Today we’d like to introduce you to Zairah Arida
Zairah , we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
I started modeling straight out of high school at 17 years old. I first started as a freelancing model from 17-21 years old and when I built up my Instagram to 4k that is when I began to get modeling gigs at 22 years old. I started off modeling for Latino-owned businesses and also growing my TikTok on the side. At age 22 when i noticed a mother agent named Rachel on Instagram began following me and I reached out to her because she was known for developing models and placing them in modeling agencies. She reached out back to me and was interested in developing me as a model and signing me as one of her models for her mother agency. Rachel has helped and developed me a lot and that summer of 2023 I was attending meetings with many agencies in LA, until I met with the BTWN. I loved the agents at the BTWN, they were loving, reassuring, and really showed interest in me which made me want to be placed in their agency. Since then, I have worked for small brands, aboutfacebeauty, and Vogue, thanks to my amazing team such as Rachel and my BTWN Family.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
It was not a smooth road, when I first began taking modeling seriously I was taken advantage of by many male photographers who touched and talked to me inappropriately during shoots. I did shy away for a couple of months and came back and even then I was still struggling to find my confidence and spark back. Once I got my spark back, i started working with brands again. During this time a few brands had also taken advantage of my kindness by befriending me, driving them to shoot locations, belittling me during sets, and refusing to pay me as a model, let alone the gas that I would spend driving them around. It was an unfortunate time but I found my worth and began giving my rates to brands and not letting anyone take advantage of me anymore. I also struggled with being a curve model because certain brands don’t push out women with my body type and I always wanted to be the first and push past the generic curvy model type by making a brand out of myself. Gladly, I did and to this day I am still pushing to be someone these women and young girls with my body type can look up to and motivate them to achieve their dreams as well!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a signed model and I get booked by my agents to shoot such as beauty, lifestyle, editorial, fittings, etc. As for content creation, I do a lot of UGC content for big brands such as YITTY and Parade for example. I am proud of how I can still manage modeling and content creation while having a full-time 9-5 job. It is not easy but I’m forever proud of my hustle to keep going and not letting anything get in the way of pursuing my dreams. What sets me apart from others is my kindness and being able to help others achieve their dreams while I also do the same for myself because I know how it feels to navigate everything by myself and don’t want other aspiring creatives to struggle the same.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
In the next 5-10 years I see myself walking in runway shows and working with more of my dream brands.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/zairaharida/
Image Credits
first picture taken by @christianohermoso, makeup by hiw wife @denneserodriguez and second picture and makeup by @ddarapena
