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FEBRUARY 2014 CLEO.COM.AU 43FEBRUARY 2014 CLEO.COM.AU 43
Coverstory
42 CLEO.COM.AU FEBRUARY 2014
SHANINASHANINA
Inherfirstcoverstory,AussiesupermodelShaninaShaiktellsPhoebeHookewhatit’s
reallyliketobeaVictoria’sSecretAngel,whyshedumpedTysonBeckfordandhow
beingbulliedatschoolonlymadeherstronger
S
hanina arrives
at an inner-
city Sydney
studio early
on a Saturday
morning, looking fresh-
faced and wearing a loose
Céline tank over blue skinny
jeans. She’s bursting with
excitement as she sits down
for hair and make-up. One
hour of beautifying later,
the Melbourne-born model
is transformed. Stepping on
set for her first cover shoot
ever, she politely asks our
fashion editorto play some
Beyoncé. We soon learn Bey
– who Shanina has met a few
times in NewYork, where
she now lives – is the keyto
putting the ‘super’ in front
of ‘model’ for our cover girl.
“Bootylicious” rings out and
Shanina starts mouthing the
lyrics and shaking her booty
in front ofthe pink backdrop.
We are crushing. Hard.
She’sanAngel
It is easyto see whythis
22-year-old scored a highly
coveted pair ofAngelwings
in the renowned Victoria’s
Secret fashion showtwo
years ago. As the images from
our shoot start to pop up on
screen, each one is glowing.
“Victoria’s Secret is definitely
my career highlight,” Shanina
says. “It was always my dream
to walk in the show. I used to
watch them all and mum had
the VS catalogues at home.
The women are beautiful,
strong and athletic.” Shanina
booked her first job with the
major lingerie brand when
she was just 20 and reveals
that, while the runway is all
glitz and glamour, backstage
it is “manic”. She’s also a
brand ambassador forJust
Jeans and has even been
handpicked by Karl Lagerfeld
to walk for Chanel – major
moment! Shanina says
the notoriously unfriendly
Lagerfeld actually dressed
her forthe show. “He’s really
cool, and always on his phone
and Instagram!”The model
counts fellowAngels Candice
Swanepoel and Adriana
Lima as friends, and spends
her days Instagramming
with Rihanna, bumping into
Kanye, getting cray craywith
Cara and meeting her idol,
Beyoncé. But her life hasn’t
always been filled with such
shining moments.
Darkdays
We sit down forthe interview
in a quiet area awayfrom the
camera. Shanina’s slightly
nervous and a little shaky,
but readyto talk about a
topic close to her heart:
bullying. Shanina started
modelling at eight years old
after her mum, Kim, signed
her up with an agency. Her
rare blend of Lithuanian and
Pakistani blood makes her a
high-fashion dream, but it’s
these differences that made
herthe subject of cruel
teasing during her school
years. “The popular group
in schoolwould tell other
people, ‘Do not hang out with
her, she’s not good enough’,”
Shanina says. “Theywould
call me names and use the
N-word about me being
black. It made me feel so crap
about myself and I would cry
every day after school. I felt
like I didn’t have anybody.”
Shanina says she felt so
lonely she didn’t want to go
to school. “I couldn’t deal
with the taunts and teasing
every day so I decided to stop
attending school,” she says.
“I couldn’t take any more pain
and embarrassment, so I got
the courage to tell my mum.”
Kim says she was worried her
daughterwould be hurt
by her peers. “Theywould
kick Shanina’s bag if she was
standing at her locker. I was
scared for my daughter.”
Finding
strength
Shanina says overcoming
the bullying has made her
stronger. “I want girls going
through this to know not
to take it personally. It’s
nothing to do with who you
are or howyou look. You are
unique, so when you look
in the mirror, be confident
in your own gifts. You don’t
have to fit in.” Looking back,
she says, “I’m glad it did
happen to me, I’m a lot
stronger now.”
“Theywould callme names
and use the N-word about
me being black”
42 CLEO.COM.AU FEBRUARY 2014
Jacket, $79.95, Just
Jeans. Bracelet (worn
throughout), $156, Petite
Grand. Rings (worn
throughout), $35 each
(gold) and $38 each
(silver), Native Riot.

2. FEBRUARY 2014 CLEO.COM.AU 45
In an industrywhere looks are
everything, Shanina says she
stillfaces discrimination. “A
magazinewas casting forgirls
to celebrate different cultures
inthe modellingworld, but I
didn’t bookthe job because
theysaid I didn’t fit in any
category. Buttheystill
wantedto celebrate different
looks?” But, afterherschool
experience, Shanina is ableto
take rejection in herstride.
Breakingaway
Shanina says she’s recovering
after breaking up with her
boyfriend, Tyson Beckford.
