MILAN REDE Beauty and Brains When did you first get involved as a model? What or Who inspired you to pursue such a competitive career? I first got involved as a model when I was about 16 years old. I was inspired to start modeling when I would watch fashion or look at magazines and see all of the beautiful and talented models. I thought to myself, I want to be like them. So then I just decided to start building my portfolio with a few local photoshoots and fashion shows and then my career took off from there! I’m sure you have met a lot of talented individuals and/or designers along the way. Would you share 1 or 2 of your favorite stories with us? Along the way, I have gotten to do so many cool photoshoots with amazing artists. For example, one of my favorite photoshoots was with photographer, Audre Holtz. We got to shoot at Tent Rocks which was beautiful and I loved how those photos came out. We also did another photoshoot at Nambe Falls which was quite the adventure because we hiked up a waterfall trail to get to the giant waterfall at the end and take pictures. I modeled in my favorite swimsuits too so that was a lot of fun!
Photo by Mandy St. John
How has your modeling evolved since you first started? I started out doing more general photos at first, just trying to build my portfolio. Then, once I got more experience, I was able to decide what style I like to work with and now I do mostly high fashion, swimwear, or editorial style shoots. If you were forced to choose only one, which emotion, more than any other drives you to stay in these tough careers? Is it joy, anger, desire, passion or pride and why? Passion. I love modeling because it allows me to express myself in an artistic way that no other career can do. It is my creative outlet and my passion. Which ingredient do you think makes you special and unique as a performing artist in an industry overflowing with new faces and ideas? One thing that makes me unique in the industry is that I am not just a model; I am also a chemical engineer. I will actually be pursuing my PhD this year and am only 22 years old. So I guess you could say I am pretty smart too ;)
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