Modeling, Blogging, and the Power of Authenticity: Interview with Jan Crystal
By Jan Crystal
With a childhood rich in culture and the opportunity to live abroad at a young age, it is no wonder that Jan Crystal grew up to become an artist who is passionate about creating in many different forms, such as food/travel blogging, writing, and fashion modeling.
Photo by KBR | Contagion Media
Since Jan was very young, she has always been a driven and experimental individual. She grew up expressing herself through various forms of dance and was totally unafraid to put herself out there and go after new opportunities and experiences. She boldly applied to an art school at only the age of 11, and unfortunately was rejected for being too young. However, she didn't let that stop her from creating and expressing herself.
Photo by @oyefotografo
Another one of Jan’s diverse interests is technology and web development. Jan graduated with a technology degree and was driven to become a web developer. She was focused and had tunnel vision on making this dream a reality; due to this level of focus, her creative endeavors took the backseat for a while. Jan knew deep down that she craved something that allowed her to be more creative and expressive, and this feeling reignited her artistic passion. Jan became very interested in having creative outlets through her personal style, as well as traveling as much as she could and being inspired by different cultures and people. This led to the natural progression of trying out modeling as well as sharing her cultural experiences through food and travel blogging.
Jan’s journey as a model wasn't as easy as she had first expected. Because society has become much more body inclusive, Jan expected this to be the same for the modeling industry. “There are curvy supermodels and shorter ones as well, so I thought the road was already paved for me and that designers, casting directors, and other models were already accepting of different body types,” shares Jan. However, during Jan’s first New York Fashion Week trip, she realized the industry is much more cut-throat and not as accepting as she had imagined. As a shorter, curvy model, Jan had experienced many challenges with body image and navigating the modeling industry. Through this experience Jan has learned to embrace and advocate for herself. “I learned that I must always advocate for myself and choose circles that encourage me, not circles that make me feel like I should change who I am completely.”
Jan has successfully pushed through these hardships, and today she has plans to return to Europe, as well as several photoshoots set up in the U.K.. Not only does she get to model, but she also gets to enjoy the rich culture of cities such as Edinburgh and Glasgow, try all of the amazing food, and garner inspiration from the influential fashion history of these places.
We can definitely expect content from this trip from Jan, following in the footsteps of her favorite creator, Kakibot. When asked who her favorite creator is and why, Jan replied, “My favorite creator is Kakibot on YouTube and Instagram. She’s a travel and food blogger in Scotland. It’s inspiring seeing her journey and watching her videos which get more cinematic every time. She’s also very transparent and is unapologetically herself in her videos.”
Photo by @cnsphoto
Being uniquely herself and genuine is very important to Jan. She creates in order to inspire others to love and accept themselves completely despite adversity, as well as to be open minded to take on new experiences as much as possible. She says, “There’s a lot of negativity in the world and I think art can improve someone’s outlook and bring people together who like a fashion trend or have traveled to a certain place. Art is super important and we need to keep creating, sharing and supporting each other!”
In the near future, we can look forward to Jan's travel content while in Europe, social media brand collaborations, as well as multiple fashion and editorial projects here in Phoenix. Stay tuned a little further into the future, and in 2025 Jan plans to release a book! Jan is an inspiration to artists everywhere, reminding us to never stop pushing our creativity and fearlessly diving into the unknown.
Edited by Lea Byrnes on June 11, 2024
