The much-anticipated Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue of 2016 was finally presented to a very anxious global fan base last month. Featuring SI Vet Hailey Clauson, plus-size stunner Ashley Graham, and UFC fighter Ronda Rousey on the cover this year, Kyra Santoro is still one of my favorite top models to be featured in this year’s edition.
Not one to hold back on the modeling industry (or anything else you might ask her about), Kyra has almost 1 million followers on Instagram thanks to her daily ultra-sexy photo posts. The model, who told me she secretly suffered the trauma of a unibrow as a child, has certainly grown up to become one of the most beautiful women in the world. I recently had the opportunity to chat with Kyra Santoro about her SI spread, the ugly side of modeling, dating apps, and the real deal on Photoshop!
Chaunce Hayden: It must be surreal to see yourself inside the pages of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
Kyra Santoro: It was my dream job come true. Plus, there’s a lot of stuff that comes after it, so I’m really excited.
In the 90’s, there were 5 supermodels that we all could name. Now it seems like to be a supermodel, you have to make the pages of Sports Illustrated. Would you agree?
Or Victoria’s Secret. Although, I prefer Sports Illustrated to Victoria’s Secret. I think Victoria’s Secret changed their image too much. They used to be into bodies and being sexy and now they are only interested in skinny, high fashion models. High fashion models are great, don’t get me wrong. I just don’t think they look as good in underwear. They really changed their look over the last couple of years. Of course, I’m a swimsuit model so I’m biased.
What makes a girl a supermodel besides making it into Victoria’s Secret or Sports Illustrated?
I think it’s defined by how big the job is that you’re working for. It really depends on what magazine covers you get, or what make-up, hair, or jewelry campaign you get. Those girls are a different caliber.
Can you believe we still talk about Cindy Crawford and Christie Brinkley?
I know! Isn’t that crazy?
Do you think there’s a model today that will be as popular 25 years from now?
I’m not really sure. Maybe Gisele Bundchen. She’s been around for a while. She’s still the highest paid supermodel.
Would you agree that the way to stay in the public eye and remain on top is to do crazy things that cause headlines?
It’s so ridiculous. Your value should come from how hard you work and not some scandal you were involved in. I don’t like putting people on a pedestal for doing something stupid. I don’t understand it. Although I guess I’m not one to talk, because I get jobs off of Instagram. I get jobs just based on how many followers I have on social media.
You currently have almost a million people following you on Instagram. That’s pretty impressive.
It’s pretty crazy. Since Halloween I’ve increased my following by over 350,000. I think it’s somewhere near 750,000 followers now.
Is that due to your Sports Illustrated spread?
Obviously I think Sports Illustrated helped, but I already had a name before Sports Illustrated. People that have been following me have been saying, “Finally they noticed you! Took them long enough!”
There are so many beautiful women in the world. What is it about you that makes you stand out?
I think it’s just the way I brand myself. I don’t brand myself in a negative way. I’m always smiling and I’m always happy. I do crazy sports and I think I come across as more accessible and more real. Some models don’t seem like they are human or like they’re real people. I put my personality out there. I’d rather be seen as someone with a personality then just another pretty face. Some agencies brand their models as untouchable and unrelatable.
I don’t know if you heard about this, but several models are suing their agencies because they say they were mistreated and misrepresented.
I really don’t know about it, but I will say I agree. I should have sued the last agency I was with, as far as I’m concerned. They took 11 months to pay me for a job. It’s true that you can wait as long as a year to be paid. A lot of times your agent doesn’t care about you. You’re just another number to them. Unless, of course, you’re a favorite and making the most money for the agency. In that case, they will brown nose you. Otherwise, you’re just another number. Nobody cares about your well-being or your health. I have had times where I was so sick and they were literally trying to get me to go to a casting. I told them I was ill and they responded with, “That’s okay, but we really think you shouldn’t miss this one. We think you should go.” They won’t let you have a day off. There are all kinds of fees that they take out of your pay as well. Some of the agencies are sneaky. I was just unhappy because I felt like my agency didn’t care about me. They didn’t have my best interests at heart. Talking to them was like speaking to a wall. Those are the people who are supposed to make you money and pay your bills, especially when you’re traveling. People think your agency pays for all of that. In reality, they take it out of your paycheck.
