Today we’d like to introduce you to Katya Karlova
Hi Katya, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Wow, I almost don’t know where to begin and how to keep an incredibly complex story condensed! If I’m completely honest my body image story that led to my current drastic change in careers (from corporate VP to curve model & content creator) starts with how I’ve felt about my body most of my life, or my whole life really since it began with whatever day I realized one’s appearance had a kind of inherent and often unspoken significant importance. Growing up a teenage in the early 2000s and “thin is in” mania following the “heroin chic” of the 90s certainly did not help. I felt not beautiful enough, not thin enough, not “perfect.” I certainly am not unique in this respect but perhaps the way I dealt with it is. It was so overwhelming that it became like this hole within myself that I tried to fill by being perfect at everything else. I did all the extracurriculars in high school, went to UCLA, graduated early, got a scholarship to grad school at University College London, graduated early again, starting working in a high pressure career, pushing and pushing myself harder and harder as every workaholic and perfectionist trying to fill an ever-present hole does, with the nagging self-criticism with me every step of the way eating away at my mental health. My anxiety and depression waxed and waned but I kept succeeding in my career, finally reaching longtime dream goals- awards from my alma mater UCLA, coveted speaking engagements and the pinnacle Vice President title at a billion-dollar company, the things I thought would finally make me feel like I was good enough. Many of these accomplishments happened to coincide somewhat with the COVID pandemic and the first time I ever actually had nearly infinite time for me, time to seek therapy, time to really think away from all the noise and all the societal pressures of “hustle culture” we are constantly bombarded with. During that that time I finally came to the revelation that my body image issues were at the root of all the mental health challenges I’ve been experiencing since I was a teenager.
Finally recognizing this was a gamechanger, but what did I do with this newly discovered truth about myself? One of the healthy life philosophies I’ve always had is to live life outside your comfort zone and to face fear head on. I decided to do the same to tackle my body image issues with boudoir photography, to push myself so far outside my comfort zone that I could maybe start to see how others see me and what I really look like vs the warped idea years of body dysmorphia created. To say it was transformational is an understatement and I wanted to share that with others. Especially now when society is dangerously close to becoming thin obsessed yet again with the fad of weight loss drugs.
The move to begin modeling was my attempt at peering through the looking glass to see my true self. As it happened, I really enjoyed the process of modeling from a creative perspective, and I finally loved how I felt about myself and my body. I also came to realize that it took me as long as it did because the expectations put on professional women especially are such that they cannot embrace their bodies, sensuality and sexuality in any way shape or form if they want to compete in the corporate world. In fact, women are either taught to become completely agreeable in the workplace or adopt a more masculine demeanor, even down to the way they dress, so as to work better with their male colleagues.
For a while I continued modeling while continuing my corporate job, even though I felt like my eyes were finally open to the unfairness of the entire system surrounding me and the grim realization that women hadn’t really made that much progress in the workplace as I once thought.
Well, not long after my VP promotion, I was diagnosed with endometriosis and what followed what a yearlong nightmare of bouncing around the healthcare system that didn’t understand this women’s chronic illness and definitely didn’t know how to treat it. Of the dozens of doctors I saw, only 1 knew it was one of the top 20 most painful conditions in the world to extent that an endo flare can feel as painful as a heart attack. It felt like yet another reminder that not even the healthcare system was equipped to care for women or even believe their symptoms and pain. In the time I took off from work and modeling; between ER visits, referrals to different physicians, 4 surgeries, 2 procedures, physical therapy and trauma therapy, I realized I had to make a choice. Prioritizing my mental health and work/life balance was no longer a “nice to have” it was a must have if I was going to manage my ongoing chronic illness and the central pain sensitization that resulted from so many surgeries on one area in such a short period of time. It wasn’t so much a choice as it was my body telling me there needed to be a change and I needed to choose something that would bring me joy and allow me the flexibility a corporate job wouldn’t.
So I became a full-time curve model and content creator and I share my story in hopes in may benefit someone else, while also challenging beauty standards in the fashion industry and advocating for women to embrace their bodies, their sensuality and sexuality, challenging stereotypes and taboos that have done enough damage. Yes, it t takes a lot of work. It’s a full-time job managing social media at a professional level and when combined with collaborations, brand deals, marketing, and the logistics of making it happen, there usually isn’t often much time left in the day. However, when you’re doing something, you love and you feel like you’re making a positive difference, it doesn’t really matter. 🙂
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
As with everything, it has its ups and downs, and only you can decide if the journey is worth it. I’ve met incredible photographers, and I’ve unfortunately had to learn to be very cautious about people’s intentions. Modeling is an industry where it’s very easy for men to prey on women, specifically in boudoir photography. I’ve also worked with several amazing, respectful and incredibly talented male photographers but I’ve learned that’s not something you should assume.
