Agniia received a tattoo of the portmanteau “DOCU CUNT” across her fists, she — unfazed by the needle on her knuckles — answered our questions alongside Igor about the making of the stirring story that has traveled around the world.

One of the opening scenes of Queendom depicts a ritual many of us are all too familiar with in the 21st century. Jenna Marvin, the documentary film’s central subject, takes her friend along with her to take photos for Instagram. When she finds a suitable backdrop, she poses, poses, poses, and then reviews the photos. Dissatisfied, she gives her notes, and then returns to pose, pose, pose again.

By Brook Aster
Photos by Liv Solomon

The ritual may be familiar, but nothing else about the scene — from its setting to its stakes — is ordinary. The backdrop behind Jenna is a sweeping expanse of ice and snow in a small Russian port town called Magadan. Jenna is dressed in drag, but not drag of the Rupaul’s Drag Race variety; her drag has been referred to as “creature drag.” Her signature white face paint, platform heels and surrealist costumes, with their exaggerated sculptural proportions and use of duct tape and repurposed items, catches the ire of her neighbors and the love of online admirers alike. Jenna eventually accrued a following on social media for her public and technically illegal drag performances, which often involved little more than her walking or being in public spaces but nevertheless were often met with abuse and threats of imprisonment.

But when Agniia first encountered Jenna, she hadn’t yet reached the level of virality that would eventually come in the years to follow. The filmmaker was researching different drag performers in Russia for her sophomore project, which she thought would be a docuseries, when she heard from a friend about a young drag queen from Magadan. “I was like, this is impossible. I have to meet this person,” Agniia remembers. “And I could not actually go meet her because I was in Moscow and she was in Saint Petersburg, so I sent a friend of mine with whom I’d been studying with in film school, and she went and filmed the sample.” The simple video, showing Jenna and her friend getting dressed up for a party, struck something in Agniia. The drag was an earlier, more prototypical version of the style Jenna is now known for; less duct tape and ornamentation, but still that signature striking makeup. “Something sparked. I knew I just had to stick to this feeling,” Agniia says. She decided to turn the docuseries into a documentary solely focused on Jenna.

Around that time, the entire world came to a grinding halt: the onset of COVID-19 pandemic had just led to lockdowns around the globe. With only a couple thousand followers on social media at that point in time, Jenna had tried to branch out and connect with other drag artists in Moscow and Saint Petersburg, but faced rejection; her drag was extremely unconventional, and not even other drag artists quite understood it. “I think we found each other at the right moment, because nobody knew what to do, how to cope with all this,” Agniia says. “Jenna was saying that she was lost, and she also didn't know how to develop her art next.”

Unlike some of the other artists Agniia had initially researched, Jenna didn’t need much convincing to allow the camera into her life. “[Especially] after COVID came, there wasn't really [any] drag in my life,” Jenna recounts when I speak to her later over Zoom. “I realized that what drag is for me is not just a costume, a dress, something that you leave, that you take off and then in the dead of the night you put back on. Later, I understood that this is who I am, that I am art and I am drag, and that this is way bigger and more important than just clothing or costume.”

[LEFT TO RIGHT: Agniia Galdanova, Jenna Marvin, Igor Myakotin]

When it came time to move into production stages, Agniia sent a clip to Igor, who had been referred to her by a past colleague. When Igor saw the footage, he was similarly struck by Jenna — and even more struck to find out she shared his small hometown of Magadan. “It was just so fateful to know that I also come from this town, and I've never seen it through this cinematic lens, through the vision that Agniia has,” he says. “I was mesmerized by the footage, mesmerized by Jenna. I thought to myself, I have to do everything I can [for us] to work together, whatever the collaboration is gonna be.”

The two followed Jenna for over three years; Agniia first relocated to St. Petersburg, where Jenna had taken up residence after leaving her grandparents’ home in Magadan, and later Jenna moved in with Agniia in her home in Moscow. All the while, Igor and his team worked remotely from the United States to meet Agniia’s production needs. Inevitably, with all their time spent together, Agniia and Jenna became close.

