Badola

Being a model has been a pleasant journey for me so far. Looking back at how far I have come personally and professionally it absolutely blows my mind. Modeling has put me in rooms which seemed impossible. Pretty part is that there have been instances at clubs and restaurants where people have recognized me as a model. Talking about the latest instance, I was out for dinner with a friend where this girl who worked at the restaurant came up to me and asked me if I was a model and when I said “yes”, she said she has seen some of my work on Instagram and loved what she saw. It really comforted me. I like to believe that I have a good fashion sense and due to that there have been some clothing brands that have reached out to me and have sent me some of their finest pieces to try them on and make content if I like it. It has been very overwhelming since I have collaborated with about 3 brands so far. I truly believe that modeling has put me in eyes of people and brands and has created little opportunities for me and I am excited for what’s coming in the near future.

           This past weekend, photographer Vansh Virmani and stylist Juhi Taneja reached out to my agent Savino for another shoot. Virmani and Taneja came up with a very solid mood board that represented lost love, inspired by a Hollywood movie “Her”. My agent, Savino and my mentor Rin both thought it was a great idea to work with two great personalities for this shoot and we agreed to work with them. The shoot was on a Sunday at 6am at Lodhi Garden in New Delhi. It was an outdoor shoot, and I was so cold in the morning. Hair and make-up started around 6:30 am and we began shooting at 7am. The good part was that there was a team of six people consisting of two photographers, two stylists and two hair and make-up personnel. Everyone on the set was very heart warming and nice which definitely helped me ease out and made me comfortable. Keep in mind that I am a very new, fresh model and I may not have similar experience than other models in the industry so at times I do get self-doubts, but I believe it is part of the process. Virmani and Taneja were very comforting, and they really let me have my space and create this amazing workspace for everyone to deliver their best work. I believe that having a good comforting team really helps put things together and I have been fortunate enough to be surrounded by tremendous people and some of the nicest people at the set. Based on the theme, I had a moustache being put on by the make-up artist and it really helped nourish the look that the stylist thrived for which I personally loved too but there were times while we were shooting outdoors, and people gave me confusing looks, but I do not blame them it did look a little bit odd. The shoot went on till 5pm and everyone was so tired, we had three different locations and six different looks from the best designers in the country. I love clothes, I believe it is safe to say that I am obsessed with clothes, so it was fun and games for me to have six different looks from different designers throughout.

I signed with Savino Yhome, an agency run by Kekhrie Savino, who was a model himself when he was young and now works as a model scout. Savino is a head talent booker at Anokhi Talents which is an agency run by Savino and his partner who resides in Istanbul, Turkey. For a matter of fact, Savino is currently in Istanbul for a work trip. Alongside Anokhi Talents, Savino runs his own agency under the name of Savino Yhome, the agency that I am currently signed with. It is funny how my work was getting recognized around the country since there has been times when I have been recognized by a fellow individual at café or at a social gathering which does make me feel good and validated.

I could have possibly applied to other agencies by sending in my digitals and profile to see if I fit their board but my friend and mentor Rin Jajo, who is one of the well-known stylists in India educated me about how kind it was for Savino to reach out to me by himself which only shows that he truly believes in my abilities and would most likely represent me as a model in the best way possible. I appreciate Rin in many ways and I know that he always wants the best for me so I did not doubt his opinion and went on to working with Savino.

Keep in mind that working with an agency and working as a freelancer is two completely different things. Working as a freelancer, a model has a choice to work on the projects they would like to work on and negotiate the budget by themselves. However, being with an agency comes with certain healthy disagreements and turning down jobs simply because it does not fit the required budget for the model. Not to forget the fact that 30% of the money goes to the agency which is why it is business in many ways. The whole job of an agent is to try and pitch his/her model for campaigns, negotiate budget, discuss the date and time and ultimately get the model paid after the work is done. There have been instances in the past where my agent turned down a job for me only because the budget did not fit for him. I do not blame him; I was kind and understanding enough to understand his point of view. For example, Royal Stag, an alcohol brand reached out to my agent for a possible booking for a Television commercial which they wanted me to be a part of. Upon calling my agent, the production house and Savino had a long chat and I found out the next day when Savino texted me that he turned down the job for me simply because they were underpaying the models and it did not make sense since working as an underpaid model kills the market and leaves no room for development for the modeling industry.

If I could explain how fortunate I am to have the opportunity of being a model, I could go on and talk about it for hours. Being a model is a huge commitment and I love being committed to something that I am actually passionate about.

I am lucky enough to say that I am being presented by an agency now. As I mentioned previously how I would continuously post pictures on Instagram to out myself out there because I quickly established that having a professional social media presence can go a long way if you want to get scouted and noticed by an agency. My modeling journey was no different. I started off by freelancing in my country but even though I believed that my Instagram presence was pleasing and attractive, it was hard to book jobs. It had come to a point where I was reaching out to designers and clothing brands for a potential work opportunity. I really wanted it bad, and I was not going to giving up anytime soon.

