Interview With Gina of America's Next Top Model, Cycle 6 by Syrone Harvey
Age: 21
Height: 5’8 ½”
Hometown: Tampa, Florida
Occupation: Translator
Gina, the latest eliminee from America’s Next Top Model, Cycle 6, was initially a strong contender in the competitive race to become the next top model. Her delicately sculpted high cheekbones added to the artistic, austere features of this friendly, outgoing yet easily flustered beauty. We recently had a chance to catch up with her.
Hi Gina! How are you? Thank you for giving us a little of your time this afternoon.
Hi. I’m good. Awesome.
What inspired you to audition for America’s Next Top Model?
Well I just kind of fell upon it. My mom used to work at this building near downtown and a lot of the customers that came in would tell me, “Wow, you should definitely try out for modeling.” Or, “You should be a model.” I would get those kinds of comments.
There was actually this person that came in and she was like, “You know I never really talk to you too much, but I’d like to tell you they’re having an audition here at the Hard Rock Casino and it’d be awesome if you could go 'cause I think you have a lot of potential as a model.” So my mom was like, “Okay, what is it?” She said, “It’s for this show called America’s Next Top Model.” Then she gave us the date and times and everything. My mom was like, “Well you should try out because you have nothing to lose.” So I tried out and got accepted for it. That’s how it happened.
What was your reaction when you got the call you’d made the audition?
I was really excited. I really wasn’t expecting much from it since it was just something I kind of fell upon. I was not expecting much. When I got the call back, I was like screaming. I was like, “Oh my God!” I mean this is an awesome opportunity and not everyone can model and get the chance to be on the show with Tyra Banks. I was just so happy. My mom was happy for me. We were all just overall very excited.
At the beginning of the competition you appeared to struggle a bit with nerves and lack of confidence. What caused your anxiety?
Um, I don’t think it was anything in particular. I think I just became so distracted by …um … I didn’t want to be seen as the weak person. I don’t know how it happened but I definitely became a target and once I became a target I just didn’t know how to back away from that. I was just kind of a nervous wreck while I was there. Not having my family there to support me and my sister to always hear me out, and being out of my comfort zone and being thrown into all of this, I think definitely took a toll on me and I just kind of acted on it. When I’m not prepared for something or if I’m in an unfamiliar environment I tend to blurt out the most awkwardest things or say things that don’t really mean anything. I think that’s what happened.
Was Jade purposely antagonizing or rattling you to distract you from the competition?
I think once she saw me being vulnerable I think it just kind of made her feel stronger. I definitely think she took advantage of me being vulnerable. I don’t know. I really don’t think she’s a bad or evil person, I just think, in my opinion she pointed out a lot of my insecurities or she would say certain things. In the end, I think she was insecure as well because she always had to reassure herself in a way, you know? I don’t know if she was trying to purposely shake me a little bit, but it sure did seem that way from what I saw. Maybe she was just intimidated by me. I really don’t know the reason behind it but just from what I saw I think her intentions were, ”This is a competition and we are competing against each other and if I have to do this to eliminate someone from my competition then I will.”
Let’s talk a bit about the photo shoots. Which shoot was your best?
I would say the bald shoot, the first one. I think it was the best one. I feel that a lot of people out there feel that they need hair to feel beautiful and I will admit that I felt that way too. We’re bald and we didn’t really have anything to go for and I was like, “Well you know, this is a lifetime opportunity and not everyone can be bald and then all the sudden get their hair back.” I really felt it was interesting in that aspect and so did everyone else. Wow, we can be beautiful and look gorgeous without hair. It was just overall really exciting and interesting too. With the crystals all over our neckline and all around our chest area, I think that was really interesting too. Overall I think I really liked the bald shoot the best.
You worked with different photographers and modeling experts. Wdid you gain by being a part of this experience?
I think that I um… I don’t know if I really learned much from this whole photo shoot thing cause I was so distracted, as bad as that may sound. I think if I took anything from the photo shoots it would be just to find the right light and found out how I could pose myself differently… just the basics.
It took some coaxing, but you shook your fears and walked the runway with a big, hissing cockroach; did this help you become a bit more daring? In the future will you continue to go for different shoots despite the challenges?
Yes, I definitely think I grew tougher skin after that because I do not like cockroaches, especially the big hissing ones. I did grow tougher skin. In the future if I were faced with something as crazy as that I think I definitely would. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and a learning experience, a way to confront your fears and see what you would like to do. In my case it’s modeling and at the same time the mixture of that makes it interesting so I definitely would try different things whether it’s cockroaches or snakes… whatever.
Aside from your fantastic looks, you showed a sense of realness and an overall nice, kind sincerity which the judges might’ve felt was naivety. Do you feel this made a bearing on their decision to eliminate you?
I think that’s exactly what happened. I wish people could see me like,”Aw man, she’s a mean and tough girl. She’s been through a lot." But the kind of look that I have - this is who I am and I definitely wish I could’ve grown a tougher skin while I was on the show. Then maybe people would say, “Wow her photo shoots are really great, she really knows what she’s doing, she’s fierce.” Yeah, I think a lot of me being genuine and me being kind of sweet and nice had a big effect on my photos because a lot of them were just kind of, aw, okay that’s a good picture but it’s not fierce, it’s not tough and it’s not strong enough.
Was it difficult for you to stand before the judges?
Yeah it was because you just don’t know what to say. If you say something wrong or if you say something that’s too opinionated I was afraid that I would get eliminated so I never really said much. I always tried to stay humble that way they wouldn’t yell at me for being too confident or too cocky and stuff like that.
What’s up next for you? Will you continue to pursue modeling?
Yes I would love to. If I have the opportunity I would definitely try modeling again. It’s a learning experience and like I said not everyone has got the skin to do it. There’s just a lot to learn from it and it’s just an interesting job to have. If not, I’ll always have school to fall back on. So either one; whichever makes me more happy. Actually, I just transferred to a fashion design school. I’m going to try fashion design and marketing. I think that would be an interesting thing too. That’s what I’m doing now.
Thank you Gina. It’s been nice talking to you. We wish you only the best for the future.
Oh, thank you so much.
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