“There is an unspoken rule in documentary filmmaking that you have to keep this line, and you can’t overcome certain boundaries,” Agniia explains. “In my first film, it was not an easy subject [to do this with] as well. I was following a family for seven months, and [we became] close, but I always was trying to keep my distance, and was constantly thinking about it. How much should I say? How much should I give?” But as she got to know Jenna, it became clear that this time, that distance wouldn’t be possible. “With Jenna almost from the very beginning, I was like, fuck it. That’s not going to work with this one. I'm going to break this rule 100%. I never regretted it, because that's actually what built up the trust that is there.”

As Jenna's public performances continued and began to garner more public attention, her online audience multiplied. Among her virtual admirers was French fashion maven Michèle Lamy, who would eventually sign onto Queendom as an executive producer. Lamy's discovery of Jenna led to an invitation to walk in the Rick Owens show in Paris — her first time modeling, and her first time leaving Russia in her life. Of course, Agniia and her camera followed. But most of their excursions were not so glamorous; many of Jenna's performances shown in the documentary were undertaken at a real risk to her physical safety, and by extension, to the safety of Agniia. But neither of them were daunted.

I remember who I am. And this is what carries me through this life.

After all, Jenna was used to both taking risks and documenting them well before she was the subject of a film; she and her friends long filmed the often impassioned, sometimes violent reactions of strangers and policemen to their mere existence in public spaces in drag. And after a protest performance in which she wrapped herself in the Russian flag, Jenna was kicked out of beauty school, her last attempt at a practical route before pursuing her drag as a full time venture.

The only time Agniia tried to dissuade her was on Paratrooper’s Day, a Russian military holiday often characterized by the drunk soldiers roaming the streets. The risk for violence was especially high. “On Paratroopers Day, people say you can't come out in skinny jeans or with nail polish,” Jenna describes. “[I think] you should do the opposite. You should really make a statement and come out wearing what you want to wear. I think that clothes, what we wear, is really at some point beyond our psyche, our mind, our understanding. It is as if it's a certain kind of spice that is enticing you and you follow the scent of that spice and you don't see anything else except that scent and you follow it. That's how I see it.”

“I was like, ‘girl, maybe we should not do that,’” Agniia says. “Igor was stressing out and she told us, ‘well, you don't need to follow me. I'm gonna go and do it. I don't care if you're coming or not.’” In the end, Jenna ventured out for her performance anyway, protesting the then-recent invasion of Ukraine. Agniia followed. Not shown in the film is that the two were arrested, and managed to talk the police out of their arrest.

Not too long after, she would have to leave Russia again, this time moving for Paris for good; the film follows her struggles to get a visa in time to leave the country after the onset of the war. “It's already been three years that I've been in France, and it is important for me to understand and remember who I am, and to remember that pain, those moments when we were back in Russia doing drag, fighting with the police and law enforcement,” Jenna says. “It is important that this resistance continues and that those voices are not being silenced. Yes, here there’s much more freedom, there are pride parades and queer people can get married, but this is an illusion because there are also places where you cannot get married and you cannot enjoy the same freedoms. I cling to who I am, who I was from the very beginning. I remember who I am. And this is what carries me through this life.”

“Meeting Jenna gave me hope for the future of the country, because governments come and go, people in power come and go, but the generations change at the same time,” Igor says. “So it warms my heart to see that someone like her came from somewhere like that. If I saw her back then at a similar age, it would be even more personal. I think I would’ve accepted myself as gay quicker, and I wouldn't be nervous or closed and not open to the world or myself… Working with this project also meant that we were amplifying the voices of many, many people who couldn't speak like Jenna could.”

For Agniia, the honor of telling Jenna's story is only paralleled by the honor of having her in her life. “We found each other,” Agniia says. “And what I learned from Jenna is so precious; about life, about art, about surviving. And I appreciate it a lot. This film grew so much larger than just a documentary, because I have a family now, a working family.”

Queendom is now available to stream on Apple TV.

Culture

The Fears and Futures of Snow Strippers' Hardcore (And Hardly-Of-Age) Fanbase

December 09, 2024

It’s 6:00 PM and the queue for Snow Strippers has already amassed and wrapped its way around Kentish Town. An army of Racer Worldwide bomber-clad teens have taken over, all united by what Snow Strippers’ electroclash mayhem has to offer against their shared uncertainty towards the future.