Of course, now that you’re in Sports Illustrated, those days are over.
(Laughs) Yeah! My new agency treats me like I’m family. I’m lucky to be where I’m at now. I’m blessed.
Let’s get back to talking about Sports Illustrated. What was your first thought when you saw the three separate cover choices featuring plus-size model Ashley Graham, Ronda Rousey and Hailey Clauson?
We were the first people to see it because we were at the Sports Illustrated TV filming. I loved it. I was so happy for Ashley. I really didn’t think they would give the cover to all three girls. I thought it was really messed up that they would call all three girls out there and get their hopes up like that. It felt like American Idol. It was weird. When all three got it, I was so happy. Ashley is the most amazing person. She’s so sweet and so friendly. From the second I met her she was nothing but nice. I don’t think anyone deserves it more than she does. Meanwhile, Hailey has paid her dues with Sports Illustrated. It was her fifth year shooting for them. She’s the typical blonde bombshell next door. And Ronda Rousey has a crazy fan base. So those were three smart options. It was controversial, but it’s SI. They are allowed to do that. I thought it was amazing.
Only one percent of the world looks like you. How does that feel?
(Laughs) Thank you! I don’t know what to say to that.
Photoshop is a word that always comes up when we talk about beauty and what we perceive beauty to be. How do you feel about Photoshop and do you think that it is over-used today?
Sometimes I do feel that it is used too much. My agent knows I won’t use photos that are overly photoshopped. I know what I look like and my fans know what I look like. Although, if there is a photo that was taken at a weird angle and it needs to be fixed, that’s different. But when you change the way a person looks and you blur out a person’s skin, that’s crazy. We have pores. Pores exist on people. There are plenty of good photographers who know how to use Photoshop and know when not to use it. At the end of the day, our job as models is to sell things. If I get photographed in a dress and my job is to get you to buy that dress, but because I was photoshopped so much, you will never look like I look in that dress, what’s the point? It would just be false expectations.
Do you intimidate men in person?
Sometimes people are very intimidated by me and I have no clue why. I feel like I do put myself out there and try to be friendly. Then I’ll get a tweet or a comment on my photo from someone saying, “I just saw you at LAX airport but I was too afraid to come up to you. Hi, from a fan.” They should totally come up to me! I’m not scary and I don’t bite! I wouldn’t yell at you for coming up to me. Unfortunately, sometimes I get the opposite: since I do put myself out there, people will come up to me and put their arm around me or touch me. They act like they know me. They’ll say, “Oh you are the coolest person. We feel like we know you!” They’ll grab me even though I don’t know them. I’ll say, “Thank you, but I don’t know you. That’s how my friends touch me.” So I get it both ways. Either people are afraid to come up to me and talk or they are over-the-top touchy. It’s weird. It’s very weird.
Do you have trouble finding dates?
I was single for a while, but I’m in a relationship now. When I was single, I was pretty closed off to going on dates. I don’t like going on dates with people who only know me a certain way. I don’t like being Kyra, the model. I’m Kyra, the person. I don’t like it when people have a perception of me, but it’s not who I am. I don’t like dating people in my industry. My boyfriend and I go all the way back to high school. My job title has nothing to do with our relationship.
He must be very secure.
He’s super cool. He’s so supportive of me. He’s so proud of me! It’s really awesome to have. When I was single, people would try to set me up and I would decline because the person was following me on Instagram. It was just too uncomfortable. It seemed like a fan that just wanted to get in my pants or something.
Would you ever go on a dating app?
I’m so against dating apps. I would never go on them because I know someone would say, “Oh my God, that’s Kyra!” I’m not that big, but I know that it would happen because it’s already happened in person. I would rather meet someone organically. I want to talk to you in person and see your personality and your demeanor.
Tell us one thing about yourself that you never told anyone…ever.
I was a cute baby but I had a very extended awkward phase. I was not the cute girl in high school. I had friends but I wasn’t the popular, pretty girl.
Lastly, when was the moment you looked in the mirror and thought to yourself, “I could be a model.”
