Kapteiner på Malibu volleyball team i 2012; Laura Kiefer, Logan Beitler, Allison Hahn og Gigi Hadid. Foto: Dick Dornan / TMT

Det er ikke alle volleyballkapteiner på videregående som to år senere blir årets nykommer i Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition. Nå er det også klart at Gigi Hadid er en av 12 utvalgte modeller i Pirelli-kalenderen for 2015. Hun startet modellkarrieren som barn men mamma Yolanda Foster satte foten ned for modellarbeid i ungdomsårene. Yolanda ble selv oppdaget som 16-åring av Eileen Ford men hadde et klart ønske om at datteren skulle leve et mest mulig normalt ungdomsliv.

She wanted to hold me back and actually not letting me sign until I was 17 was probably the best thing my mom has done for me. I learned to accept myself as my own person and worked on other skills before jumping into an industry that’s really judgmental and that isn’t permanent. People could hate me tomorrow, but I’ll still be a student and a really good volleyball player—and maybe I’d have time to start riding horses again.

Oppdaget som toåring men ønsket en normal barndom

I was discovered by Paul Marciano, of Guess, when I was actually, like, two years old. And so I started with Baby Guess; I did Guess Kids, and then I stopped because I was a really competitive horseback rider, and a club volleyball player. I went to Junior Olympic qualifiers for volleyball. So, I kind of stopped modeling. I just wanted to have a normal childhood and go to high school. And so then I got back into it until I signed with IMG. My mom wouldn’t let me sign with an agency until I was 17. So that’s how I got back into it.

I dette intervjuet som er laget med Gigi Hadid i forbindelse med kalenderen som har vært distribuert til Pirellis viktigste kunder siden 1964 er det tydelig at Gigi kan spille volleyball.

I’m really competitive—I’m an athlete and played volleyball all through high school—so working out is fun for me. My trainer will tell me the women’s records for different things at the gym, and I’ll have to beat one by the end of the day or I won’t leave.

Kilder:
The Making of Steven Meisel’s 2015 Pirelli Calendar
University student, volleyball player, and Sports Illustrated model: Gigi Hadid
Gigi Hadid
Wiki: Pirelli-kalenderen
Wiki: Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition
Girls volleyball prepares for spike in competition