Is it 2024 or 2014? The moodboard is quite literally my 13-year-old Tumblr page, accessorized with Balenciaga-esque black-out sunnies and hair clips galore. Pink hair, red hair, blue hair, black hair with bleach streaks a-la-Y2K. We spot our first Snow Strippers Dad - a balding man in a long evening coat accompanying two girls in bedazzled, fur-lined bombers. Not too sure he knows what he’s in for.

Not sure that we did either.

The doors haven’t even opened and yet it’s very clear that tonight is more than just about the music. It’s a social setting, and rocking up solo is no issue.

Introduction Gabriella Fittes
Interview Liv Solomon
Photography Mathilde Favel

We didn’t expect our questions to be answered by a demographic made up of a majority of 16-21 year olds. But the post-covid generation had a lot to share on the serious topics – and it seems to be all about escape. Dancing to escape a future in a world they are disillusioned by, against the political state and cuts to arts funding - and they haven’t even left school yet. We met a community bizarrely made up of Aries and Pisces zodiac signs, looking for a release in the electronic chaos of the dancefloor - soundtracked by Snow Strippers.

We came to find out what brought them here. Is it really that deep or just a bit of fun? People are coming out, and we want to know how they’re feeling, and where Snow Strippers’ emerging popularity fits into all of this. Are Snow Strippers an anchor to reality or an outlet to escape?

Mazzy, 21, Portland, Oregon

What brought you to London?

Dude I don’t even know - I’m supposed to go on this study abroad program. My options were either Milan or Australia but I don’t fuck with the bugs out there. And I don’t speak Italian so like… it’s London.

What’s your zodiac sign?

My zodiac sign? Crazy ask! Virgo.

What do you do for work?

I was in an internship last semester, train design. I would design trains in Antwerp and the Netherlands

What do you do for fun?

Girl! Girl I don’t know… I scroll on Instagram. I watch YouTube videos. That’s kind of it.

Who’s gonna save the world?

…Me!?

Y2K or 2010s?

2010s

Red Pill or Blue Pill?

Blue pill

Tati or Graham?

Tati.

Thoughts on AI?

Errrr no. Not yet, no.

Do you dance to escape?

Yes

What do you listen to before bed?

3 hour reddit stories (laughing)

Movie of the year?

Anora. It’s amazing

Grace, 16, Cambridge, Aries

Gaby, 17, Cambridge, Sagittarius

Summer, 18

Rosie, 18, Hertfordshire

(l-r)

What brought you here tonight?

Summer beckons to Grace - It was her. Literally her!

Grace - So I said to Summer, please will you come with me to see Snow Strippers

Summer - *beckons to Gaby and Rosie* And these are our plus ones

When did you guys get into Snow Strippers?

Summer - Mine’s only been a few months to be fair, maybe like 6 months

Grace - Probably like 8, 9 months

Kim, 19, Aries, London

Juliana, 17, Cancer, London

(l-r)

What do you do for work?

Juliana - She goes to college, and I just work. I work as an admin in an office.

What do you do for fun?

Juliana - I go to concerts, I like raving.

Would you say you dance to escape or to be a part of something?

Juliana - I don’t know, I just enjoy it. But sometimes I do it to escape work, boring stuff.

What other events do you go to, like raves?

Juliana - I haven’t been to much because I’m still young and I don't really have friends in the rave scene, so I go to venues like E1. But I usually go to metal gigs. I go to more of that.

Sahana, 17, East London, Guidford, Pisces “can you tell?”

Yasmin, 16, London

(l-r)

What brought you here?

Yasmin - Snowstrippers. I love their music.

Tati or Graham?

Yasmin - Tati

Y2K or 2010s?

Yasmin - It depends if we’re talking about the early 2010s or the late 2010s. I’m thinking 2014 like …. Like that’s… the skinny jeans with the boots over (references her outfit)

Do you dance to escape?

Sahana - I guess I’d say that.

What do you listen to before bed?

Sahana - Fake Mink. I actually do. I love Fake Mink.

Y2K or 2010s?

Sahana - 2010s. I like the 2010s.

What part of the 2010s?

Sahana - 2014, 2015.

What brought you here tonight?

Sahana - Fake Mink and Snow Strippers. I love their songs.

What’s your favorite brand?

Sahana - Racer Worldwide.

Yasmin - I don’t really have a favorite brand. I'm not that into shopping.

How do you style yourselves?