I still don’t look in the mirror and say that! I look in the mirror and think, “Oh my God, I need to pluck this hair between my eyebrows and pop this pimple!” I think I was around 17 or 18 years old when I started to get more comfortable with myself. I would say it took until I became 20 years old where I felt organically blessed and I started to get confidence. Trust me, I had a thick unibrow and a gap between my teeth for a long time. My gap closed naturally, but I’m Italian and my hair follicles are really thick so I had misshaped eyebrows with a bit of a unibrow in the middle. I got made fun of enough times in 8th grade that my mom finally took me to get them fixed.
Great secret!
(Laughs) Thanks!
Chaunce Hayden: It must be surreal to see yourself inside the pages of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue.
Kyra Santoro: It was my dream job come true. Plus, there’s a lot of stuff that comes after it, so I’m really excited.
In the 90’s, there were 5 supermodels that we all could name. Now it seems like to be a supermodel, you have to make the pages of Sports Illustrated. Would you agree?
Or Victoria’s Secret. Although, I prefer Sports Illustrated to Victoria’s Secret. I think Victoria’s Secret changed their image too much. They used to be into bodies and being sexy and now they are only interested in skinny, high fashion models. High fashion models are great, don’t get me wrong. I just don’t think they look as good in underwear. They really changed their look over the last couple of years. Of course, I’m a swimsuit model so I’m biased.
What makes a girl a supermodel besides making it into Victoria’s Secret or Sports Illustrated?
I think it’s defined by how big the job is that you’re working for. It really depends on what magazine covers you get, or what make-up, hair, or jewelry campaign you get. Those girls are a different caliber.
Can you believe we still talk about Cindy Crawford and Christie Brinkley?
I know! Isn’t that crazy?
Do you think there’s a model today that will be as popular 25 years from now?
I’m not really sure. Maybe Gisele Bundchen. She’s been around for a while. She’s still the highest paid supermodel.
Would you agree that the way to stay in the public eye and remain on top is to do crazy things that cause headlines?
It’s so ridiculous. Your value should come from how hard you work and not some scandal you were involved in. I don’t like putting people on a pedestal for doing something stupid. I don’t understand it. Although I guess I’m not one to talk, because I get jobs off of Instagram. I get jobs just based on how many followers I have on social media.
You currently have almost a million people following you on Instagram. That’s pretty impressive.
It’s pretty crazy. Since Halloween I’ve increased my following by over 350,000. I think it’s somewhere near 750,000 followers now.
Is that due to your Sports Illustrated spread?
Obviously I think Sports Illustrated helped, but I already had a name before Sports Illustrated. People that have been following me have been saying, “Finally they noticed you! Took them long enough!”
There are so many beautiful women in the world. What is it about you that makes you stand out?
I think it’s just the way I brand myself. I don’t brand myself in a negative way. I’m always smiling and I’m always happy. I do crazy sports and I think I come across as more accessible and more real. Some models don’t seem like they are human or like they’re real people. I put my personality out there. I’d rather be seen as someone with a personality then just another pretty face. Some agencies brand their models as untouchable and unrelatable.
I don’t know if you heard about this, but several models are suing their agencies because they say they were mistreated and misrepresented.
I really don’t know about it, but I will say I agree. I should have sued the last agency I was with, as far as I’m concerned. They took 11 months to pay me for a job. It’s true that you can wait as long as a year to be paid. A lot of times your agent doesn’t care about you. You’re just another number to them. Unless, of course, you’re a favorite and making the most money for the agency. In that case, they will brown nose you. Otherwise, you’re just another number. Nobody cares about your well-being or your health. I have had times where I was so sick and they were literally trying to get me to go to a casting. I told them I was ill and they responded with, “That’s okay, but we really think you shouldn’t miss this one. We think you should go.” They won’t let you have a day off. There are all kinds of fees that they take out of your pay as well. Some of the agencies are sneaky. I was just unhappy because I felt like my agency didn’t care about me. They didn’t have my best interests at heart. Talking to them was like speaking to a wall. Those are the people who are supposed to make you money and pay your bills, especially when you’re traveling. People think your agency pays for all of that. In reality, they take it out of your paycheck.
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Of course, now that you’re in Sports Illustrated, those days are over.
(Laughs) Yeah! My new agency treats me like I’m family. I’m lucky to be where I’m at now. I’m blessed.
Let’s get back to talking about Sports Illustrated. What was your first thought when you saw the three separate cover choices featuring plus-size model Ashley Graham, Ronda Rousey and Hailey Clauson?
