Blaire

Who:
Blaire Wozniak (@blairewozniak) — 185 cm / 6’1″ — American from New York, USA — born May 26th — she/her.

Where:
Crawford Models (New York), STUDIO Paris

— What are three interesting facts about you?

1. I am a trans girl who came out at 13 years old in a conservative small town in the South.
2. Growing up, I had many issues surrounding body image and eating, which ultimately led me to be almost 300 pounds going into high school. I healed my relationship with food and my body, became a model, and moved to New York City entirely on my own as a financially independent 18-year-old girl, freshly graduated from high school.
3. Since then, I have begun an entirely new life, walked multiple runways, worked with incredible creatives, and gotten travel opportunities I would’ve never been able to dream of just a year ago.

— Who is someone you admire and why?

I truly admire my mom. She grew up with nothing and was the first person in our family to attend college. She raised me on her own, doing the best she could with limited money, yet was (and is still) my biggest supporter despite me being a very complicated kid. She has encouraged me through some very difficult times and ultimately helped me move to New York City to pursue my dreams at 18 years old, which would’ve been impossible without her help.

— Who is your favorite entertainer?
I really love Lana Del Rey. I think that in a world where social media is so prevalent and so many people are just followers of what’s popular, she has been and remains one of the most individualistic artists of our time. Not to mention her constant support for my community and her very good music :)

Denetric

Who:
Denetric Malope (@denetric_malope) — 188 cm / 6’2″ — South African from Limpopo, South Africa — born April 22nd — he/him.

Where:
Invade Models (South Africa – mother agency), STATE Management (New York), Bananas Models (Paris), CREW Model Management (Milan), PRM Agency (London), Clear Models Management (Madrid), Modelwerk (Hamburg), STATE Management (Los Angeles), GuModels (Shanghai), Kult South Africa (Cape Town)

— An issue or cause you are passionate about:
I’m passionate about LGBTQ+ rights and the inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in society and workplaces. As an openly gay man myself and feminine, we need more models that are visible enough to be themselves because someone out there believes they’d rather be dead than be themselves. Representation is very important.

— One thing you never want to do again:
If there’s one thing I never want to do again, it is to put people before myself. I’ve spent so much of my life choosing people before myself. Now that I’ve learned to choose me, there’s no turning back.

— If you could talk to your younger self, what advice would you give?
I would tell the younger me to be persistent with what I do because I will earn the fruits of my labor. I would tell the younger me to love myself because as I grow, I will learn that nobody can love me more than me. I would tell the younger me to have a bit of fun because what’s the point of living if you’re not having fun? I would tell the younger me always to be myself because in my difference is where I’ll will find my uniqueness. I would tell the younger me that I’m proud of him for always being himself despite what people say.

Elodie

Who:
Elodie Gatacre (@elgatacre) — 187.5 cm / 6’2″ — British from London, UK — born January 2nd — she/her.

Where:
Nevs (London – mother agency)

— One thing people may be surprised to find out about you:
I love to dance. When I’m dancing, I feel so united with my body in such a special way. Some of my fondest and most significant memories are on the dancefloor.

— If you could talk to your younger self, what advice would you give?
I really didn’t ever think I’d be able to be myself so authentically as a kid. I guess I’d just tell them to keep going, cos it gets better.

— What are three interesting facts about you?
1. I’m a sculptor and performance artist.
2. I run a small shop that makes jewelry from silicone rubber.
3. I love to DJ. Bringing a crowd together in one experience of sound can be beautiful.


Landon

Who:
Landon May (@landon.mayg) — 175 cm / 5’9″ — Indonesian from Jakarta, Indonesia — born November 28th — she/her.

Where:
3mmodels (London) & Persona Management (mother agencies)

— What’s a story your family/friends like to tell about you?
They say that I’m not feminine enough to be a model, especially in Indonesia. I was forced to be more feminine even though it isn’t who I am, and I did it because in Indonesia, I don’t match up with their beauty standards.

— The most interesting thing about your family:
There’s a cultural difference between my parents; my dad was born and raised in Sydney, Australia, and my mom was born and raised here in Jakarta, Indonesia. They are both completely different people with different points of view, and they raised me both ways. But I was mostly taught the Indonesian culture of respect.

— An issue or cause you are passionate about:
I am very passionate about animal cruelty and the hunting of endangered species

Tristan

Who:
Tristan Czar (@trissu1234) — 184 cm / 6’0.5″ — Estonian from Viljandi, Estonia — born February 2nd — he/him.

Where:
E.M.A Model Management (Tallinn – mother agency), Blow Models (Barcelona), Kult Hamburg

— Who is your favorite entertainer?
I don’t have one right now, but my favorite film is The Tribe (2014), made by Myroslav Slaboshpytskyi. It doesn’t have subtitles, and it’s in Ukrainian sign language, so the viewer (if unfamiliar with Ukrainian sign language) must figure out what they are saying based on expressions and body language.


— What stresses you out?

When people use words that could potentially harm others or when people do it on purpose just to see my reaction. Recently: Estonian stand up comedians who joke about the Holocaust, skin color, and humiliating women and LGBTQAI+ people.

— The most interesting thing about your family:
My grandmother worked as an inseminator of the cows, and she used to take me to the local farms and households so I could play with the heifers.

Yacine

Who:
Yacine Ndaw (@landoftheroaches) — 173 cm / 5’8″ — American from Brooklyn, New York, USA — born January 8th — they/them.

Where:
JAG Models (New York – mother agency)

— What weird or useless talent do you have?
I have classical vocal training, which means that I am an absolute menace when it comes to karaoke. The theater kid within me really comes out, and I love doing operatic renditions of songs from Les Misérables and Sweeney Todd.


— Who is someone you admire and why?
My parents! They immigrated to the States with nothing and built such a beautiful community and family in a country that is not super embracing of immigrants. I admire how grounded they remain, after over 20 years here, in their values and cultures. They’ve always encouraged my sister and me to pursue our dreams even when it’s differed from their own dreams for us.


— What are three interesting facts about you?
1. I have a Madagascar hissing cockroach as a pet; his name is Kafka ☺
2. Turkish was my first language.
3. I make jewelry!