Sahana - Brick lane, DEPOP

Yasmin - I like vintage, car boots a lot. Do you know the one in Dalston? I go every weekend! I got this top from there, these jeans, these boots. Literally everything is from there. So cheap as well.

Reuben, 16, London

Tati or Graham?

Can’t lie, Graham. I know that Graham’s behind the production of all the songs and I’m more into the production of the music. And I like Tati’s vocals but I’m more into the beats and shit.

Do you dance to escape or are you dancing for the music itself?

I used to do breakdancing. And I just dance to feel like myself. I feel like moving around and getting the [rhythm] is some way of just expressing yourself and letting yourself be free. I think a lot of people here come to these concerts to enjoy themselves. I’d say there’s a social setting as well. You can see everyone dressing the same and it’s just good… it's like community.

Like a uniform. It’s a separation from the rest of the world.

Sahana - Yes. Some aren’t just coming for the actual artist, they’re coming just to socialize.

Reuben - It’s like [Snow Strippers] know the demographic they attract.

Frida, 18, England

Alex, 17, Greece

Alice, 19, Brazil

(l-r)

Would you travel to space if somebody asked you?

All - Yes.

Are you afraid of AI or do you support it?

Alice - I’m kind of afraid

Alex - I support it because I love Chat GPT

Alice - Yeah, I do all my fucking uni work on Chat GPT

Alex - But my professor doesn’t even care. He loves it [because I do psychology].

Who’s gonna save the world?

Alice - maybe Kamala Harris

Frida - Aliens

Alex - Yes, aliens. I agree with that.

Frida - I think they’d come and just put things right

One last question, would you say you dance to escape or be involved in something?

Alice - I dance for both.

Alex - I just dance for the vibe. You guys are both… your vibe is just UGH.

Colin, 19, Florida

Berkeley, 18, Florida

(l-r)

Does AI scare you?

Colin - OH SHIT

Berkeley - I’d say to a certain extent as far as creativity

The Lolas, 18, Twickenham,

Virgo (left) / Aries (right)

What are your names?

Both - Lola. We’re Lola. We’re both Lola.

What is your zodiac sign?

LV - Virgo.

LA - Aries.

(To Mathilde) Let’s get a photo of them together

LV - Yeah, because it’s the Lolas. Do you know what I mean?

LA - We are the Lola’s.

Space travel: yes or no?

LV - Yes.

LA - It’s just too much. Too much.

Does AI scare you?

Both - Yeees! Yes.

LV - I hate robots.

LA - Especially for artists. We both do art. AI is gonna ruin the industry.

LV - Even when I was looking at unis I was looking at Plymouth. And basically, they said that they’re taking AI as art. Like, degree-level pieces.

LA - Yeah Yeah! They’re accepting it as final pieces.

Do you think the current technological state is affecting art and media?

LV - Yes 100%. It’s changing every day. All of it’s advancements, I don’t think it’s a good thing. I think everyone should stay organic to just what we can create as humans.

LA - I think it’s good in essays, and in medical care. I’m glad we’ve got those advancements.

LV - I think in the art industry it doesn’t help.

LA - I wanna work in the film industry and that’s like, I’m against that. I would never watch an AI movie.

Do you dance to escape?

Both - Yeahhhhhh!

LV - It’s an escape from reality

LA - I love a dance.

What was the most recent nightmare you had?

LV - Oo I feel like we can find a conjoined… (looking at each other like they’re telepathically attempting to recall a shared dream)

LA - My aunt beat me up (giggling). That was my nightmare.

LV - A real-life nightmare! I don't know… last night I had a dream that I was throwing up and then I actually felt like I was gonna throw up, so that was a pretty recent nightmare.

LA - It was like a manifestation.

LV - I was just a bit hungover really.

Vicky, 20, Poland, Taurus

Cindy, 21, Korea, Libra

(l-r)

What brought you here tonight?

Both - Snow Strippers!

Cindy - We just met!

How long have you two been fans?

Vicky - I’d say 2 years. A while.

Cindy - I think similar.

Vicky - I’m really glad I got a ticket because they sold out really fast. Luckily a friend of mine couldn’t make it and then I met Cindy in the queue, and she knows my friend. They were gonna go together and we just bumped into each other.

How has the recession hindered your creativity?

