Meet Precious Castillo of Saucy by Precious in Vermont Square

Today we’d like to introduce you to Precious Castillo.

Precious, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
My story started the day my life changed. In 2016, I found out that I had severe intestinal issues and that my body may never recover. Then a year later, I developed epilepsy and my seizures became the reason I could never enjoy having a normal life. These new changes became abnormal and it isolated myself from my ability to work to learn how to drive, and I couldn’t attend a normal university because my health would not permit it.

I felt as though I lost everything…

But I couldn’t let that be how the story ends.

My family is the most important in my life, and I couldn’t bring myself to let them down.

I want to provide… But for the longest time, I continued to struggle.

It took me a long time to realize this was just the beginning of my journey. I’ve always had a strong passion for fashion, photography, and helping people. I want to find a way to combine the three and incorporate them into my lifestyle. Fast forward to February 2019, I was rushed to the hospital due to intestinal failure and I prayed but I also made a promise to god that if I made it, I would work ten times harder to reach my goals. After three months of physical therapy and learning how to eat again among other treatments, I slowly became myself again. I started networking in addition to practicing my poses and getting back into my love of modeling. After months of hard work, I started filling up my portfolio.

Shortly I came up with my brand name, Saucy. SAUCY is based off of my personality and the development of my confidence over time. I can be quite feisty at times but like my mom says, I’m a mixture of different flavors that brings flair to the table.

I was featured in the January issue of BossmannMedia magazine modeling for DM Collections by Daria Mason. After that, I knew it was my calling to model. I knew I had a lot of work to do, but I was ready to take on the challenge.

Modeling for Noell November 2019
Video shoots

I was also Daria’s assistant at LA Fashion Week March 2020! They were short of models so I ended up modeling for B.camil_swimwear and DM Collections. The adrenaline rush was absolutely breathtaking.

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?
Initially, I started modeling to feel something or some type of emotion.

Growing up, I always felt insecure. My figure, my smile, my personality was always criticized. Transportation wasn’t the easiest to obtain due to my epilepsy and it was hard to travel by myself without worry that I was going to pass out in the middle of nowhere. I was denied jobs because of my illnesses. It was not until I discovered self-love and self-care. I started to make better choices and learned new techniques along the way.

Belly breathing
Grounding
Yoga
Therapy

As I got older, I learned that I can use my platform to spread positivity and reassure people that they’re not alone.

Please tell us about Saucy by Precious.
Our brand name is Saucy & we specialize in promoting body Positivity & self-love. We believe that when you give yourself self-care & self-love, no one can take that away from you. The name, Saucy represents confidence, sass, sexiness & luxury. We truly want women to be confident in the skin that they’re in. In addition, we want women to have the courage to speak up when they feel uncomfortable & to not feel bad about doing what’s best for them, even if that means saying “no” in certain circumstances. When people tell me that I’m doing too much, it motivates me to step out of my comfort zone and do more.

I’ve gained 25 lbs over my model weight & I had to come to terms with it & say hey, I’m still beautiful in the skin I’m in right now. When I was 118 pounds, I was so unhappy & my intestinal issues took over me & I was sick. I had to learn how to eat again/ walk again. It was one of the hardest journeys for me, but as time went by, I gained happy weight. I trained myself how to eat again. However, in the model world, there’s a model size & height requirement. It irritates me because beauty comes in all different shapes and sizes. I’m not a size 2, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. I’m proud that I’m able to inspire so many people.

What’s your favorite memory from childhood?
It was when I was in the picture. I had to come up with a science project for the science fair. So we went to the computer lab and I was scouting for simple projects to fit my personality. Then I came across a lava lamp. I was like, “Okay, this is doable”. I went home and I told my mom, “I’m okay this is going to be my project”. We ended up staying up till 2 a.m. working on it for a week. I had to present my project to my class and the students had to vote who was going into semi-finals and next thing you know I was picked. By the time I got to the semi-final, I was voted in for the finals. One week later, the process of judging the competition is over. I was walking to class and a student came up to me and was like all, they figured out who won the science fair. Some Precious Castillo girl I don’t know her do you and I was shocked! The school gave me a medal for winning and congratulated me. As soon as my mom picked me up, I ran to her and told her I WON and she was so proud of me.

Contact Info:

• Email: pcastillo7654@gmail.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saucy.preciouss/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/public/Precious-Rachel-Castillo
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@saucy.preciouss?lang=en

Image Credit:
Mitch Forte, Bobby Chi, Elmer Mejia, Kayla Green

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