It’s warm for an early March morning… I’m wearing white converse with jeans that are perhaps a size too small. My attention is brought to their tightness as I walk past a group of men sitting at a table out front of Aroma Coffee and Tea, in Studio City. I hurry inside and sit at the front window while I wait for the fashion model, Kaylen Ostapovich, to arrive.
Ostapovich appears shortly after sporting a navy blue athleisure set and pair of Nike’s. She walks past the same table of men (whose necks all snap as she passes by) and flashes them a big toothy smile. She enters through the door with an air of happiness that is foreign to me, and apparently everyone else by the number of glances she gets, at 8:45 A.M. Her hair is an unnatural shade of blonde and bouncing with loose curls. She orders the vegan breakfast. She appears to be the exact same radiant young model her Instagram displays. But perhaps there is more to her story.
Ostovich and I grew up in the same home town, Temecula, California, but didn’t meet until a chance encounter in Los Angeles a few years back. Her 107K Instagram followers know her as a cheerful vegan who is constantly beachside in a bikini or cuddling King Charles, her kitten, who by the way, is a girl (@kaylenalyssa). To me she is the intellectual sweetheart who is always down to meet for happy hour. She is currently signed to NewMark agency and travels the country doing both print and runway. This isn't anything new for Ostapovich who has been traveling internationally her whole life to visit family in Italy. Recently she has been featured in PlayBoy, Bello Mag, and shot a Disney campaign. She tells me modeling is “not as glamorous as people think.”
Ostapovich appears shortly after sporting a navy blue athleisure set and pair of Nike’s. She walks past the same table of men (whose necks all snap as she passes by) and flashes them a big toothy smile. She enters through the door with an air of happiness that is foreign to me, and apparently everyone else by the number of glances she gets, at 8:45 A.M. Her hair is an unnatural shade of blonde and bouncing with loose curls. She orders the vegan breakfast. She appears to be the exact same radiant young model her Instagram displays. But perhaps there is more to her story.
Ostovich and I grew up in the same home town, Temecula, California, but didn’t meet until a chance encounter in Los Angeles a few years back. Her 107K Instagram followers know her as a cheerful vegan who is constantly beachside in a bikini or cuddling King Charles, her kitten, who by the way, is a girl (@kaylenalyssa). To me she is the intellectual sweetheart who is always down to meet for happy hour. She is currently signed to NewMark agency and travels the country doing both print and runway. This isn't anything new for Ostapovich who has been traveling internationally her whole life to visit family in Italy. Recently she has been featured in PlayBoy, Bello Mag, and shot a Disney campaign. She tells me modeling is “not as glamorous as people think.”
“I always have to wash my hair and make sure my skin is clear. Then I sit in traffic and circle unfamiliar buildings until I give up on finding street parking and pay the 30 bucks for a public lot.”
|
But modeling isn’t all Ostapovich does. She has what she calls a “real job.” She works full time, yet remotely, for the LA school district, contributing to the K-12 curriculum. This gives her the freedom to work from anywhere so that she can juggle both careers. In her model bag (an Alo Yoga canvas tote) she always has makeup, heels, and her laptop for mid-day meetings. She says modeling alone leaves her unfulfilled and feeling like she isn’t giving life “her all.”
“Making art is cool, but what is that really doing for society? I don’t know... That life is conflicting for me. Bikinis and lingerie won’t change the world, but maybe writing curriculum for kids will? Or at least it’s a step in the right direction.”I ask the model what she likes most about the so called real job and she tells me this:
“It’s nice being able to work from anywhere. But what I love having a separate creative outlet. With modeling it’s usually the photographers vision -- not my own. With writing I’m in charge.” |
With the uncertainty involved with a career like modeling it must be nice to have some sense of stability of a salaried position. I probe about her future plans -- will she soon dive into one career or continue juggling them both?
"I often think about modeling full time. But I don’t know if I want to subject myself to that any further. It seems like the girls who make it have to give up so much of their life to the internet. Like nothing is sacred. And today’s model climate is so saturated and cut throat...I wouldn’t want to give it my all and risk not making it."
She speaks of herself so humbly -- as if she isn’t already successful. As if she doesn’t come up on “famous birthdays” when you google her name (August 24th). I inquire about what she means by cut throat and she explains to me that modeling is not just “smiling for a camera.”
Perhaps the whole being-pretty-for-money-thing isn’t as easy as us outsiders think. She talks about overcoming eating disorders, deciding how much she is willing to show to the world, losing any sense of privacy, straining her body to get the right shot, and losing relationships over Instagram post jealousy -- not things you would imagine while sharing the room with this glowing young lady.
I wonder how she battles these things. Are all the stereotypes about models true? Do they all starve themselves? Is the ol’ sleeping your way to the top actually how to make it?
Ostapovich laughs when I share these thoughts. She says the LA model life it’s more like the movies than most people think. She tells me that girls are always doing cocaine in club bathrooms and sleeping with photographers for free photos.
Perhaps the whole being-pretty-for-money-thing isn’t as easy as us outsiders think. She talks about overcoming eating disorders, deciding how much she is willing to show to the world, losing any sense of privacy, straining her body to get the right shot, and losing relationships over Instagram post jealousy -- not things you would imagine while sharing the room with this glowing young lady.
I wonder how she battles these things. Are all the stereotypes about models true? Do they all starve themselves? Is the ol’ sleeping your way to the top actually how to make it?
Ostapovich laughs when I share these thoughts. She says the LA model life it’s more like the movies than most people think. She tells me that girls are always doing cocaine in club bathrooms and sleeping with photographers for free photos.
“It’s kinda gross..really...when you think about it. The things people are willing to do for fame. And it’s almost like you get penalized for not going to parties. When really we should be promoting healthy lifestyles.”
She says her job keeps her away from that lifestyle. She constantly explains to her agent that she can’t be out late because she has a real job and 8 A.M. meetings. She says she worries she might succumb to that lifestyle if she didn’t have a full time career to balance -- but I think or moral compass is more aligned than she think.
I can’t help but come back to the feeling of being looked at when entering the coffee shop. How uncomfortable and self aware I was. For me it was just a moment -- for Ostapovich it’s daily life.
For now the double life in modeling and education is just the balance Kaylen Ostapovich needs. Her main goal for the year is to lead a healthy lifestyle, but she wouldn’t say no to a feature in Sport Illustrated.
www.kaylenalyssa.com
I can’t help but come back to the feeling of being looked at when entering the coffee shop. How uncomfortable and self aware I was. For me it was just a moment -- for Ostapovich it’s daily life.
For now the double life in modeling and education is just the balance Kaylen Ostapovich needs. Her main goal for the year is to lead a healthy lifestyle, but she wouldn’t say no to a feature in Sport Illustrated.
www.kaylenalyssa.com
Prev
|
Next
|
|
Links |
7500 |
|