“Unfortunately, these things
do happen; we’ve gone our
own ways,” she says. “I do
have a great love for him and
I’m sure I willthroughout the
rest of my life.”The pair dated
for fouryears after meeting
on the realityTV show Make
Me a Supermodel, where
Shanina was a contestant
and Tyson the host.
But her mum says she
thought 43-year-
old Tyson was too
controlling, which led
her daughterto break
up with him. “Shanina
started to realise she needs
to be independent and to do
her own thing. It came to the
stage where she realised
she needs to start focusing
on herself now.”
Shanina says she’s a sucker
for romance. Her perfect date
is dinner at a nice restaurant.
“Picked up around seven or
eight o’clock, nice tie, taken
to a great restaurant. The
restaurant can tellyou a lot
about what the guythinks of
you, so I’d like allfemales to
take that on. Hopefully it’s
not a takeaway!” she laughs.
And the perfect guy? “I love
a guywho is down to earth,
kind and romantic, but also
confident with himself and
has a bit of swaggerto him.”
Yup, us too!
Ontherise
With more than 115,000
Instagram followers,
Shanina’s star is well and
truly rising, so CLEO is proud
to be her first ever cover.
It’s also great timing forthe
supermodel, who says, “It’s
my birthday on February 11,
so this is an amazing birthday
present. Thanks CLEO!” It’s
official: we are obsessed.
Ittakesmorethanjustbeingawinnerinthe
geneticlotterytobeaVictoria’sSecretAngel:
To stay in shape… I really enjoy boxing, especially
leading up to the Victoria’s Secret show. It’s great
for cardio and also releasing any bad energy and
aggression! Going to the gym three or fourtimes
a week is really important to me.
My diet is all about… eating according to my
blood type. I avoid foods that don’t work for my
body, such as dairy, avocado and acidic food
like tomatoes. But I do have carbohydrates in
moderation because my body needs them.
For brekkie I have… egg whites and spinach.
Lunch is… a salad. I sometimes add fruit to it. I like
salmon – it has good oils foryour skin, and I eat lots
of protein like chicken, fish and sometimes beef.
Favourite cuisine… I love Asian! In NewYork, I love
[French-Vietnamese] Indochine and [Asian bistro] Tao.
When it comes to extreme dieting… some models
unfortunately don’t eat orthey nibble on almonds all
day, but it’s such a bad example foryoung girls. I know
the main VS girls work really hard fortheir bodies.
My guilty pleasure is… ice cream. Anything chocolate!
Cookie dough choc chip and choc ice cream all mixed
together – I love Ben and Jerry’s pints.
My beautytip… I moisturise a lot and I use Miranda
Kerr’s Kora range. I love the cleanser.
“You are
unique... be
confident
withyour
gifts,you
don’t have
tofit in”
What you
didn’t
know about
Shanina…Favourite designer… I love
wearing Just Jeans. I just
picked up a great pair ofwhite
jeans for summer. But I also
love AlexanderWang because
it’s really stylish and has the
street cred as well.
Aussie designer… Dion Lee.
I feel sexiest when… I’m
happy and healthy, and
working out. It shines
through from within.
Most common misconception
about me is…that I’m vain
and into myself. I’m not! I love
having fun and I’m easy-
going. People judge me for
how I look, theythink I might
have a bitchy persona – and
that’s not who I am at all.
An agency once told me…
I had to lose weight when
I was 16. So I started to go to
the gym, every day. It was too
much. It hurt my metabolism
and my skin. I just didn’t look
healthy. I like to celebrate the
woman’s body. Curves are
what we’re born with and
that’s what makes women!
I love CLEO because… it’s
always a magazine you can
talk about. The stories, the
fashion – it’s so fun to read
and it’s the perfect guide for
anyyoung girl growing up.
Shanina’s
workoutplaylist
Drake – “Hold On, We’re
Going Home”
Chris Team – “I Follow
Rivers: Tribute To Lykke Li”
Jay-Z – “Tom Ford”
Rihanna – “Right Now”
Robin Thicke feat. Pharrell
and T.I. – “Blurred Lines”
Lana Del Rey –
“Summertime Sadness
(Cedric Gervais remix)”
Beyonce – “Partition”
Avicii – “Wake Me Up”
Secrets of a
supermodel
SEE more of our amazing cover
shoot with Shanina. Download the
free viewa app and scan this page.
Top, $169, Maurie & Eve. Skirt,
POA, Melinda & Narina. Boots,
$320, Faddoul. Necklace, $179,
Pink Loulou.PhotographyJasonIerace.StylingAlissaThomas.HairMichaelBrennan/
TheArtistGroup.Make-upAllisonBoyle/TheArtistGroup.
Coverstory