Colin

Who:
Colin Mendoza (@colmcge) — 190 cm / 6’3″ — American from Maui, Hawaii, USA — born August 12th — he/him.

Where:
Mondays Management (New York – mother agency)

— What are three interesting facts about you?
1. I was born and raised on the island of Maui.
2. I love to surf, fish, dive, and spend time in the ocean.
3. When I’m not playing outside, I’m reading about politics, philosophy, economics, legal cases, and other exciting material :)

— One thing people may be surprised to find out about you:
I was in a band during college, playing guitar and drums at various local venues around LA. I still get stage fright trying to sing into a mic, haha.

— If you could talk to your younger self, what advice would you give?
Take more risks. Read more philosophy.

Ed

Who:
Ed Awuah (@manlike.ed) — 189 cm / 6’2.5″ — Ghanaian/American from New York City, USA — born July 29th — he/him.

Where:
Union (New York – mother agency), HEROES Model Management (New York)

— How did you become a model?
Back in March, Jahn Hall from Union Management messaged me on Instagram asking if I was signed and, if not, if I was interested in modeling. I wasn’t signed, so I said yes, I was interested. We set up a couple calls over Zoom when I returned to the city after my semester was over. We took some digitals, and two weeks after that, I was signed to Heroes. I’m so grateful and thankful for the entire experience, and I hope this is only the beginning.

— If you could talk to your younger self, what advice would you give?
Never give up, learn to work for the things you want, and dream big because nothing worthwhile ever comes easily.

— What are three interesting facts about you?
1. I listen to the same 5-6 songs for like 2 weeks, then rotate them for another 5-6 songs, and just keep that cycle going.
2. I enjoy playing soccer.
3. I once broke my left ankle and had to be home for 7 months.

Ksawery

Who:
Ksawery Szumanski (@_ksawcio__) — 185.5 cm / 6’1″ — Polish from Tarnowskie Gory, Poland — born January 10th — he/him.

Where:
Specto Models (Warsaw – mother agency)

— What’s a story your family/friends like to tell about you?
They like to talk about never getting lost, and even if I do, I’ll find myself. There are several examples, but most often, they talk about going skiing; because I like adrenaline, I don’t ski on the slopes, but I ski in the forest or on the unmarked side of the mountain, and one time, I went into the forest and accidentally skied to another village on the other side of the mountain, where there was no signal, and I couldn’t contact my mother to tell her that there was no ski lift on that side of the mountain. So I took off my skis and started walking uphill. After probably 2 hours, I came out of that forest near the bar, and I heard someone shouting my name; I turned around, and there was my whole family and friends laughing at me. Since then, they say I’m like a boomerang.

— What stresses you out?
The moment when it is my turn to start at the European Championships

— What are three interesting facts about you?
1. I am a water skier.
2. I am studying to be a chemist.
3. I love electronic music

Mia Kara

Who:
Mia Kara Greenberg (@mia.greenberg) — 177 cm / 5’9.5″ — German/American from Berlin, Germany — born May 24th — she/her.

Where:
Faze Models (Berlin – mother agency), Next New York

— An issue or cause you are passionate about:
I am very passionate about Sustainability and Environmental Topics. It is an issue that is obviously extremely important and is becoming more and more pressing. I try to be as active as I can in this field, participating in demonstrating, informing myself, adapting my day-to-day life, and so on. I try to encourage others in my circle to do so, too. It is important to know what the consequences of climate change will be. Spreading awareness is key.

— What are three interesting facts about you?
1. I used to LOVE classical music growing up. I was part of the children’s choir of the German opera when I was younger and played the violin for 6 years (for some reason, I was never really that good, though). Funny enough, now classical music is pretty much the only genre of music I DON’T listen to.
2. For some reason, almost every time I go out, someone comes up to me and tells me that I remind them of some celebrity. People have shown me a variation of my celebrity “look-alikes.” However, I personally never see the resemblance. It’s interesting how differently people perceive me.
3. I was a competitive swimmer growing up, and it did dominate most of my childhood. It was intense, but I also enjoyed it. But then I broke my foot during training and wasn’t really able to compete again. Looking back, I was never really too sad about what happened; I felt more relieved.

— How did you become a model?
I was scouted when I was thirteen at a festival for teens by Stella (my now agent). At the time, I was obviously still very young and unsure if I even wanted to model. About 4 years later, my parents actually encouraged me to reach out to my agency again. Ever since, I’ve been working with the same agent, and so far, I really enjoy the modeling world and all the adventures that come along with it.

Natalia

Who:
Natalia Waleskiewicz (@natalia_wales_) — 178 cm / 5’10” — Polish from Wicko, Poland — born August 10th — she/her.

Where:
Rebel Models (Warsaw – mother agency), Why Not Model Management (Milan)

— One thing people may be surprised to find out about you:
I’ve been a member of the volunteer fire brigade in my village for several years. At first, I belonged to the youth department, but since I have grown up a little, I upgraded to the regular one. I’ve never taken part in rescue actions, but I successfully attended many firefighter team combat challenges.

— What’s a story your family/friends like to tell about you? 
My parents have their favorite story to tell about me. This story happened on Christmas Eve many years ago. Everything was ready for Christmas dinner. The table was beautifully decorated, covered with a snow-white tablecloth, and set with various dishes. Just right before anybody could taste food, little me had pulled the tablecloth, and in less than a second, everything appeared on the floor…

— What are three interesting facts about you?
1. I love to sing! I have sung since I can remember. It’s my hobby. Well, honestly, I love everything connected to music, theater, and art. 
My music journey started thanks to my mom. She instilled a fascination for singing in me, and I’m extremely grateful for that. I sing anytime and anywhere. And it’s no joke. When I was little, I used to sing to my toothbrush in the shower. It hasn’t changed, not even a bit! I still do this. 
I attended choir and piano lessons for a few years. Then, I went to music school for 4 years to develop my passion. I was playing cello and piano there. It was an amazing time.
2. I have done plenty of sporting activities in the past. It was really my dad who got me interested in sports. I practiced karate, dancing, swimming, and running. I was the most passionate about the last one. I was running for almost 6 years of my life. It included 3-4 workouts per week plus extra time spent, for example, at the swimming pool. Although I’m not running professionally anymore, it’s still a huge part of me, and it made me stronger as a person.
3. I don’t like to be bored. I love taking extracurricular classes and having my time organized.

Renqing

Who:
Renqing (@renqingggggg_) — 177 cm / 5’9.5″ — Chinese from Jiayuguan, China — born February 4th — she/her.

Where:
Lacoco Model Management (Shanghai – mother agency)

— Who is your favorite entertainer?
I like international supermodel Liu Wen very much because she is very modest, calm, generous, and very kind to people, but also always insists on doing her favorite things and careers.

— One thing people may be surprised to find out about you:
At work, people around me will be surprised that I graduated with a major in dancing. My parents are not very tall, which will surprise people around me.

— What weird or useless talent do you have?
When it’s about to rain, I can smell something special.