Soon enough I booked my first job as a freelancer and the designer of the brand Six5sixtreet loved and appreciated my work and kept booking me for their shoots. I remember how nervous and overwhelmed I was the night before my first photoshoot ever. I remember calling up my other model friends and just taking in their advice upon how I should prepare myself the night before and what I should be knowing before going to the set. I am lucy that I have friends around me who were able to guide me and make me feel comfortable before going to the set. As soon as I got to the set, I saw how the designer was helping the stylist get all the looks together. The camera woman was testing the equipment and made sure that the lighting was perfect and just as required by the client. The other models came in shortly and we just introduced ourselves to each other just to make ourselves feel more involved and more comfortable. Being on the set was a lot of tension for me since it was my first shoot and rest of the models were fairly more experienced, but I just reminded myself that they booked me for a reason and that I deserve to be here. After a couple minutes of settling in, the stylist handed me the clothes for my first look out of the three looks that I was supposed to shoot that night. Now remember, it is a designer brand, and the clothes were amazing, I instantly fell in love with my look. As soon as I changed and showed it to the stylist, she loved my look and told the make-up artist about how she wanted the shoot to be and how she wanted a certain look for me.

Being into the modeling industry is not easy. Now, when I am in a social gathering and people ask me to introduce myself and ask what I do, I always begin with myself begin an athlete and studying in the United States while having a chance to compete for my university. Even though I am a model now which is a highly appreciated career in most parts of the world I do not start off by saying “I am a model” even though people think modeling is all about being pretty and good looking and let’s be honest, people love being around good-looking people. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that I am the best looking human around but what I am throwing out there is a picture of what and how people perceive modeling as a career. Yes, modeling is about having a certain look and glam, but I truly believe there is much more to that.

After my first official modeling job with Six5sixstreet, a homegrown streetwear brand in India, I could see my social media being even more recognized. I instantly got a lot of followers and appreciation from my friends and family after seeing my work. Six5sixstreet shoot was not an easy job especially when I was an underdog doing my first ever project with a bunch of professionals and other models with a large following on social media. However, I surprised myself and the entire crew only because I was highly dedicated and interested into being a model that too for a streetwear brand which I personally love. I remember one time during the shoot when the photographer personally appreciated my work and poses while we were shooting, which really gave me the boost and made me even more confident of what and how I was presenting myself in front of the screen. Before going to the shoot location, I just reminded myself that I am already a model and since I have bagged this job, I deserve to be here, and I will shine through it. Oh boy, did I not shine through it!

Interestingly enough, one of the looks came out the very next day and I was very happy with my work. The designer and founder of Six5sixstreet – Avni Aneja herself reached out to me and complimented on my work and even followed me on Instagram. Aneja reaching out to me did validate me and I instantly knew that she was pleased with my work.

Being a model comes with a lot of insecurity, comparing yourself with other models around you and being tight with your agent at times. How can one stop t compare themselves? How can on stop being hard on themselves when their whole job depends on them getting attention in a certain way and getting attention and bookings on the basis of their appearance. Often times I find myself looking at my other model friends doing great jobs and bigger campaigns one after another and I cannot help but feel sad about myself only because I believe I can do the work they have been doing and even better. I just believe in myself that is why I think so, not because I am hating on my friends. I often share my close friends work on social media and try to appreciate them as much as I can which is my way of showing love and letting my friends know that I see them, and I see them working hard and hustling.

Ever since I was a kid, I wanted to be a model mostly because I thought it was cool to be a model plus the fame one gets. I grew up in a typical Indian household where the parents dreamt of their kids to be a doctor, lawyer or an engineer, and the story was no different for me which was primarily the beginning of my dreams being shattered right in front of my eyes. I do not blame my parents though, they have always been super supportive of my career choices and the things that I like and enjoy. Who do I blame then? Myself.

I blame myself for listening to the people around me and not to my inner soul and my passion that I carry in my mind all day. When you are young, you often let outside factors bother you a lot and to an extent that you start believing what people around you teach. I was a chubby kid growing up, did not know and did not care jack about nutrition, working out or even taking care of myself. One thing I absolutely dislike from is “fat shaming”. I don't understand why one would fat shame and put someone down consistently. I fail to understand what joy one could possibly get out of fat shaming an individual and putting others down for their own entertainment. Never mind, we will get back to that later.

Fast forward a few years, I started playing Tennis and got good enough to compete at national and international level professionally. I was ranked as high as number 5 in my country India, and internationally ranked 265 in the world in juniors. Now don't get me wrong, Tennis is probably the hardest sport out there not to neglect the fact that travelling by yourself internationally, weeks after weeks of hard work, struggle and pain taught me life lessons that I could never learn from School or books even. Tennis circuit back in India was very toxic. 

The number one thing I learnt from playing tennis professionally and travelling at a young age was how alone one really is in the end of the day and nothing really matters. People’s opinions, hate and their perspective of you does not define you. You define yourself and that's it. Period. My parents always taught me that the only way to succeed was hard work and most importantly believing in yourself and not listening to the other voices around you. 

I gradually stopped caring about other people’s opinion and started focusing in me and believing in myself. The first thing I did was to get back in shape since it is no secret how models are required to be in a healthy shape. Peep how I use the word healthy here! I started eating even healthier, started working out harder and achieved a healthy shape with pure consistency and dedication. Later, I started posting pictures on Instagram to put myself out there and started posting fashion related content.