As a model, Carina Castagna’s biggest accomplishment was when she walked the runway for Style Fashion Week at Madison Square Garden. It was around her 18th birthday and she was praying that she wouldn’t fall on the runway. She looked out into the crowd that filled Madison Square Garden and felt her adrenaline rush. She decided to use her nerves and channel them into positive energy so that she could perform her best. And she did!

Carina lives her life by the saying “pressure makes diamonds” which her mom has always taught her. She says you need to put yourself out there even if it’s uncomfortable because, at the end of the day, you’re growing. “Everyone goes through pressure. You just need to be positive and grow from it.”

Although Carina has walked the runway in New York Fashion Week for a few years now, she hasn’t always had an easy time modeling. While Carina is a size 2 and is 5’10”, which sounds like a great fit for the runway, she’s experienced being called “fat” based on her athletic build. She has developed strong toned muscles from playing sports, where she has a strong core, and fit thighs. She shared that during one of her modeling castings, she had to measure her thighs with a tape measure to see if they were too big. “Honestly, it dehumanizes the model. We’re human.”

If someone says she can’t do it, she’ll turn around and say “watch me.” She’s competitive with being her best self and takes that mindset from her athletics. Carina says that in modeling you have to have a “business self” and a “personal self.” When you hear “no,” you can’t take it personally. She believes hearing a “no” in a casting is the same as hearing “no” in a workplace. “It’s a job,” she explains “you cannot bring home negative energy about yourself, there is nothing positive that can come from that and it’s honestly not healthy.”

Carina explained how intrigued and happy she is with France’s new laws where models need to give a doctor’s certificate to show that they are overall physically healthy. She says that models shouldn’t have to starve themselves to be thinner. Every individual is an individual, and they shouldn’t be compared to one another. “A rose can never be a sunflower, and a sunflower can never be a rose. All flowers are beautiful in their own way, and that’s like women too.”- Miranda Kerr, Australian Victoria’s Secret model.

Carina’s role model is Victoria’s Secret model Adriana Lima. One of the reasons why Carina admires Adriana is because she also has an athletic build like Carina. She’s happy that Victoria’s Secret promotes working out and being athletic.

Carina looks forward to finding a big modeling agency to sign with. She is excited for what her future endeavors are.

You can follow her on Instagram @Carinacastagna6  and on Twitter: @AngelCarinaC

Love always,

-Jenny A.