I think the other part that is not so smooth is you really need to develop your sense of unwavering self-worth quickly because the internet is not always a nice place, in fact rarely. There are keyboard warriors everywhere ready to criticize and tear your work/pictures to shreds without even sharing their name or who they are. I remember some of those comments used to hurt me in the beginning but now I just laugh, delete and block, I don’t need that negativity. However, it DID take time to adopt that mindset, the idea that people take time out of their day to write something cruel or mean boggles my mind but yet some people have nothing to do and that’s why you learn to ignore it and give it the meaning it deserves, none. There’s also the fun thing about being a public figure that people will make up absolutely insane rumors about you and post them on the internet and things generally like that but again, for anyone on a journey of developing their self-worth, things like this end up being helpful because the faster you build a thick skin, the better and there’s nothing more annoying to internet trolls than you not caring.
So in summary, has it been smooth? No, not really but nothing worth it ever is, however it’s opened my life up to a completely different way of living, feeling excited about the day vs dreading it. I’ve been able to also travel to some incredible places and in fact, that’s one thing that makes my boudoir content unique, I shoot a lot of it outdoors and that also, has given me the chance to take boudoir that one step above and has helped me carve out a little niche for myself (boudoir + nature) where I can combine two things I love in life that I think can also transform your life for the positive. In fact, I’ll be launching a series on OFTV (the OF safe for work platform like YouTube) series called “Katya Explores” where I give viewers a 3-4 minute episode into something new I’m exploring related to my work!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m a corporate VP turned curve model & content creator and the majority of my content is boudoir photography and the reason for that is that my work is aimed at confronting mental health and body image issues. Sexy boudoir photography might somewhat controversial and honestly, good, we need more things that are controversial! On social media I share my own journey with body dysmorphia, mental health and body images issues and how boudoir photography helped me see my body and myself in a positive new light and that’s the message I want to share with others. There are many paths to healing but my approach while untraditional, also challenges damaging societal stereotypes and taboos that exist for women. I know because as a woman who had a long and successful corporate career, I experienced them firsthand. Women are taught to hide their bodies, stifle their sensuality and sexuality, and basically often change who they are to compete with men in the workplace and then we wonder why they have mental health issues like anxiety and depression? It’s our culture that needs changing, we see violence all over our TVs but sexuality, oh that’s a no no. What message does that send and is it a healthy one?
Also as a curvier and fuller bust woman in the modeling industry, I use my platform to challenge society’s beauty standards. While we have made some progress with the body positivity movement, you still rarely see fuller bust models and why? Well, because societal standards associate that with sexuality and apparently, that’s not OK. So women who have fuller busts often end up hating their bodies even though they are beautiful because societal standards tell them they need to cover up and dress “appropriately” which is even more difficult because there are very few brands that cater to fuller bust figures.
I spent years succumbing to the stress of society’s beauty standards, stereotypes and taboos and it nearly destroyed my mental health entirely. So now I use my platform to share my story. It’s a complex one and these are complex issues but the most important thing is that my message is all about empowerment and I am using my platform to fight back against the toxic body image messages that permeate so many aspects of our culture.
Sure, some people may see my boudoir photography and see it as another form of exploitation but it’s not, it’s a form of self-love and empowerment with the goal of inspiring and helping others struggling with some of the same issues. Boudoir photography is a lesser known form of photography but it’s all about confidence, feeling good in your own skin and loving yourself. I think those are things we could all benefit from.
Is the approach I share controversial? Yes. But does it work? Also yes, if you ask boudoir photographers or women who have had a boudoir shoot how they felt when they saw the shoot photos of themselves, the answer is usually tearful, not because they are sad but because they’re finally seeing their own beauty in a way they never have before.
Any advice for finding a mentor or networking in general?
Well, I think this actually related to another struggle to be aware of for anyone considering this path is that as much as I’m the type of woman that that wants to help build up other female creators, women, especially in this business tend to be inherently competitive with one another so it is difficult to find friends and mentors along the way. I remember when I was starting out I would DM the models I looked up to the most and 99% received no response which was disappointing, but I see if from their perspective now and when you’re bombarded with messages it’s hard keep track of who to respond to. Also, I suppose many look at it as a competition for brand deals and followers vs a way we are all trying to shake things up. There are other truly genuine and inspiring creators out there, working to make a difference, disrupt stereotypes and challenge societal taboos AND make friends and then there are those just in it for the money or the fame and willing to collaborate with anyone to make money. I like to think that in this way I stand out from other potentially similar creators, for example, I only take on a limited number of collaborations a year and ONLY work with brands whose products I would buy with my own money so that my community knows my recommendations are always honest.
My advice is don’t give up!! Focus on connecting with photographers who have the same vision as you and through them you will meet other creators and models. Keep putting yourself out there and outside your comfort zone. That’s not to mean outside of your boundaries of course but rather give yourself opportunities to meet people who you can connect with. Social media CAN be a a great way to do this and eventually, I made friends this way who became mentors and helped me expand my network. It takes time so have patience but it is worth it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.katyabkarlova.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/katya.b.karlova
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/official.katya.b.karlova
- Twitter: https://x.com/katya_b_karlova
Image Credits
@viggo_obscura
