So I ended up getting into modeling because I lost a bet.
I was homeless sleeping in the backyard to people's homes.
I ended up at a casting call for Calvin Klein.
They were having a charity show.
They told me I was there on the wrong day.
Turned out it was a men's casting call.
And it wasn't the first time I had been mistaken as male,
and I didn't think it was a big deal because
So, I went for it.
I got cast.
I got the attention of some designers,
and people started reaching out for modeling,
and I wasn't gonna do it.
But when I saw how much people were spending on a purse,
how much people were spending on a jacket,
how much people were spending on pants.
If they can afford that $3,000 for that purse,
they can afford $3 a month to put towards good causes
like clean water and air,
and better human rights for people.
I never dreamed that this would ever turn into something
that was about identity, or sexuality,
or that it was controversial.
Once my career suddenly took off,
I had an article go viral.
And suddenly everybody wanted to interview me.
And they all wanted to know exactly who I was.
And I realized I'd been going for almost 10 years
without ever having to tell people my identity.
I never told people like this is my label.
And I needed someone to just tell me like,
we're on your team and we got you,
and we'll help you out.
I went from being a butch lesbian
to then just being an androgynous person
to being non-binary and like genderqueer, gender-fluid,
and now my identity is the simplest it's gonna be.
I want people to judge me and separate me amongst others
not based off of my birth certificate,
but based off of my actions.
Ideally, what I would like for people to realize is that
I want people to realize that you also don't
have to have a sound, or a history of a sound,
or a label attached to you in order to be you.
It's hard to explain why I do the things that I do,
I just do them.
I ask people what they want to see,
I ask people what they feel alone,
and I ask people what are their experiences
and then I try to put it on my social media.
and use my platform like a stage.
But the things that I can speak to, I do my best.
Every morning, all I do is I wake up
and I say, what can I give back to this world?
How can I make this modeling career
not a modeling career, but a movement?
If I'm gonna make images,
then I want to have images that make people think.
I don't really need a Tinder photo or anything like that.
I'm not worried about looking attractive or f*ckable.
I mean I could just shut up,
post photos of me wearing jeans,
and work with a bunch of brands, you know,
and make a ton of money.
A lot of very well known models do that.
If we're gonna be talking about modeling,
who should we really have on these billboards?
I absolutely believe that art has the power to change,
and it is art that has changed the world.
My goal is not to save the world.
My goal is to continue doing what I'm doing,
remind people that I'm okay,
that I'm here, that I love them,
that they're worth loving.
And I want to inspire other people
to heal their own community.
I try as best as I can to be
as honest about my life as possible,
so other people can be honest too.
I just want to feel that waking up was worth it,
that if I don't get to bed, if this is it,
that this is a good day.
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