Vicky - I mean it probably has helped in a way, because I feel very distressed. I can’t afford anything, I can't afford to sew and I can’t afford materials to do the things I want to do but at the same time that kind of fuels you wanting to do it more because there are so many barriers stopping me. It feels like there are a lot of people in the creative industry who have nepotism and a lot of financial help from their family and [I] feel a little bit of jealousy with this. Like you can’t do it because you don’t have the facilities that they do.

Do you dance to escape?

Cindy - Oh yeah, actually I do.

What do you escape?

Cindy - I’m an overthinker so I tend to worry about a lot of different things. I feel like when you’re dancing and just dancing to music that you really love, you can kind of forget about the reality sometimes. I sometimes use it as a factor to just run away from something that worries me. And I think it also links to my creativity…

(an ambulance rolls past us so we have to pause the interview)

Ellie,17, Stratford

Joyce, 17, Stratford

(l-r)

What’s your zodiac sign?

Joyce - Ah I don’t even know.

When’s your birthday?

Joyce - June 28th

You’re a cancer, just like me!

Joyce - Aahhh!

Who’s going to save the world?

Joyce - Jesus, God.

Does AI scare you?

Joyce - Actually, it does. I feel like it does.

What do you do?

Joyce - I am a student. Film and TV.

What’s your zodiac sign?

Ellie - I don't do zodiac signs.

At this point, someone from the crowd interrupts Ellie:

Guy - ‘Yo I know you from the Lola’s. Do you know the Lola’s? I know you from the Lola’s… I just spotted you from over there ... You coming to her birthday party?

Ellie - Yeah, are you? *turns back to me* Sorry.

Who’s going to save the world?

Ellie - Jesus

I think we should just end it on that

Ellie and Joyce high five

Nat, 22, Wales, Libra

What brought you here?

Loving their music for so long and loving them honestly

Tati or Graham?

Tati because she’s one of the girls. Goes without saying.

*taking photos* Glasses? No glasses?

Whatever you prefer.

Starts posing, showing us how her outfit matches the baby pink look , holding up the pink glasses…

All of the pink matches. It all matches so it just had to be done!

What’s your zodiac?

I’m a libra… *posing* make sure to get the back

Y2Ks or 2010s?

Oh my god. The hardest question you could have probably ever asked me. But I would have to say 2000s.

Who’s gonna save the world?

Charli XCX.

What do you listen to before bed?

Lana or Frank Ocean

What do you listen to when you wake up?

Snowstrippeeeers!

Movie of the year?

The Substance. Absolutely The Substance.

Are you team Elizabeth or Sue?

I think we're all Sue. No, we’re all Sue but we also have an Elizabeth. You know?

Safe, 17, London, Gemini

Amber, 16, London

Daphne, 17, London

(l-r)

What brought you here?

Safe - Snowstrippers, bro… I love it

Tean Tati or Graham?

Safe - I don’t really have a favorite… *a beat*…Tati

Joanna, 21, Bournemouth, Pisces

Sophia, 22, London, Aries

(l-r)

Culture

Aweng Chuol Cannot Be Boxed In

November 22, 2024

Before she took her first breath, Aweng Chuol’s mother knew that her child would be a rebel. Even with all eyes on her, she has no desire to live through people’s perceptions of her; in fact, it might be physically impossible for her to care about outside judgement.

The first born of a dozen children, Chuol chose a path she felt the universe call her to. One day, while she worked a closing shift at her local McDonald’s, an incantation of all that could be possible played through her mind as a woman handed her a card. “You’re going to be a superstar,” the stranger said to her.

Growing up amidst a war-torn South Sudan, the model and growing multi-hyphenate still loved the place she called home. She still finds that sense of home within the sanctuary of her body, an ability that has allowed her to take massive leaps and risks. At 18 years old, she snuck away to Paris to walk her first runway for Vetements, after which she was signed to agencies in Milan, Paris, and New York. Her unforgettable look and enchanting walk were stamped in all the greatest minds in fashion. She was “it,” and there was no doubt in her mind about it. While this story may sound like a whirlwind fairytale — a refugee one day and a supermodel the next — Chuol’s story is much more complex than that.

