Violet Budd is one of the most commercially successful models currently signed to Premier Model Management, working all over the world with clients including GQ International, La Senza Lingerie, Next Directory, Wallis and Lavazza Coffee.
She talks exclusively to 4Beauty about toning up to be a model, and how she copes with the critical side of the industry.
How did you get into modelling?
"I was at Madame Tussauds, posing with the David Beckham mannequin and I saw a woman walking towards me. I thought she was coming to tell me off for messing about, but she was a model scout and she gave me her card. I didn't do anything about it for six months, and then I happened to meet a girl who was a plus-size model. She took me in to meet Carole White at Premier, and I was signed. That was when I was 16 - I'm 20 now."
Did you have to make any changes to your body once you became a model?
"For the first couple of years, I have to admit I didn't take it seriously. I was studying and I modelled for Avon. They liked me being curvy. At 18 I left college and took on modelling full-time. That's when Premier told me I would get more work if I toned up. I just had to cut a few things out and start training, really. The decision to come off the Pill was also important for me - it makes me blow up and gives me spots."
How much did you slim down?
"I'm always going to be a size 10 - maybe a size eight now and then, but never any smaller than that. I never had a weight problem, but once I started eating more healthily and working out, I definitely toned up. Since November I've lost four inches on my tummy. As you go through different trainers and diets, you pick up what works for you. I used to think I could just cut down on food for a few days before a shoot, but it works much better for me if I eat healthily all the time and give it my all at the gym."
Do you find it hard to stick to your healthy lifestyle?
"When I'm in a routine it's fine, but if I'm jetlagged I struggle. I flew to Miami recently - a seven hour flight. I worked from 5am to 6pm, and then I went to the gym. I really couldn't be bothered, but I always have to keep working. If I start missing sessions, I know I'll stop altogether. When it comes to diet, I like eating healthily but I miss drinking. Most of my friends are at university, and we would go out and have drinks like any other group of young people. My personal trainer always knows if I've had a big weekend, because my fat-to-muscle ratio changes so much."
You're not a catwalk model - is that something you'd like to try?
"I've never done catwalk before and I don't think I'd ever be asked. I'm very 'catalogue'. Personally, I wouldn't choose to do catwalk. I've heard it's really manic backstage - sometimes the girls are doing two or three shows in the space of a few hours, and the rate isn't very good either. I'm never going to be that body shape - those girls are tiny. I'm more interested in working and bringing the money in, not becoming famous. My modelling career will probably be over in four or five years."
How do you cope with criticism of your body?
"At the moment I'm happy with the way I look. I'm toned and I'm fit to do the job. But I used to care a lot more about it. For a while I knew I wasn't really in good enough shape, and I used to worry that when I arrived for shoots they'd see that some of my portfolio was Photoshopped, and they'd turn me away."
Has that ever happened?
"Once. I'd been having a hard time and I was rebelling - eating and drinking what I wanted and not going to the gym. I went to a swimwear shoot, and they sent me home because my legs were too big. I knew they were right, to be honest. I was upset - I felt like I'd wasted my time getting in shape only to let myself go again. It's hard when you feel like you've done everything you can and it's not good enough. But these days if I turned up for a job and they said I was too big, I could say 'I'm the size it says on my card, so that's your problem.' I'm more vocal in general now. I don't expect to be treated like royalty but I do want respect."
