Urban World

Model Focus: Portia Freno

Portia Freno is a British model making the industry work for her... unphased by beating strict competition to walk for Babyphat, and being hand picked by Kanye West himself, she's using her series of modelling workshops to build an empire, and her connections with Akon to give something back...

Portia, we're loving your business like approach to the industry... is being acknowledged for your entreprenuerial savvy as important to you as being recognised for your modelling talent?

Definitely. There are so many pretty faces, so many models, but I am passionate about so much more than just modeling. I am glad that people recognise that I am bringing more to the game. A lot of people's talents go unnoticed. I would much rather be known as an entrepreneur; a mini P Diddy lol, than just a model. And it seems that that is how people are seeing me. My nickname is P Money!! It's important people see you for all that you are and can be, it's the only way to keep that respect. There are millions of models, but not half of them are doing what I am. Not necessarily because they can't, but because they aren't applying themselves.

When you were younger you dismissed modelling offers in favour of your dream of becoming a lawyer... how did you finally come round to the idea of modelling full time in place of your academic ambitions?

Well first of all, it just kinda happened. After my first photoshoot went so well, I got lead in a commercial, then flew to Africa for a fashion show. Everything happened really fast and it only made sense to make the most of the opportunities that were coming my way. I haven't completely abandoned any other dreams I had. There is still time. I've just turned 22, so I'm still very young. If things keep going the way they do, I can retire before I'm even close to 30! I had to look at it practically, and with a business mind. There are some things that I am doing now that I wouldn't be able to do later. I have to build my empire now, and secure all my businessess, so that I can kick back a lot earlier than most are able to. Then, I can concentrate on other things. Though by then I will probably want to concentrate on having a family. Who knows what will happen!



You're a model, presenter, columnist... you seem to do it all... do you feel that it is important in such a competitive industry to have the multiple threat factor?

It is all that is important in an industry like this. You tell people you model, it's like ok, cool. You tell people you sing, it's like yeah, who doesn't. You tell people you model, sing, present, run modeling workshops, have a charity, write a column, etc, you get a better reaction. When you can actually back up what you say you do, people are a lot more interested. Like a wise man said to me, Live your dream, don't dream your life. You can't be limited to one thing, no matter how good you might be at it, because there will always be someone else who can do just as good, but with other qualities to offer as well. You'll get left behind

You were recently featured upon the blog of the mighty Kanye West himself, and you're the only lady outside of the States to have been featured by SHOW magazine... how does it feel to be beating the American girls at their own game?

It feels really good ;) (smiles) I mean, SHOW mag has gone international now and is in London, yet they still haven't used a London model. I'm just really really flattered. But at the same time, when you work hard and you know what you are capable of, these things shouldn't surprise you; yet they always do! Being on Kanye's blog was a really good look. He is so famous and a real entrepreneur himself; for him to recognise what I am doing shows I'm doing something right. And I looked at other women that he had shouted out, and they were all either really big stars, or amazingly beautiful. I was thinking why me?? But I'm not complaining!

We'd love to hear more about your youth charity, and Akon's involvement...

Ok, I want to build career development centres in London. These young boys need to get off the streets and realise their capabilities. I am so disgusted by the amount of deaths and the increase in gun and knife crime. Akon is a good friend, and a great role model. We will be meeting up over the next couple of weeks, and discussing our next moves. I want him to reach out to the youth here in London. They are our future. You see these big "role models" who won't sing or rap about anything positive, yet they know that the majority of young boys are looking up to them and following their every word and move. Akon has been through it all, he can relate, he's turned his life around for the better, and he already has successful charities. I believe he is one of the best people I could get involved. There is a lot more going on than just the building of the centres; I want inspirational events and talks, mentoring etc. It will take time and a lot of hard work, and there are still so many people I need to reach out to to discuss getting together and making this happen. It might be a slow process, but it will all be worth it

You have 10k friends on Myspace, 5k on Facebook, and various fan groups and sites... how do you feel about your online support and the opportunity this gives you to interact with your fans directly?

These social networks are great for reaching out to your fans at one time, and for keeping people updated on what you are doing. Myspace and Facebook is crazy; I don't really tend to use Myspace, my PA deals with that, but I have a few fan pages that fans have made and I find that really sweet. Every now and then I'll go on and reply to a few people. My Facebook however, I generally deal with that myself. I've just had to start a new one because you can't have more than 5000 friends. I only joined it not too long ago. Before I was like "what's the big deal about Facebook?" but now I realise how helpful it is. It's cool, I like it. But I won't really be adding any more modeling pics on there; all my exclusive pics will go on my website, and certain images and behind the scenes pictures and footage will only be able to be viewed if you are a member. People need to feel special and I want to be able to speak with some of my fans personally from my Member's Only section. I really appreciate the support that I get.


Have you ever experienced or seen typecasting of black models into a certain urban music video girl stereotype, and do you feel girls of colour get overlooked in mainstream high fashion?

Definitely. You tend to see the same video models, in the same type of video, doing the same type of thing. It's a shame. I think things are slowly starting to change though. I recently attended a fashion show at a very high profile event, and quite a few of the models were shorter and thicker than your average. And there were a few more black models than usual. But it is sadly a slow process. I think it is also down to the models though as well. Nothing is impossible and some of us should stop agreeing to doing certain work, and push ourselves more for mainstream high fashion. Some black models think that that is all they will get, therefore limiting themselves. It's funny, I used to get asked to do videos all the time,mainly for hip hop artists,but I always said no. I was never interested. But now when I get asked, the majority of the time it's for white music videos. I'm not sure how or when that changed for me, but it has. Recently I am starting to consider videos. The role has to be right, the budget and the quality all needs to be on point. I have to like the message of the song, and the concept. Call me fussy; some people will say it's just a job and you are a model, but I disagree. I'm not a video model, therefore I can be choosy. I'm not about to put my face on anything I don't want to

You're running your own programme of workshops to point aspiring models in the right direction, and to break down the bitchiness between girls going for jobs... how do you achieve this, and what do you feel are the pitfalls waiting for inexperienced new faces?

When you are inexperienced in anything, there are always pitfalls. I think in modeling, if you don't know what works for you or how to market yourself, you will suffer. I have been ripped off in the past, so I know how easily it can happen. At The Workshop, Reem and I also cover the legal side of modeling, which is just as, if not more important.

The bitchiness will always be there, some girls were born bitchy! But they will never really end up anywhere because they are too busy focusing on others. The Workshop's aim is to bring girls together, so we can all grow together. We are going to start having girly parties, like Ann Summer's parties! And taking our workshop girls out to events or to a club, or even for a meal to discuss our latest achievements and progress. I think when you are positive about something, you will achieve so much more, so rather than bitching about people, and feeling like you are in competition with them, you should work together and be excited about what you can achieve. Of course, it is important to make it as an individual, but there is nothing wrong with supporting one another. You come across a lot of bitter people in this industry, some that never made it and some that are too desperate to make it. And if you are not strong enough, the haters and the nastiness can bring you down. So the classes also encourage self esteem and maintaining a positive and confident attitude towards your career.

Interview by Sarah-Jane Adams