Photography Asger Carlsen
Styling Jahulie Elizalde
Talent Aweng Chuol
Interview Kerane Marcellus
Hair Izumi Sato
Makeup Rose Grace
Creative Producer Liv Solomon
Photo Assistant James Lynch
Styling Assistant Rebeca Flores
Production Assistants Rea Brayshaw, Abby Dillingham, Enzo Holdt
Editor-in-Chief Simon Rasmussen
Assoc. Creative Director Mitchell Connell

AWENG wears FULL LOOK by MIISTA

When Chuol immigrated to Australia with her mother and eleven siblings, she reached a newfound consciousness, new obstacles to overcome, and a new life to get used to. Throughout her formative years, she had finally arrived at a point where she could call Sydney, Australia her home. Over time, she found comfort once again in her long legs, high cheekbones, deep skin, and full lips. Everything that led up to that moment had proved to be worth it.

Discovered while she was a student studying law, it was kismet for the powerhouse model to become a household name. “Aweng” is a sacred name, meaning “cow” in her native language, an animal that brings pride to its people. Chuol is bringing pride to all iterations of herself. From her many geographical journeys, to her internal journeys of navigating life, love, and constant change, Aweng Chuol is a woman who cannot be boxed in.

On an early Tuesday morning, right after her meditation session, we spoke about her manifestations, her tenacious spirit, and the oral history that keeps her connected to her culture.

Kerane - I appreciate how you’ve chosen your own narrative outside of what others have chosen for you. How do you stay authentic throughout your ever-growing career?

Aweng - I think it's just having the right source of energy around you. All my friends, my agents, and you know, I'm a first born, I'm a double Libra, so it's like being grounded. It's innate in me because of the way that I was raised and my personal experiences before fashion. I'm not the model that had magazines as a kid. I’m not the model that was watching all these amazing films of Hollywood and like, New York City. I'm from Australia, that's just so out there from where I'm from. So, thinking about the 18 years of life that I got to live before I got into entertainment, definitely helps a lot, to be honest.

How would you describe punk culture and how do you interpret it?

Avril Lavigne is the punk-est culture I know. And when P!NK first came out, she was the epitome of punk in my head.

I like the way you dress yourself, like your personal style is so cool. How does your personal style align with punk culture and your identity?

I think my personal style fluctuates. It has its ebbs and flows. I think it depends on the season that I'm in, like, right now, I’m the hot girl season. So, I’m wearing the Matte brand, I'm wearing Ottolinger, I'm layering, like, and then even my CFDA look, it was the Di Petsa and their whole thing is body, water waves, my stylist added jewelry stacked jewelry. Adding gold, mixing color, mixing jewelry, I think it's my essence. If I'm wearing a hairstyle that's up, and my hands are empty and my legs are bare, then. I like to then layer jewelry on my hands and my ears.

What are some of the most rebellious things you’ve felt you needed to do?

I think my entrance into fashion behind-the-scenes was very rebellious. When I got confirmed for the Vetements show, when I first got discovered, they flew me from Sydney, Australia, literally my hometown, into Paris, and I had told my family that I wanted to go to Paris, and I had a big option in Paris, and, you know, they didn't, they didn't believe that I'm going to Paris to walk one show. Me and my parents kind of got into it, and I just basically sneaked out of the country.

You didn’t put that in your essay for Elle!

No, [laughs]. I literally ended up in Paris. And I was like, “Yeah, I'm in Paris, Mom!” What can you do now across the world, you know? Now you just pray that I get home safely and all of that. When I got home, I think I was grounded for two weeks straight, but then I already had the energy and the touch of traveling. So I was like, “Okay, I'm gonna go again.” And this time, obviously, I told him when I was going back to London.

You were 18 at the time right?

I was at the time in Australia, and you think, oh, you're an adult at 18, but [you know] African cultures.

Right! I also come from an immigrant household. When I turned 18 I thought I could do all these things but my mom was not about it.

Yeah! My mom was not letting me go into Hollywood.

Didn’t your mom say to reach out to that lady who gave you the card?

She didn't think that it would actually bring anything. When you're young, between the age of 16 and 18, I think that's when people tried to scout me for things. So, she didn't 100% think anything was gonna happen but I had another option right before Vetements and it fell through, and then the Vetements option came through.

