Back in November, Wilhelmina Model Agency launched a national search for fitness models. With 15 minutes left before submissions closed, I decided to toss my hat into the ring. Like most opportunities in the acting in modeling world, you have to let it go the minute you walk out of an audition or you will go crazy. Unless you live under a rock, you probably have an idea of how competitive the entertainment industry is, and how much of the outcome is about luck, timing and who you know. So I more or less forgot about submitting for the Wilhelmina contest as soon as I hit “submit” on my computer.
A few days later, I received the news that I was one of 20 semi-finalists, and needed to submit additional photos, a video demonstrating what I do to stay fit, and an essay explaining why I should be the next Wilhelmina fitness model. I scrambled to make a video, which wasn’t easy as it was a FREEZING weekend in NYC and I wanted to share how much I train outside. I also briefly filmed a few moves I do at the gym, and then recorded a few exercises I can do in my apartment. I had lots of fitness photos in my portfolio, and writing comes naturally to me – so the video was the most challenging – especially because it had to all be submitted within a few days, and Chris and I had a VERY busy weekend.
Once again, after I sent in all the material, I tried to forget about the competition. The only catch – the four finalists would be selected by judges and one finalist would be a “fan favorite,” so voting was important. I told myself that if I wasn’t a judges pick, I didn’t want to be in the top five. Personally, I hate asking and begging people to do anything for me – especially voting for something online. I am asked CONSTANTLY to vote for friends, donate to fund films, art projects, charity races – I didn’t want to be another person using social media to ask for folks in my network to vote for me. However, I bit the bullet and posted to link to the contest a few times, and to my surprise, a few friends shared the page, reached out to their friends, and were extremely supportive.
Again to my surprise, I made it to the finals. To my relief, I was a judges’ pick – though I REALLY appreciated the votes. If the judges hadn’t picked me, my votes might have gotten me the fifth and final spot. I don’t know for sure, but either way I was grateful for the support.
The finals took place this week in NYC. The other four finalists were warm, friendly, fit and fun people. It quickly became clear to me that I was in good company – but that also meant that it was anyone’s game. We were also each extremely different, with extremely different athletic niches, looks, strengths, weaknesses, experience, etc.
Here’s an abridged version of what the two days looked like:
Tuesday: I woke up at 4am to go coach one of my marathon-bound runners out in the 13 degree, dark, windy morning on the 6th street track. At 12pm, the other finalists and I had lunch and toured the Wilhelmina office, and met a few of the folks there. We got to know each other a bit over lunch, and learned a bit more about the role of a Wilhelmina fitness model. From there we were dropped at NY Sport and Racquet Club for a grueling hour-long boot camp class. I don’t know if it was the early-morning pacing, or the miles I’d clocked the last week (and the Goofy Challenge 10 days ago!), but my legs were shaking, weak jello within the first 10 minutes. I lost count of the amount of pushups, planks and burpees we did, but let me tell you – I have never felt so weak. I would have rather gone out into the snow storm and clocked 20 miles, or speedy repeats on a track. The bootcamp did not show my strengths, and played on my weaknesses. Having the judges watch me struggle certainly didn’t help. After bootcamp, we went back to our hotel to clean up and then we were off to Catch for dinner together and with the folks at Wilhelmina. it was nice to chat in a lovely restaurant, and a relaxed atmosphere.
Wednesday: At 8:30am the finalists and I were off to our fitness shoot, which would be followed by meeting with the judges and then the announcement of the winner. The production team was awesome – everyone was fun, professional and supportive. As the five of us took our turns shooting, we all played on our strengths. It set in during the shoot that the odds I’d win were very slim. Here’s why: the other two ladies are dancers and extremely flexible. They could get their bodies into poses I could never even dream of getting my body into, the the poses photographed beautifully. The guys were both incredibly strong, and though they didn’t hit moves like the dancers, they we both great and holding workout poses that amplified their muscle definition. Then there was me. How many times can a running run through the shot in a white studio and make it impressive? I tried to relax, but when asked about posing and stretches, I felt like an ass hole. As a fitness model, I would certainly benefit from some time in yoga or dance classes. The interview with the judges made me nervous, and in hind sight, I wish I had opened up a bit more.
I wasn’t surprised when the winner was announced and it wasn’t me. Sure, I was disappointed, but like I said – the competition was fierce and it was anyone’s game. We are all so different, it was like comparing five different kinds of fruit.
I am extremely thankful for the experience. Everyone at Wilhelmina was so incredibly nice, and I can’t think of anything negative to say about the experience! It was quite the adventure, and out of the 2500 people who submitted themselves, I was in the top 5. I suppose I’m pretty okay with that.