TELL US THREE INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT YOURSELF?
Not only do I model but I DJ, perform burlesque and have had a brief fling with roller derby.
WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO GET INTO ALTERNATIVE MODELLING & HOW DID YOU GO ABOUT IT?
I’d always wanted to model when I was younger, looking at the Suicide Girls and Perverse Fixation, but didn’t have enough confidence to pursue it. In 2007 I found a love for the burlesque scene and began to perform in February of that year. I only intended it to be one performance, something to tick off the “things to do before you’re 30” list but ended up performing regularly. From this I fell into modelling as a way to promote myself and the shows I was involved in. Becoming a performer gave me much more belief in myself and I started to pursue modelling projects separate to my life on the stage, and in more alternative styles. WHAT DO YOU DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME? I’m a bit of a magpie when it comes to hobbies and find it hard to commit to just one thing. I’m still performing burlesque alongside my modelling and as a former Tiger Bay Brawler I also love to have a skate when I can. I’d really like to get back behind the decks at some point too. Any other time I have I like to take photographs with my Diana and Fisheye cameras, watch 80s movies, sing karaoke and catch up with friends for a dance or dinner.
WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT FAVOURITE BAND/STYLE OF MUSIC?
I’ve hosted my own rock shows on radio, had residencies as a DJ at my old university for several years as well as Bogiez, Cardiff, and have worked for Barfly and XFM, so alternative/metal music will always be my love. In that respect it’s very difficult to pick just one band. At the moment I’m listening to a mixture of old and new, so Blood Red Shoes, The Distillers, Brother Firetribe and Biffy Clyro are sat by my CD player. This festival season I’m over the moon to be able to see Black Sabbath and Kiss. I think the only thing that could top that for me would be if I was able to see ACDC and Led Zeppelin perform.
WHAT WAS THE BEST LIVE SHOW YOU’VE BEEN TO & WHY?
A show that will always stick in my mind is when I saw Rammstein perform in the CIA back around 2003. I was just blown away by the theatricality of it and the amount that they managed to do with the space they had. They are one band that don’t phone in a performance, they really know how to give it to their fans, and that gig has always stuck with me as I remember just how much fun I had and what a buzz I was on when it finished. I’d say that Alice Cooper’s performance at Sonisphere is up there too for the same reasons.
TELL US
A BIT ABOUT YOUR INK?
I have five pieces of ink. My first piece is the word Serendipity on my left wrist. I was going through a hard time personally and it gave me a bit of hope to believe that someday I might get my own “happy accident”. My next piece was a cross on my right hip bone. I’m not an avid believer of religion but I’m quite drawn to the imagery and iconography of it, and I really made a connection with the design. I have a cherry blossom on my left ankle and this is one tattoo that I don’t regret but didn’t really put much thought into. An ex-boyfriend is a tattoo artist and is responsible for most of my work both pre and post our relationship, as he is excellent at what he does, but this one was done a bit spur of the moment when I dropped into his shop, and is the only coloured piece of ink I have. My sister was in a serious car accident a few years ago and thankfully survived. When she was ready to get ink we decided we wanted to share a tattoo, so the small graphic design that I have on my right rib cage is taken from a larger piece that forms her half sleeve. My largest tattoo is an ivy design which goes from my hip upwards to the top of my left rib cage. It is one of the boldest pieces I’ve undertaken and one of my favourites. I have many plans for more and it always takes me a long time to decide on placement and size, but I think my next piece will be a piece of script on my right arm.
WE FIND YOU PASSED OUT IN YOUR TOWN CENTRE, DRUNK OUT OF YOUR TROLLEY ON A SATURDAY NIGHT. WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN & WHAT HAVE YOU
BEEN DRINKING?
I will either have been at Full Moon Cardiff drinking my way through their Chairmans Reserve , or at Bogiez, Cardiff on a hideous amount of Morgans Spiced and Coke.
TELL US ABOUT YOUR FUNNIEST DRUNKEN MOMENT?
I tend to either get quite fighty when I’m drunk or a sobbing mess. I do remember my sister visited once and she got so drunk that she lay down in the street for a nap and I tried to either punch or kick her to get up as it was a bit of a trek home ( I blame Metros vodka). I think what in my head was probably quite a fight just looked like a bit of ridiculous bitch slapping between two silly lairy Northern Irish sisters. I’m pretty sure there was a lot of laughing from my two male mates who stepped in to separate us.
DO YOU HAVE ANY UNUSUAL HABITS OR HOBBIES?
I don’t think I do anything too bizarre. I think sometimes people are a bit surprised that I can be crushingly shy and a little socially awkward, when