Meet Kathy ‘Kat the Model’ Thrasher

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kathy ‘Kat the Model’ Thrasher.

Kathy ‘Kat the Model’, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. Being the youngest of six, I always looked up to my four older sisters and big brother. I watched their mistakes and made sure not to implement the same. I always honored my parent’s wishes and was an overall good kid. I went to private, Christian schools all the way up to 8th grade. I stayed on the honor roll and was active in sports and other extracurricular activities.

Things I was involved in included cheerleading, track, basketball, volleyball, and softball. I loved playing volleyball the most! Although I was well rounded, I never really knew what I wanted to do when I grew up. After high school, I didn’t know what college I wanted to attend nor what I wanted to declare as a major. So, I saved my parents money and agreed to attend a community college while I figured things out. While in community college, I decided to go for business administration. I earned good grades and was offered a scholarship to finish my bachelor’s degree at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. When I registered as a student at Wayne, I still struggled to declare a major. So, I decided to follow in my eldest sister’s footsteps and earn a degree in Supply Chain Management. She advised that I could work ANYWHERE with this degree…why not, right? She also was the one that informed me that her company that she worked for, Ford Motor Company, had summer internships that I should apply for while in undergrad. I took her up on this offer and applied. Ford offered me the opportunity to intern with them for two summers and upon graduation, they extended me a full-time offer to be a buyer in their Procurement department.

I didn’t embark on modeling journey until after I graduated from undergrad, back in 2012. As mentioned earlier, I always honored my parent’s wishes. They wanted me to go to school, graduate and get a good job. At the age of 21, I accomplished all of this. But, I still didn’t feel like I was doing anything that I was passionate about. It wasn’t until I met my friend, Sunchez, that modeling was really introduced to me. Sunchez modeled locally and I asked him how can I get started? He told me about an upcoming fashion show, called ‘Walk Fashion Show’, that was held annually and they were holding a casting call for models to walk in the show. I was SO nervous and didn’t think that I would get selected because I had ZERO modeling experience. But, with Sunchez’s encouragement, I decided to audition anyway and I am forever thankful that I did! I was received so well! I walked in almost every designer’s line. This sparked the beginning of my modeling career. I was able to establish so many connections and build relationships with fashion designers, photographers, modeling agencies, runway coaches, makeup artists, hair stylists, and other models and creatives in the industry, My passion and enthusiasm was sparked! I kept myself busy building my portfolio. I collaborated with designers, makeup artists, hair stylists, and some awesome photographers to create a variety of looks for my portfolio.

I have some pretty amazing achievements that I am proud of from modeling. I was on various flyers for fashion shows, I landed the cover of Blac Magazine, I modeled in New York Fashion Week, Miami Swim Week, and I was selected to model in the BET Fashion Experience in Los Angeles! I even worked up the nerve to compete in the Miss Michigan USA Pageant! I won FIRST place in the preliminary pageant, earning the title as “Miss Great Lakes”! I graced the Miss Michigan Pageant wearing this title and ended up placing top 15 out of 84 beautiful women! After a few years of modeling and competing in pageants, I decided I wanted to have my very own fashion show to help other aspiring models gain more experience and exposure. While at the same time, donating a portion of the proceeds towards The Rhonda Walker Foundation (RWF), which I was a mentor in, I loved being a mentor in the RWF! We helped to empower inner-city teen girls towards becoming strong, confident, successful and moral future leaders.

My fashion show really did take a village to put together. I utilized my heavy network to acquire many of the things that needed to put my show together at minimal cost. I reached out to a good friend and he allowed me to utilize his business’s rooftop space to host the venue, free of charge! Everything from the design of the flyer/tickets, the runway being built, step and repeats, photobooth, runway coach, advisory board, models, makeup artists, hair stylists, fashion designers to showcase their clothing lines, goodies donated in the swag bag, the liquor sponsor, the DJ, photographers and media, to volunteers, everything and everyone that helped me was all based on my relationship with them and networking. That was such an amazing experience and honestly a blessing that the entire show cost very minimal to produce.

Most recently, I was able to relocate with my job as a Data Analyst to California from Michigan. A few months into living in California, I was blessed with the opportunity to be signed with Brand Models in Orange County. I work my 9-5 and still am able to do shoots and other model work on the weekends and evenings, I love shooting fitness and lifestyle. My dream modeling career would be to model sportswear for a company like Nike, Under Armour, Lululemon, or Victoria Secret Sport.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
When I went back to school to get my MBA, I basically had to put a hold on modeling. I was working full time, going to grad school full time, traveling, having a social life, and trying to model on top of that. It wasn’t realistic to be able to do all of those things, so I had to cut back on my hobby that was the most time consuming, which was modeling. I was SO relieved to finally have some of my free time back once I finished with school, it was difficult for me to get back into the modeling grind that I once was on. The journey has been steady and I have been getting modeling gigs here and there, but it is very challenging juggling a 9-5 and trying to make casting calls for modeling gigs. Luckily, my agency booked me as a direct model so I won’t have to take time away from work to audition in person.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Kat the Model – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
As a model, I am my own business. I am in responsible for my brand. I am currently represented by Brand Models with a non-exclusive contract. This enables me to be able to have work sent by Brand Models and I can go seek other modeling gigs on my own and keep 100% of the commission. Although I love fitness modeling, I am not limited to only fitness. I love shooting swim, lifestyle, glamour, and high fashion. What I am most proud of about my company (me) is that I am intelligent, ethical, hard-working, and resilient. I don’t allow any naysayers tell me that I can’t do anything. I don’t allow other people’s opinions or experiences deter me from fulfilling my dreams and goals.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
My plans for the future include getting signed with more reputable modeling agencies that work closely with sports apparel companies like Nike, Under Armour, etc. I also may jump on the Vegan or Vegetarian boat. I commend people who are able to be so disciplined and stick to a strict diet. I want to embark on this journey for the health benefits and of course to stay in shape. I feel as a fitness model, your lifestyle should reflect it!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.katthemodel.com/
• Email: Info@katthemodel.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kat_the_model/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/katthemodelinfo/
• Other: https://www.modelmayhem.com/Kathy_Thrasher

Image Credit:
Jason Yokobosky

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.