We were the first people to see it because we were at the Sports Illustrated TV filming. I loved it. I was so happy for Ashley. I really didn’t think they would give the cover to all three girls. I thought it was really messed up that they would call all three girls out there and get their hopes up like that. It felt like American Idol. It was weird. When all three got it, I was so happy. Ashley is the most amazing person. She’s so sweet and so friendly. From the second I met her she was nothing but nice. I don’t think anyone deserves it more than she does. Meanwhile, Hailey has paid her dues with Sports Illustrated. It was her fifth year shooting for them. She’s the typical blonde bombshell next door. And Ronda Rousey has a crazy fan base. So those were three smart options. It was controversial, but it’s SI. They are allowed to do that. I thought it was amazing.
Only one percent of the world looks like you. How does that feel?
(Laughs) Thank you! I don’t know what to say to that.
Photoshop is a word that always comes up when we talk about beauty and what we perceive beauty to be. How do you feel about Photoshop and do you think that it is over-used today?
Sometimes I do feel that it is used too much. My agent knows I won’t use photos that are overly photoshopped. I know what I look like and my fans know what I look like. Although, if there is a photo that was taken at a weird angle and it needs to be fixed, that’s different. But when you change the way a person looks and you blur out a person’s skin, that’s crazy. We have pores. Pores exist on people. There are plenty of good photographers who know how to use Photoshop and know when not to use it. At the end of the day, our job as models is to sell things. If I get photographed in a dress and my job is to get you to buy that dress, but because I was photoshopped so much, you will never look like I look in that dress, what’s the point? It would just be false expectations.
Do you intimidate men in person?
Sometimes people are very intimidated by me and I have no clue why. I feel like I do put myself out there and try to be friendly. Then I’ll get a tweet or a comment on my photo from someone saying, “I just saw you at LAX airport but I was too afraid to come up to you. Hi, from a fan.” They should totally come up to me! I’m not scary and I don’t bite! I wouldn’t yell at you for coming up to me. Unfortunately, sometimes I get the opposite: since I do put myself out there, people will come up to me and put their arm around me or touch me. They act like they know me. They’ll say, “Oh you are the coolest person. We feel like we know you!” They’ll grab me even though I don’t know them. I’ll say, “Thank you, but I don’t know you. That’s how my friends touch me.” So I get it both ways. Either people are afraid to come up to me and talk or they are over-the-top touchy. It’s weird. It’s very weird.
Do you have trouble finding dates?
I was single for a while, but I’m in a relationship now. When I was single, I was pretty closed off to going on dates. I don’t like going on dates with people who only know me a certain way. I don’t like being Kyra, the model. I’m Kyra, the person. I don’t like it when people have a perception of me, but it’s not who I am. I don’t like dating people in my industry. My boyfriend and I go all the way back to high school. My job title has nothing to do with our relationship.
He must be very secure.
He’s super cool. He’s so supportive of me. He’s so proud of me! It’s really awesome to have. When I was single, people would try to set me up and I would decline because the person was following me on Instagram. It was just too uncomfortable. It seemed like a fan that just wanted to get in my pants or something.
Would you ever go on a dating app?
I’m so against dating apps. I would never go on them because I know someone would say, “Oh my God, that’s Kyra!” I’m not that big, but I know that it would happen because it’s already happened in person. I would rather meet someone organically. I want to talk to you in person and see your personality and your demeanor.
Tell us one thing about yourself that you never told anyone…ever.
I was a cute baby but I had a very extended awkward phase. I was not the cute girl in high school. I had friends but I wasn’t the popular, pretty girl.
Lastly, when was the moment you looked in the mirror and thought to yourself, “I could be a model.”
I still don’t look in the mirror and say that! I look in the mirror and think, “Oh my God, I need to pluck this hair between my eyebrows and pop this pimple!” I think I was around 17 or 18 years old when I started to get more comfortable with myself. I would say it took until I became 20 years old where I felt organically blessed and I started to get confidence. Trust me, I had a thick unibrow and a gap between my teeth for a long time. My gap closed naturally, but I’m Italian and my hair follicles are really thick so I had misshaped eyebrows with a bit of a unibrow in the middle. I got made fun of enough times in 8th grade that my mom finally took me to get them fixed.
Great secret!
(Laughs) Thanks!
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