LONDON: Marylebone
Sheila Gomez is one RED HOT German model that is considerably much more than just a pretty body, face, eyes, hair, legs, you get the picture… Originally from Bonn, she travels the world via her modeling career and shares some of her experiences with REDHOT-SOCIETY. We recently asked her “how she started out” in modeling.
“I was born in Bonn, a university town in Germany and the former capital of it. During my time at university, I lived in Cologne, Düsseldorf and San Francisco, as well as a couple of months in Florida and in a little city called Harwich – close to Boston. My father is originally from India and my mom is from Germany.
What brought me to the modeling world? Good questions☺. To be honest I wasn’t a big fan of the modeling world in the past. First, I studied business law and worked in the area of white collar crime after passing my exam. Afterwards I started a second study in pedagogy, which I also finished. I also attended some courses at Stanford University in California.
A photographer, asked me one day why I wasn’t modelling. He told me there were good agencies and I could travel the world while earning income. He gave me a list of some contacts.
The next day I sent applications to agencies and received a positive feedback. After a couple of months I established clients, which booked me regularly. I expanded my agency network through Europe and now I love my job more than I could imagine. I feel blessed to have an opportunity to work in so many wonderful countries with wonderful and inspiring people.”
What category of model do you consider yourself? Fashion, Swimwear, Commercial?
“Most of the time I work in the commercial sector, print and spots. I do a lot of fitness shoots as well as swimwear and lingerie. Sometimes there are also clients which book me for fashion jobs, catwalk and shooting. But my main sector are commercials. In the past I was able to be cast for different roles, from the young sportive girl to being a mom on a set.”
What is your personal fashion style? Elegance, comfort, sport?
“I have all different styles in my closet, from sportive, to fancy black dresses to casual clothes and all price ranges. I like to mix up things from Zara, H&M with my favorite designer pieces. My personal fashion style depends on my daily mood ☺. Sometimes I wake up and I feel like dressing up for the day, then I put on a nice dress with some high heels, I do my hair and makeup. On other days I wake up and feel like wearing boyfriend jeans, some comfortable sneakers and an oversize shirt with a ponytail. So I have different style for different days and moods.”
What does your diet and exercise routine look like?
“I have a strict diet which I follow. I try not to eat sugar, bad carbs and I do not drink alcohol. Once in a while I have days which I do not feel like following these food habits, so I eat pasta, chocolate, french fries etc. I try not to forbid myself from eating, but I recognized that some foods are not good for me and my body, because I have the feeling of less energy after eating them, so I try to avoid these. I try to cook as much as possible, because then I know what is in it and can choose the ingredients myself. When I travel I try to prepare my food, so I do not have to eat outside. Especially at airports and train stations, it is sometimes difficult to find healthy foods, so it is better to be prepared. I always have almonds and some chopped fruits and vegetables with me.
For my exercise habits, I try to work out 5 to 6 times a week with challenging units. I do different exercises in every session, so my body does not get used to them and I challenge myself every week. It is a mix between a high intensity training and some jogging, swimming and biking.”
Favorite desserts, that diet “cheat”?
“My favorite desserts are warm chocolate cake with ice cream and hot chocolate with whipped cream. However I cannot eat this every day and staying in shape at the same time. So my regular dessert is a Greek yogurt with berries and honey.”
Aspects of modeling you enjoy?
“I really love the travelling and also enjoy to work with people who have a passion for their work. The pay is also a positive side effect. I see this job as a gift to meet amazing people, travel the world and to save some money while doing so.”
Aspects of modeling you don’t like?
“One of the things I do not like about the modeling business are last minutes calls. You are not able to plan anything and have to be 100% flexible.
The other thing that I do not like is meeting arrogant people who do not treat others the way they deserve to be treated. I don’t cluster or judge people by their profession, physical appearance, age or education. I treat all people the same. Some girls, and this is just a SMALL percentage of the whole group, think that they are better than others. They think they do not have to clean up their mess, can treat people like they want and do not have to lift a finger for others. I was not raised like this. My parents always told me to treat all people the same. Also I did a lot of NORMAL jobs in the past to finance my studies. I worked in a kitchen and washed up plates. I worked as a waitress and I also worked a long time in retail. So I know exactly how it is to really work for little money. If I can help my crew on the set I will empty the trash can as well as wash up their plates. I never feel and I will never feel to GOOD or BETTER for a job. It’s all about teamwork and every member of the shooting team counts the same. This is what should be in every persons mind, not only in the modeling business.”
Hours of sleep per night?
“I try to sleep between seven and eight hours. However this is not always possible and in addition to the lack of time I sometimes have trouble falling asleep, because I go over the whole day again before bed and that makes it sometimes difficult to adjust into a relaxing sleep mood.”
Definition of a GOOD model vs. a BAD model?
“A GOOD model is for me a person who is always on time, does not complain about weather conditions during a shoot or overtime hours. We can just be thankful that we have opportunity to do the job. Other people have to work much longer and sometimes harder for the same amount of money that we earn in one day. I do not want to say that modelling is always easy when you have to be outside wearing summer clothes during winter weather at freezing temperatures. It is one not-so-comfortable part of our job we have to live with.
So my motto is do not complain and be grateful for what you have. It is also important never to lose focus on real important things in life. I mean it is not all about hair, make up, staying in shape, expensive clothes, parties and being the most beautiful one on the spot. For me it is also important, and this is the feedback I also get from different clients, is to have a powerful personality, which is filled with intelligence, grace and respect. This is also an important part for being a GOOD model.”
Any plans for acting?
“A couple weeks ago I started taking acting classes. Becoming better in acting is one of my future goals as it is especially important for TV commercials. Models are often in competition with trained actors and it could be a big benefit for a model to become more experienced in this field.”
Sheila Gomez full of surprises. Highly educated and gracious. We hope to meet more beauties with brains and class in her field.
THE END
