The SuperModel Me

Note: My 5th Speech for Toastmaster 'Body Movement' made in TMI. There was quite a few body movement imititating the supermodels. Haha... Enjoy..

Ready
Pose
Action
Click

What do you need to become a great supermodel?
Height? Look? That certain poise? And the list that never ends.

I had my first modeling encounter when I was in Form 4 when I was spotted by a Talent Scout while making the normal window shopping round in Sungei Wang. I was with my best friend at the time, when came this girl who approached me and gave me a card.

A week later, I was already in a boarding school in Jasin. When I made the normal routine call back home every week, my sister mentioned to me that someone from the Agency called. It struck me. Were these people serious? Would this be my ticket out from the boarding school that I hated so much, at that time? I nearly made the decision about skipping school and pursue what could be a different path than now. I thought that as my sister was already doing some part-time modeling, so probably it runs in the family.

Well, that was 10 years ago minus the pimple and fat acid. I have definitely evolved since then.

When Tyra Banks came out with ‘America's Next Top Model’, it was definitely any girl’s favorite show. Everyone wants to be best friend of Gisele Bunchen, Naomi Campbell and Tyra Moss. They want to look, dress and be like a model. Sorry boys, but just bear with me for the sake of your wife/girlfriend.

You know how some ladies are we term as plastic? Ladies, at times, we are drawn to the kind of lavish lifestyle of Beverly Hills, or OC. Some talk with a made-accent when they are just plain ‘Mek Yah’ from Bachok, Kelantan. At some point in time, everyone is trying hard to be the Mat Saleh celup.

The basic rule is, to dress to impress, the walk that people will talk, and definitely to have the look that kills.

Ladies best friend are their 4-inch high heels that kills their feet. Learn to stand like a supermodel by practicing your posture. This means that you pull your shoulders back and create the illusion that you’re leaning back a little, rather than hunching forward. This obviously, I fail rather badly.

How do you walk? Train yourself to keep your weight balanced. Put one foot in front of the other (literally) and walk such that your footprints should form a single line. This is what most acrobat would do well. And don’t take big steps as you will look ungraceful, and you do not want to have the ‘FALL’ing experience in front of a crowd. Trust me, it is not all that fun. Been there, done that. You just have to remember to recover gracefully as if nothing has ever happen.

Face expression is a critical element in modeling. Have you watch the show Zoolander, played by Ben Stiller and Owen Wilson. Two dumb witted characters who would come out with various patented look. There are various impressions such as the sultry stare, the creepy stare or even the trying-too-hard stare.

To be successful, you must develop your own signature walk. Inject some personality into it, and grace your audience as if you are the legendary diva. Move your body swiftly, Remember to experiment, as practice makes you perfect.

If you can’t do any of the followings, you can just dress like one. The Gucci dress, Prada shoe, and scarf from Hermes makes you feel like you are worth a Million Dollar!

But I do secretly fancy having my face printed a thousand times. And yes, I do have my famous moment when my face was used for our various brochures in some of the program organized by PETRONAS and montages produced in-house. I didn’t get people asking for my autograph sadly, but I am happy to lead the kind of life I have now.

I am proud to be handing out business card with an Engineer title at the back, one which I only recently acquire 3 months ago when I changed to a new job. I would rather have people wondering about what I do, rather than having my face plastered all over the tabloid over some scandal which I would probably have asked the papers to put up in order to publicize my career.

So, be happy with what you have, and I’m sure that things would work out for you in one way or another. Sometimes, when you secretly want something badly, it will eventually work out for you. Fingers crossed!