Alyssa
Who:
Alyssa Falk; 180 cm / 5’11”; American from Seattle, Washington; born March 5th.
Where:
Heffner Management (Seattle)
— What are three interesting facts about you?
1. My family is three generations in the crystal and mineral business so I spend as much time as I can mining various crystals with my grandpa from different mines around the US.
2. I love to travel as much as I can, and I’ve already been to many of the states in the US, as well as Japan and more. My favorite place being, the Tōdai-Ji temple in Nara, Japan.
3. I am also a huge nature lover and with that being said I have over 35 house plants in my bedroom alone.
— How and when did you become a model?
My first introduction to modeling was by my mother, and my grandmother who were both runway and commercial models, and as I grew up watching them it was a given that I would continue as the third generation to keep the legacy going. I was signed with a few different agencies when I was a kid doing commercial work, and then I continued working and signed with Heffner when I was 12. I’ve been with them since and plan to stay in the industry!
— What is something you wish you knew more about?
One thing I wish I knew more about would be other languages since I’m a person that loves to travel. It’s not only cool to know a different language but also very practical. I’m currently working on learning Japanese and hope to learn many more languages.
Elijah
Who:
Elijah Lawal; 187 cm / 6’1.5″; Nigerian from Lagos, Nigeria; born December 27th.
Where:
Jabari Model Management (Lagos – mother agency), IMG (New York), IMG Paris, IMG Milano, IMG London, IMG Los Angeles, IMG Australia (Sydney), Francina Models (Barcelona)
— An issue or cause you are passionate about:
Ending police brutality.
— One thing people may be surprised to find out about you:
I sing and dance in Church.
— How and when did you become a model?
I was scouted in November 2020, on the street while working at a construction site.
Niina
Who:
Niina Paintsil; 176 cm / 5’9.5″; Japanese/Ghanian from Chiba, Japan; born June 19th.
Where:
Y’s C Models (Tokyo – mother agency)
— Who is your favorite entertainer?
Rihanna. I love how she is not only an artist but also a business person and a charitable person. I would love to work for Fenty someday. That is one of my dreams.
— An issue or cause you are passionate about:
I really think about peace. I think it is important for me to consider the problems in Japan now and what I can do about them. I of course think about world peace, but it is important to start from where I live.
— One thing people may be surprised to find out about you:
When I first meet anyone, he or she would be surprised by the fact that I am Japanese, but I have the “Samurai” and “Zen” spirit so you would understand that I am Japanese once you get to know me.
Joni
Who:
Joni Xhanis; 185 cm / 6’1″; Greek/Albanian from Albania; born June 28th.
Where:
X-Ray Models (Athens – mother agency)
— One thing people may be surprised to find out about you:
People are always surprised when I tell them that I am studying nurse psychiatry and when I tell them that I’m Albanian because I have red hair!
— The best and worst aspects of your personality:
I’m mostly calm and patient so I believe this is the good part of me but in some situations, I can be very competitive and rude and I hate myself for this…
— What are three interesting facts about you?
I’m really good at painting, I always make people happy and I’m always calm in bad situations.
Zuzu
Who:
Zuzu (Zuzana) Kusnirukova; 173 cm / 5’8″; Czech from Chomutov, Czech Republic; born October 21st.
Where:
Crush Models (Czech Republic – mother agency), Milk Management (London)
— Your most embarrassing moment:
Oh, I remember that moment so well. It was embarrassing and sad at the same time but looking back at it now I just laugh about it. Back in October 2019, a client contacted me and offered me a job that included a fashion show. I said yes even though I was super nervous because until that moment I only had experience with photo modeling and I’d barely walked in heels. But everything was great. I sent them my measurements, polaroids and practiced my catwalk every single day. The evening before the show we had a rehearsal. Everything was so chaotic. The client was late, we didn’t know what to do and my only rescue was a girl I knew from Instagram. After a few minutes, someone finally arrived and took us to a changing room so they could try on our costumes for the show. And that was the moment they noticed that my body doesn’t fit their requirements. They literally told me I was too fat to walk the runway with other girls even though I’d sent them everything they needed to see. So they kicked me for my curvy body. It was so humiliating for me. I cried myself to sleep that night.
— One thing people may be surprised to find out about you:
Everyone is always surprised by how artistic I am. And when I tell them I did all of my tattoos by myself they immediately want one too, haha.
— How and when did you become a model?
Fun fact: I still don’t consider myself a model. Modeling is something so new to me and due to this pandemic situation, I still haven’t had a chance to show myself to the world. But if I look back I started with my freelance photo modeling career in 2019. I had some really cool opportunities but nothing special. A lot of agencies knew about me and they actually contacted me but there was always a problem. My height, my curves, my tattoos… So I completely gave up at some point. And then, in May 2020, Monika [from Crush Models] found me. I was so scared I’d be experiencing this carousel of disappointment and anger once again. But I didn’t. Monika got me my first job within a few days and we signed our modeling contract the day before. So I guess that’s when I became a model.
Mountaga
Who:
Mountaga Diop; 191 cm / 6’3″; Senegalese from Hyères, France; born June 22nd.
Where:
Management Rothschild (Los Angeles – mother agency), Supa Model Management (London), Two Management (Los Angeles), Two Management (Barcelona), Two Management (Copenhagen), WEST Management Tokyo
— An issue or cause you are passionate about:
I care about Black issues throughout the world. If you read enough and learn from history, you can easily realize there’s a lot of unfair things still happening to this day. Black people from the West Indies, Africa, United States, Europe, etc. It’s a global problem. I’m still young, and I want to learn as much as I can to help make a difference.
— What are three interesting facts about you?
1. I make music – French rap to be more specific. I’ve been traveling a lot lately, and I have learned most people are now aware there’s a huge rap scene in France. We’re legit. Personally, I’ve been writing songs for 7 years now. I’m about ready to drop my first project. I’ve been really patient about the process because you can only begin once, and I want to make sure I’m ready. I really see music as an art. I’ve been studying the greatest rappers: Why are they this great? What do they have in common? Etc. I take my music seriously. It is one of my biggest passions.
2. I love competition no matter what it is. One of my brothers is 3 years older than me, and we use to compete on almost everything. Sports, music, knowledge, video games, whatever we could find. What’s cool is that it taught me how to lose. We used to play fighting games on the PS3 when I was a kid, and he would literally beat me every single time, but I never gave up. I was like, run it back… run it back… run it back – until I won. And when I finally won 4 or 5 times in a row, I started laughing. I was so happy, but he got so mad that he kicked me out of his room! I gladly left with a huge smile.
3. I love to debate. Only if it’s a constructive debate though. When both sides don’t cut each other off, when there’s no ego involved, and people listen to actually understand, and they’re not just waiting for their turn to talk, is when it’s a positive experience. I feel like a true intellectual when I have these types of conversations – lol.
— How and when did you become a model?
Everything started when my (now) manager reached out to me. I was an international student at a university in LA. Modeling was like an afterthought to me at that point. I didn’t know I could make it. So, she explained to me her job, and what it was all about. One of her models was there and taught me how to walk in the lower garage for a couple of hours. I came back up to her place and she told me that I had options with 4 big brands. I was shook, I thought, This fast??? It wasn’t small brands that I didn’t know, but big designer ones.
A few days later, we went to see agencies in LA. What’s funny is I was the one asking the questions: Why should I sign with you? What’s the difference between you and the other agencies? I even asked what’s a bad thing about the agency? I wanted to see what they said. I feel like a young boss. Then I chose my favorite agency, and that’s how everything started.