LEFT: AWENG wears GOWN by C-PLUS SERIES, SHOES by THOM SOLO, RIGHT: AWENG wears TOP and SHORTS by MACCAPANI, BOOTS by LARUICCI

Your coming out story was a huge moment that you shared with the world. How did you come to the decision to let the world in on your personal life?

I think for me, I just did it. I was always the rebellious kid. I was always the black sheep. I was always that kid. My mom knew from a very young age I was gonna test her, like 110%. I was born at 7am in the morning when she was going for her walk. She said, "This child is literally a menace.” So coming out wasn't really coming out. I just bought someone home. I said, “Hey, this is this. Any objections?” I’ve always been a diplomatic kind of person and a justice [oriented] kind of person. One thing I realized, too, is people will get comfortable if you decide whatever you decide on that day. That might be uncomfortable for a while, but they will have to just get comfortable. That's just it, if they're gonna stay in your life.

I related to the way that you wrote about feeling guilty for leaving your family. I’m also first-born from an immigrant household. Does that guilt still come up sometimes or has it subsided?

100% it does. I even had my therapy session yesterday morning. I have therapy every Monday at like 8am and my therapist, an amazing Black woman, by the way; she and I were speaking about the feeling of whether your siblings resent you for doing life in a way without them being fully involved. My siblings, they're all in Australia. Australia is not like Miami or Los Angeles or New York. It's 25 hours, and that's on a good day. I can't really get up and leave when I'm trying to build an empire or a career, or longevity in my career here. I have 11 younger siblings, so I watched a lot of them be born, and then now graduating. So the guilt never really goes away, but I've just learned that we're all individuals in this life, and we all have paths that we have to follow. It's obviously ultimate love and unconditional love.There'll be a point where I'll be able to go there, or they'll be able to come here and stay for a bit longer. I think it's growing pains, that's the thing about siblingship. There are a lot of growing pains that society doesn't really speak about.

Are you close with your mom as well?

My mom is 15 years my senior. So she and I grew up together. I watched my mom go through her 20s, and now I am going through my 20s, and she's in her 40s. I'm like, I get it. I kind of get why you were wilding out [laughs].

If there was any place you could go at the snap of a finger, where would it be?

I would go to South Sudan, because my grandma is there, and she is the sweetest woman ever. When I go back to Sudan, all she does is wake up and have coffee with ginger and then speak to me about her entire life and her mom's life. She just loves to tell stories. I'm more of a writer, so I don't really have much to say to her. So, that exchange is so intimate between her and I, and she's just my peace. She's literally just my peace, my dad's mother. Then another choice, selfishly speaking, Hawaii, I've never been, but I just think about being under coconuts. and Bretman Rock lives out there, and I feel like he lives such a peaceful life. I would love to just experience that first day, even with the chickens and everything. He's living his best life. That's my favorite manifester, right there. He's amazing.

I love the way that you talk about your grandmother. Passing down oral history is so important.

So important, because libraries get burned down. We know that now. They get removed by politics. So, oral knowledge is so important for the human experience, and culturally, we actually do more oral passing down with my native language. They haven’t started having books on it until recently.

Even those traditional types of things being passed down. I saw a dad practicing haka with his baby.

I think it's so spiritual. I saw the haka being done in the New Zealand Parliament. I went to law school, so I love politics. I can talk about politics all day, and I just I cried, because they ripped the paper and then to performed. And being able to be stopped—that's just so powerful. I hope it gets passed the way they wanted to pass it, to be honest.

Oh, wait, did you finish law school? Like you finished?

I didn't get to finish. I have one more year left, and I have two years to decide whether I go back or not. It's just my schedule. I have so much that I want to do in fashion and entertainment, period. It's one of those things. I will go back to school 100%, I want to get multiple degrees. I just want to learn. I think I'll go back, it’s never too late for that.

Definitely, never too late. I don't think it's ever too late to just start over. What type of law did you study?

I did International Relations, majoring in International Policies. So I wanted that to be my ultimate goal. I wanted to be part of the United Nations body for South Sudan. I was 17 when I decided that. I just started working extra hard, getting extra credits, getting in early, and then the universe was like, “You need to go into fashion.” I was like, “Okay, let's go!”

You don't really seem like a person that really cares to present themselves a certain way, I like that you're not really fearful of being perceived. Do you see yourself as a role model like the supermodels that came before you?

