Anja Meyer is a trained actor and model who has worked in Europe, in Canada for 1 year, and in Australia for 7 years. Her career has taken her now to Singapore, where she is enjoying to explore the opportunity of modeling and acting in Asia. Her most memorable experience as a model would be the shoot she did for Singapore Airlines in January. The whole experience of sitting in the prototype of the new airplane was super exciting. The crew was very friendly and the photographer has years of award-winning experience being ranked in the top 200 advertising photographers world wide. She always enjoyed acting and developed a passion in the theatre early on in her life having various performances on stage during her high school days as a teen in Germany. After completing her university degree in Industrial Design, she started to pursue acting, as being part of the Theatre Ensemble at Kulturhaus Spandau in Berlin. One of her first accomplishments was a lead role as a diving student in a German TV series, shot at the Maldives. At that time she found her passion for diving and did her PADI Scuba Diving license.
Anja, what are your passion and aspiration in life? How did you start as a Model?
It all just started as a hobby more than 10 years ago and the more experienced I got, the more joy it brought me and so I decided to pursue it as a career. The main goal has been acting in the first place after attending drama school in 2009.
In the future I would like to expand my experience and exposure as a model to go along with my acting career.
How important is modelling education: Have you attended modelling courses? What related courses or studies have you taken?
Modeling courses may be useful, however my experience and learning has come from observing and on the job training. I think it’s due to the fact, that I started just for the fun of it, it was merely a hobby. I volunteered at photography workshops. I also switched roles and experienced to be a photographer and took photos of other models. Once I realized I wanted to take modeling to the next level, I practiced posing and did research via youtube videos.
What do you think makes someone “fit” to be a model? What advice would you give to the people who wants to be successful as a Model?
I think it takes confidence, discipline and resilience. The high fashion industry has specific industry standards in terms of measurements and often times also age. However there are lots of different modeling markets. As an actor it is important to have a trained craft of acting skills, creative thinking skills and sense of a business mindset. Overall looking after yourself, laughing a lot, and living a healthy lifestyle is recommended.
What does “success” mean to you? Albert Einstein said: ‘Believing in yourself is the first secret to success.’ And I believe his words. For me success means to achieve a certain goal. But between goals and achievement are consistency and discipline on a regular, if not even daily basis. Success is the achievement of accomplishments. Success is continuous improvement to become the best that you are capable of becoming.
What are your goals as a model? How do you see yourself progressing in this field?
I strive to progress, that’ll be working with more well known brands and major campaigns. My goals are to work with top talents in their field, i.g. award winning photographers and take that as an inspiration to become a top talent in my modeling and acting career. Further I want to have a voice to influence the world in a positive way. One major passion is to encourage the usage of less plastic to reduce marine plastic pollution and to save our oceans.
What do you know about the advertisement industry, advertising psychology and photography?
I’ve worked in TV, video and print ads and I’m also holding a bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design. My work experience and classes during my university give me a good understanding about advertising ideas, concepts, and photography. (At a photography workshop I gave the photographer ideas about lighting and camera angles and we both explored various concepts as a team.)
Anja, please give us an example of a time when you were able to successfully persuade someone to see things your way at work.
I am not the person to persuade someone of my own thoughts, however I enjoy sharing my own ideas for consideration. At a commercial shoot for example we experienced difficulties to get my hair blowing in the right direction, so I suggested to do a head movement with a hair flick instead.
Do you eat nutritiously? How often do you exercise or go to the gym?
I generally eat healthy and nutritiously 80% of the time, but allow myself indulgements. My special treats are gummy bears, chocolate and ice cream. The catering at shoots however can be not the ideal choice and is actually quite often burgers and pizza. It happened that I educated a colleague about my food choices without realizing that it came across a bit bossy. At the end of the day everyone has their own food choices, it is none of my business. It is ok to mention my preferences but I shouldn’t have acted like I am a teacher or a nutrionist. I learn from that situation to handle it differently. I love exercising and it is part of my lifestyle since childhood. I used to train martial arts Taekwondo and Capoeira for a few years, at the moment I go to the gym 2-4 times a week. Water sports like snorkeling, diving and swimming have a special place in my life too.
What is your dream role as a model?
My dream role as a model would be to work my favourite brands that I personally love and enjoy. It would be amazing to work with one or a few of my favourites on an ongoing basis for several years or even decades.
Be sure to keep up with Anja on her social networks:
Website: www.anjameyers.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/anjameyer.com.au/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/anjameyers/