Surviving Miami Swim Week 2019

This year was my first year participating in Miami Swim Week which is a week of runway shows showcasing swimsuits from designers around the world. When I got off the plane in July, I dropped off my luggage and immediately got my workout in before the storm. I knew I would need the afternoon to plan out my week. I was told by many other models to "get ready for the madness". I wasn't sure what they meant by that as I already knew how crazy castings can be especially having just spent time in Milan.

It's 5 o'clock in Miami and I'm refreshing my feed waiting on my agent to send an email for the next day. DING. A long list of brands appear on my phone starting with the first casting stating at 8am then the last one ending at 6pm. There were three days of emails that consisted of long lists of castings each day. The castings all had about a two to three hour window and overlapped one another. The castings weren't too far from each other so I categorized them based on their start time in hopes I'd be seen first.

I head to the kitchen and make my dinner, Veggie burger and a sweet potato, then meal prepped for the week ahead. I knew I would be rushing from each casting so I packed a lunch and snack every day. Let me tell you that was best decision of my life! I made grilled chicken with avocado, tomatoes, shaved almonds, and cucumber salads for lunch every day. Then made sure I had a protein bar, nuts, or fruit with me for snacks in between.

The next morning I wake up extra early to be at my first location an hour before start time. I would always rather be early and waiting to be seen than late and the clients waiting on me no matter what my job is. I arrive at the hotel where my 8am-12pm casting was held. My eyes grew wide as I saw the line out the door at 7am. Each casting on my list for this day had a good gap of time to be seen. That seems nice right? Well there was just one problem. The amount of girls that were there meant this would take a while. Some swim brands already had girls chosen for their show so they only needed a handful more. This was frustrating when I experienced waiting in a line and then with ten girls in front of me and about 100 behind me waiting were told they aren't seeing anyone else. What could I expect, girls from all over the world were here and if you weren't the first 50 in the building you probably wouldn't be seen.

After three days of running around for castings, you had about two days where fittings were held. This was when brands choose which swimsuit looks you will be wearing for their show. This part was a lot less stressful. You also were able to see other girls walking with you.

I ended up walking in quite a few shows and realized from this experience the key to surviving the madness is being organized. I set my goals to be in bed by 10pm every night. I missed out on some parties but sleep was more important to me to perform my best every night on the runway. I also meal prepped my lunch and snack every day. Others were stressed to have time to run into a restaurant to grab food but I was able to eat waiting in the hallway in my bikini on the floor. LOL! That's a sight to see. I made sure to be on time but also understood you can't make everything. Some castings I had to miss but there's always next year. You can't be in 10 places at the same time.

The connections I made at Swim week I will never forget. I met some of the most genuine & kind girls and made friendships that I'm certain will last. This career has a lot of demands and there is nothing better than cheering on others and watching their dreams happen.

xx