1, Tell me about yourself? And what is your story and your becoming of a model?
Hi, I’m Jonti, I’m 13yrs old and I live in rural QLD, Australia with my mum. I have always been a withdrawn person with very low self-esteem and anxiety, due to the fact I was 10 weeks premmie when born. I had a bad, underdeveloped speech problem and required help. Later in life, issues with my dad made me even more withdrawn, I had low confidence and low social skills. My mum decided to get me into modelling to help me overcome these issues.
2, What awards have you won in the past, present or will in the future?
I’m new to this so most of my awards have been for athletics, dance and other sporting events. I’ve been in 120 magazines in just over a year and on numerous covers. I have only been really getting into it since the end of November 2020 due to other issues. I have won my city title for Miss Infinity and I’m now up for the Miss Queenslander title. I’m an ambassador for the Six Crows Fine Art Photography and I’ve been ‘Model of the week’ with numerous Australian model groups. I’m also hoping to get through with my nomination for Miss Royalty International Australia, so fingers crossed!
3, At your age, what advice can u give to young aspiring individuals (especially the youth of our generation), in the fashion industry, concerning body image and mental health?
My advice to anyone young or old is: go for it! Look after yourself for your health, don’t let anyone put you down and just go have a go. I’ve always thought I was a plain Jane but with the love from my mum I’ve learnt we are all beautiful and I can do anything so you can too.
4, Who is your favourite designer/ What is your favourite designer brand?
My favourite designer brand is the beautiful french designs of Coco Chanel. I believe Coco was an inspiration to all of us girls.
5, Do you find performing enjoyable to you at such a young age?
I love getting out there and just having fun, I never believed a ‘beat-around-the-bush’ girl could actually have a go at any of this so, it’s awesome! I have learnt and grown so much.
6, What is your biggest dream?
My dream is to travel with my mum, modelling and photographing all over the world, hopefully inspiring other young people to follow their dreams.
7, Which career path do you think you’ll choose when you grow older?
I’m wanting to make it to the catwalks with the top designers, and I’d love to work with famous photographers along the way. My plan is to become a police officer who models as much as she can.
8, What difficulties do you face with the type you have in your career? And how have you come this far in your career?
Jealousy with the other girls has been my biggest hurdle, the bullying was full-on at school but with a lot of help from my mum and counselling, I have learnt to deal with that and help other girls out who were in the same situation. Financially, it’s been hard with my mum being a single mum but she just says: ‘It’s cool, the world is your oyster bub. Enjoy life and support me fully.’
I would not be where I am now without her love, support and hard work, we make an awesome team.
9, Would you like to further your career even more and how do you plan to do that?
Yes, I want to see and do it all so: lots of hard work, I eat well, do dance three times a week; kickboxing twice a week, aerial aerobics every week and extra tutoring classes to keep my studies up. I travel wherever I can to get to shoots, ask for my mum advice as we are new to all of this, really. We plan on travelling to other countries as soon as possible and hopefully being able to participate in modelling events and work with photographers that may help me further my career even more.
10, Do you believe your career choice will not only affect you in a positive way but others?
I believe my choice in wanting to be a model has been so beneficial to myself and a lot of kids in our district. We have started a modelling support group my mum runs and have over a 100 members where we help others with their confidence, depression, anxiety or just help in getting started. These kids have went so far already and seeing me have a go helps all them realise they can too.
11, Who is your inspirational role model in and outside of the fashion industry?
My inspirational role model is still Coco Chanel, she showed us women that we can mix it with the top and hold our own. Miranda Kerr and Elle Macpherson are my hero’s. I love the fact they are both Australian and supermodels, I want to be just like them.
12, Who would you like to thank the most for always being there for you in and outside of your career?
I would like to thank my mum for having my back, giving me all the opportunities I’ve had, supporting me, working hard, and giving me unconditional love in everything I do.