ANTM Interview: Sandra Nyanchoka

Earlier today, I chatted with the most recent eliminee from America’s Next Top Model, the 19-year-old aspiring model from Maryland, Sandra Nyanchoka. Sandra spoke with me about her future plans, why everyone disliked her, the Celia/Tahlia showdown and more.

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Full Q&A is below the jump!

How did you get involved in Top Model?

I went to the casting that was held in Maryland. I made it through the first two rounds of casting, was named one of the semifinalists and got into the house.

After you were eliminated, you said that the panel was making a mistake. Do you still believe that?

Yes. They did make a mistake when they eliminated me. I was not the weakest model left at that point in the competition. But, then again, they wanted to see a straight-on photo of me and they claimed I didn’t deliver. My profile photos were great in that shoot, Tyra said, but it wasn’t what they wanted to see. I felt my elimination was coming with that comment. Tyra kept stressing it over and over. After we saw the photos, I figured they wanted to let me go. I had been in the bottom two before and Tyra had given me the strongest critique.

I do think my elimination wasn’t performance based. I wasn’t as dramatic as they wanted me to be. Maybe I didn’t talk enough. I think it I was sent home because I wasn’t stirring up any drama anymore. They wanted me to go home before panel, I think, and did what they needed to do to make that happen. It was my time, for whatever reason. They tried to make a narrative about drama and conflict around me. When that didn’t work, they eliminated me.

Why didn’t you get along with other models?

The environment we were in was really, really tense. I was not used to it. It was a really competitive environment, and also an artificial one. I really struggled with having cameras in my face all the time. Plus, I wanted to focus on why I was there. I missed my family and my friends. I did what I needed to do to stay focused and stay on top of my modeling. I didn’t make friends because of it, but I did what I needed to do to stay strong, get through each day and perform well.

Most of the other eliminated contestants had negative things to say about you. What would you say to them about that?

They need to not take it so seriously. It’s reality television. Everything is over exaggerated and over the top and fake. You can’t form real relationships and make real friends in that kind of environment. It’s all for show, whether they know it or not, or intentionally put it on or not. For whatever reason, I clashed with a lot of girls at the beginning. Our approaches to the competition were just different. Once I realized that I wasn’t going to get along with the other girls, I felt it was best to ignore them. But that was probably my downfall, as it meant less drama around me.

Did the show portray you accurately?

No. I’m free and nice and normal. I’m not a psycho, evil, competitive, monster model robot. You shouldn’t judge me based on what they see on show. I also was more dedicated and tried way harder than they showed. I was always practicing and working on being a better model, but they never showed that. I think that is what caused such a rift, as I was always focused on the next task, challenge, on performing, on being a model.

But then again, I knew they were going to portray me as the bitch once I got into the argument with Angelea and they selected me and not her. I knew they’d pick one of us to bring drama into the house and they thought I’d bring drama. There’s always a house bitch and I think they wanted it to be me this time. It was edited to look much worse than it was. It was edited to make it my fault. I shouldn’t be judged by this. I wasn’t a bitch. I just did what I did to stay on the ball in the competition.

What did you learn from your experience on the show?

I’m a wiser person because of the whole experience. I learned that you have to take risks. I did not take risks in my photo shoots. I really should have done that.

Did you keep your makeover?

No! I changed it right way. I love change and couldn’t keep it for that long. I didn’t love my makeover, but I had to work it and make it work for me. The modeling industry is like that. You have to work with your hair no matter what you get. My biggest complaint is that it was restrictive in the photo shoots, as it could not be styled or worked into the photo concepts as well as other hairstyles.

Who do you keep in touch with?

I’ve kept in touch with Teyona and Tahlia since the show ended. I got along the best with Tahlia.

What surprised you about the show?

The cameras. It was so stressful being filmed all the time. I hated it. But it was a great experience and I would do it over again, but being filmed all the time got to me more than I expected it to.

Which photo shoot was your favorite?

The nanny photo shoot. I really had fun with it. The concept was strong and I liked doing the group photo shoot with Celia. We had to portray characters and there was a story. Not a lot of our photo shoots had a narrative like that.

Which photo shoot was your least favorite?

The immigrant photo shoot was the most difficult. The clothes were heavy and restrictive. It was easy to portray an immigrant, as I am one. I think I captured it well in my face. But I couldn’t move and that was hard. I also didn’t like the beauty shoot. Not having hair was a downfall for me. It would have been less edgy and more “pretty” if I had long hair.

What did you think about the Tahlia situation? What would you have done?

Celia was to blame for that. She shouldn’t have said anything. I would have kept my mouth shut. It wasn’t any of her business to tell Tyra. That being said, what she did should not have put her in the bottom two. It had nothing to do with her being a model and her photo. Her photo was fierce, Celia is a great model.

What are your plans for the future?

I want to continue to model. I do want to be a journalist too. I always loved writing and I was a news anchor for my school. Modeling is my passion and I will continue to pursue both avenues. Maybe in the future I’ll combine the two and do fashion journalism or something. They’re both my passions and I would love to incorporate modeling and fashion into everything I do. My modeling dream is to walk for Marc Jacobs, I love him. I have so many favorite designers, it would be an honor to work with any one of them.

What happened on the runway that time you only went halfway?

I almost fell. They never explained that. I probably should have continued the full path, but I had very little runway experience and didn’t know how to recover from a spill. No one on the show explained that to me or taught me about how to recover from bad runway situations. They threw us into these situations, like runway or the light photo shoot, with no training or explanation and expect us to do well. But then, more prep would take away from the surprise of the shoot and of the excitement of the show. I don’t know how they can bring these together.

Who are you rooting for?

Allison. She’s a unique beauty. I’ve never seen a girl who looks like her before. If she gets better on the runway, she’ll take it home. She should.

Tell me about your red shoes. You wore them to nearly every panel.

My mom bought them for me! I love red and I love my mom so I was hoping they’d bring me luck.

How did you prepare for each shoot?

I practiced before every photo shoot. I just tried to feel the person I was being in each photo. I tried to channel the person, whether it was being a little girl or a nanny.

Can you tell us about your family?

We came to the States eight years ago. I have a very large family, three sisters and three brothers. My oldest sister passed away in 2006. She really supported me and was my biggest fan. She always helped me with photo shoots and was a big part of my modeling career. My whole family supported me. During the show, it really hit me my sister was not there and how proud she would be of me to make it through to the show. We used to watch it together. To go through the show without her was really hard. I miss her a lot and wish she was still here with me.

Thank you for speaking with us today. Good luck in the future!