When you think of modelling, what comes to mind? 🤔
Glitz. Glamour. Spotlights.
The dreamy world of flashing cameras and magazine covers.
But beneath the perfect poses and designer smiles, lies a world few talk about, a world where beauty is currency, but the price can be devastating.
Welcome to the real modelling industry.
Let’s strip away the filters and expose what really goes on behind the scenes.
1. The Starvation Game
What if I told you some models don’t eat real meals for days before a big show?
Many live on coffee, cigarettes, and chewing gum.
Why? To stay sample size.
Agencies often pressure models to maintain unrealistic body standards, and the competition is brutal.
Some even go as far as water fasting or taking laxatives just to lose a few inches.
And no, the camera doesn’t always add ten pounds, sometimes, it adds shame.
2. It’s Not Always About Looks
📍Shocker:
Agencies and scouts often pick who they think fits a brand’s fantasy.
Quirky features, unique flaws, or even a “runway walk attitude” can win over conventional beauty.
In this world, luck and timing matter more than perfection.
Many drop-dead gorgeous girls are never booked.
Meanwhile, someone with an unconventional face becomes the next fashion icon.
3. The “Free” Photoshoots That Cost Everything
New models are often told to build their portfolio with “free” shoots.
What they’re not told is that these shoots can sometimes come with strings:
📍Uncomfortable situations
📍Suggestive poses
📍Zero protection.
Some photographers exploit inexperienced models, especially when there’s no agency to intervene.
The promise of exposure has been the bait in too many traps.
4. Age is Just a Number: Until It’s Not
Most top models start at 14, peak by 21, and are 'too old' by 25.
Yes, 25.
The pressure to stay young forever drives some into anti-aging treatments even before they hit their twenties.
Want to start modelling at 30? 😌
Good luck unless you're in the niche "mature model" category which even then, is still an uphill battle.
5. The Fake Lives They Live Online
Instagram may show designer bags and tropical getaways, but many models sleep in cramped apartments with five other girls, sharing one bathroom and living on instant noodles.
The illusion of wealth is part of the brand.
Most aren’t paid in cash but in “clout”; exposure, free clothes, or worse, “experience.”
6. Mental Health? What’s That?
Rejection is daily bread in modelling.
You're too fat, too thin, too tall, too short, too ethnic, or not ethnic enough.
Depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and low self-esteem are silently rampant.
The industry barely talks about it, because image is everything and emotions don’t photograph well.
Lastly,
📍Modelling is not all doom and gloom.
📍It can open doors, inspire art, and build confidence.
📍But it’s time we stopped idolizing a world built on edited images and whispered sacrifices.
📍The runway may sparkle, but the path to get there is often paved with secrets no one talks about.
📍📍So next time you admire a perfect picture, just remember: behind every pose is a story and some stories are darker than they seem.
Want to see the raw side of modelling in motion?
If this article opened your eyes, wait until you watch this.
This short video dives even deeper into the hidden pressures, behind the scenes struggles, and untold truths of the modelling world captured in real time.
Watch now: Click Here👇
It’s not what you think. It’s what they never tell you.
Leave your thoughts in the comments**
