IMME VISSER: the interview

IMME VISSER - the interview

Imme Visser is with Micha models (Amsterdam).

IMME VISSER: "I was born in Wageningen, the Netherlands. I’m fully Dutch, though my father is from Friesland, so I’m half a Frisian."

PONY RYDER: Hello Imme, are you a tea type or a coffee type?
IMME VISSER: Tea tea tea! I love tea! I’m a total tea-drinker! Especially rooibos / red bush tea.

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PONY RYDER: When and how did you start modeling?
IMME VISSER: I started when a very nice girl, Toeps, sent me a message on one of my blogs and asked me if I was interested in having a photoshoot. She’s a very good photographer, so I went and I had my first photoshoot ever! It was autumn of last year... I look unbelievably young at those pictures, though it’s only a year ago.

Then I started doing photoshoots for fashion students of Arnhem Fashion Institute (ArtEZ) and then in April, Micha contacted me and asked if I would like to meet with her and talk about being a model.

At that moment, I was a bit fed up with people asking me if I wanted to model and then just never answer me again when I sent in my stats. Micha, on the other hand, didn’t mind that I have hips and wanted to meet with me anyway. I first had to pass my final exams for high school so I decided to meet with her in August. She was really nice and decided that she wanted to represent me, and sent me to a personal trainer to work out. That’s the long story of how it all started!

PONY RYDER. When you were growing up, did you feel pretty?
IMME VISSER: To be honest? No. I was a rather shy, mousy kid, and I had a rather bossy best friend who kept telling me that ‘I didn’t really shine or looked special’. If you hear that for 5 years, you start believing it yourself as well.

PONY RYDER: OK, Imme, tell us the strange meaning of your name?
IMME VISSER: Haha! My name means Honeybee :). It also means standard things like ‘the Great’ and ‘the Powerful’, like almost all names, but I prefer Honeybee, because it’s so sweet. I like bees.

PONY RYDER: What are your first impressions of modeling?

IMME VISSER: If you are a young girl, you see pictures of beautiful girls on beautiful locations and you think ‘I want to be a model and travel and make money by doing nothing and being beautiful!’

It’s sooo not like that. It’s hard work, I keep telling people, you REALLY have to want this. I have had so many shoots where I had to stand in the cold in summery clothes all day, or climb up somewhere rather high and sit there, almost falling off and being afraid of heights, for minutes.

Plus, I of course have to work out a lot and diet, which is not always easy either. But it’s worth it. It’s a job, it’s not that glamorous at all. You have to look at it as a real life job, but I wouldn’t want any other job.

PONY RYDER: What is the hardest thing for you as a new model?

IMME VISSER: For me the hardest thing right now is making sure I lose weight, so I can go international. It’s hard, but I love having a goal in life, something to work for, so I’ll manage, I have good spirit.

I think in general, as a new model, you have to learn your angles, try to find the right poses, while still being yourself. I’m told that I’m the best model if I’m just dreaming away, but that differs for everybody. Of course you have to be focused, always, and listen to the directions you’re given by the photographer.

Are they looking for a certain person, pose or type or can you just be yourself? A lot of times shoots have a theme and you will have to adapt to that theme. I think that is quite hard sometimes, I have to learn to be a lot of persons.

PONY RYDER: How does a developing process of a model work?
IMME VISSER: Well, I myself have to lose weight, which is because I don’t have standard model stats. My hips were once 101 cm and have to go down to 90. Now my hips are about 95 cm, so only a couple more centimeters to go...

If I want to dye my hair or cut it really short, I would have to call Micha first, but I never really make dramatic changes on my hair so I’m fine J

I had my first test with Anouk Morgan, a fantastic young photographer, but I haven’t done polaroids yet. Also, I haven’t had walking lessons or posing lessons, you just have to learn yourself by looking at others and practicing much!

PONY RYDER. Did anyone tell you during castings to change something about yourself?

IMME VISSER: No they didn’t. Sometimes I worry if I maybe will not fit in certain jeans or pants, but most of the time I’m fine.

PONY RYDER: You mention shape a lot...What is your routine in gaining a good shape?
IMME VISSER: I work out with my lovely personal trainer, I run, I go to the gym and I spin on my spinning workout machine thingy, I don’t know what that’s called, haha! Lately I have been a little bit busy so I haven’t done a lot, so I reaaally have to start working out again!

Also, I’m on a diet and I eat healthy.

PONY RYDER: What is your style in posing?
IMME VISSER: I just pose... It depends on if there’s a theme or not, and with my test there really wasn’t much of a theme. It was just about an intimate atmosphere, and Anouk obviously liked me looking angry, haha :)

PONY RYDER: Did anyone teach you how to pose? Do you have a "safe pose"?
IMME VISSER: No, nobody did tell me how to pose. I just move a little, change every angle of my body a little with every shot, and sometimes change everything.

My safe pose I think is looking over my shoulder, because everyone seems to like that!

PONY RYDER: What do you personally think, are you more commercial, more editorial, catwalk, etc...?

IMME VISSER: Editorial. I think I’m more of a photoshoot-person than a catwalk-person, but that’s just because I’ve done more shoots than shows. I like both, actually :)

Commercial though, is not really my favorite. Smiling for minutes is kind of hard, and I like the edgy side of editorial more. I wouldn’t reject commercial jobs though; I just do whatever I like!

PONY RYDER: What do you think, what is your X factor? What distinguishes you from other models?
IMME VISSER: That’s kind of hard, to say about yourself, also because I’ve just started, but I will give it a try. I think my jaw-line is quite strong, and my face is quite symmetrical, which is good. Also, I can make really fierce eyes, haha!

PONY RYDER: What is your morning beauty routine?
IMME VISSER: I don’t really use a lot of products, I just wash my face and put on some day cream, then I brush my hair and I’m off to go. I never wear make-up.

PONY RYDER: What is the one beauty routine you never forget to do?
IMME VISSER: To put on deodorant! Sometimes I forget and I feel terrible all day. :)

PONY RYDER: How do you maintain that fantastic red hair of yours?
IMME VISSER: To be honest, I just brush it every day when I wake up and when I go to sleep, that’s all. I wash it three times a week with shampoo and conditioner. Maybe I just have lucky hair!

PONY RYDER: When do you feel the most beautiful?
IMME VISSER: When I’m with my boyfriend, it sounds cliché, but the fact that I’m all natural and he thinks I’m beautiful, makes me feel beautiful as well.

And on the other side, when I have lots of gorgeous make-up on and big hair at a shoot or show, I can feel beautiful too, but in another way. More like: I didn’t know I could look like this, wow!

PONY RYDER: What is your best beauty advice you know of?
IMME VISSER: Don’t wear any make-up. It sounds odd, but I think people look a lot more beautiful and natural without make-up.

PONY RYDER: Do you have any model friend/s that you would like to see presented on Pony Ryder?
IMME VISSER: Yess! Merel, a very very very gorgeous Micha Model, which I met two years ago at a show, and we became friends :) She’s got the same humor as me and she gives all the blondes out there a very good name.

Interview with fashion model Imme Visser is original work and courtesy of Pony Ryder blog.