For my siblings, I've always been a role model, because I'm the eldest sibling, and I grew up with my mother. I think there were instances in our relationship where she saw me as a role model versus when I saw her as such. I see her as a role model because she's my mother, you know. I definitely do think I'm a role model. When I walk outside, kids, teenagers, people in the industry, or my peers come up to me and I'm like, “Thank you.” I know I'm being perceived. I am careful with some things, but in essence, I'm just a Aweng. and a Aweng is busy doing this, or Aweng just did this cover, or this campaign.There's perception there, but I think in being a role model, I just try to kind of make sure anyone that's watching me knows that the world's a mess but we're gonna be okay and to be kind.

AWENG wears DRESS by TAOTTAO, BOOTS By THOM SOLO

Going back to the Vetements runway, you said that you felt already at home in your essay for Elle. Are you at home in your body anywhere you go?

I think being a former refugee, you kind of have to find homes then and there. Wherever feels safe, where there's a roof over your head, that's home. I’m a girl growing up on an island in Australia, in a different society. My grandparents in my mom's home, my step dad's house — I was always moving. So, now that I have my own place and I make my own decisions, the adult autonomy has finally entered the chat. I think it's really in my body, and it's really in where my mind is at and what kind of morning I've had, is what I would say. There are some days where I am just moving for the plot. That's what I'm doing right now, and that's just it. I think it's important to give myself permission, some days, to not have an agenda of where home is right now. You know, sometimes you’re just here to have fun or here for vacation. I kind of detach a little bit, is what I would say, too. I'm always moving. I can't get attached to every hotel room, I can't get attached to every flight seat or airline seat or whatever. So I think it's really the body, I think the way I carry my body, the way I'm moving, the way I speak and the way I carry my tone, I think that's where home is.

Beautiful. So, when you moved to Australia, did you struggle with assimilation?

I think moving to Australia, literally, the moment the plane landed, I was like, “Oh, this is consciousness. I'm here, okay.” We landed in the middle of April. So it was basically summer in Australia. I went into autopilot. I'm learning the language, learning the culture. It was a culture shock and that was just two years of just mindlessness, trying to survive, a mode of fitting in, or getting settled. After that, it was okay. This is home now. It took me a while to call it home. It definitely took a few years to feel safe.

Who’s your favorite upcoming designer at the moment?

Grace Ling. I love her work. She's a sweet, sweet woman, very nice to me, very nice to everyone, and I like the way she moves. She just moves in such light. Like, girl, what's your secret?

Who are some of your favorite models right now?

Anok Yai, of course. Alex Consani, one of my good friends, Awar Odhiang, she's amazing, and she had such a great season. We love, love, love, love, love her.

What advice would you tell your younger self?

Slow down!!! That song by Billy Joel, “Vienna” — play that over and over and over and over and over again for 15 year olds. I was in a rush. And now I’m here and I'm like, “Okay, great! You figured it out, but what was the rush?

Let’s manifest. What does the future hold for you?

I think it holds a lot of peace. I'm trying to get into more philanthropy now. So, I’m working on that behind-the-scenes. Hopefully an acting debut is in the skyline, shortly. And to continue on slaying the girls, and the boys, and the gays.

I like the way that you're so knowledgeable about the fashion that goes on, yes, like within your industry, I feel like sometimes models are just models and they're not really into fashion. They're doing what pays the bills, but I enjoy how you know the names of designers, photographers, stylists.

I think it's important. I think it's important once you're out, you know, what did you get, besides the covers and the campaigns? Did you get the names of the stylists and photographers? Has anyone passed away during your career? Is anyone you wish you had met during your career? That’s important to think about.

What advice would you give to anybody who is interested in becoming a model in today's age?

Do your homework. Find your niche, study what you want to actually do when coming in. You're going to get a lot of “no’s”, but the world is not going to end on a “no.” I feel like a lot of aspiring models, or want-to-be models get really taken aback when they get their first or second or third “no,” and it discourages them. Entertainment is like any industry, you're going to get “no” from your bosses. You're gonna get “no” from your dream. It happens. So, if you really want to do it, you’re going to need to keep pushing to do the work, because there is work. Being a model is not easy. There is work! Oh, and get your passports, because you do need your passport. I promise you. And enjoy the ride. I think where I'm at right now in my career, I'm really enjoying the ride. I get to aspire for more.