Model Willow Rose Serving Looks — With a Strong Body & Mind

Check out this interview with model Willow Rose.

I was always told I had that ‘model look.’ I never thought I was tall enough to model so I quickly put that dream aside. I instead pursued my therapy career and endurance running dreams running in college. A friend at the gym told me a photographer (Fred Siegel) was looking for a “pretty blonde.” I met with Fred over coffee and he asked me to shoot some of my favorite athletic shoe brands for hii magazine. During the shoot the creative director kepting asking if I had modeled before and she said, “You should start your book!” I guess people in the industry believing in me made me find the courage to start my portfolio.

I grew up playing tennis, ice hockey, and a number of sports. I viewed my body as a way to be fast and coordinated. I settled on cross country and track, ranked at state in high school and then ran the 5k and 10k in college. I was an extreme ectomorph…skinny to the point I was 98 lbs coming out of grad school. People made comments, which always made me feel self-conscious. I eventually started weight lifting, then bikini bodybuilding, and I gained 25 lbs. No matter my weight, I have always been happy with my body, it has enabled me to compete and excel in athletics throughout my life.

A strong mind means that no matter what happens to you, no matter how painful something might be, you don’t quit. You never take a victim approach or feel too sorry for yourself. Stay strong no matter the issue and ignore people if they are unkind and judgemental. I think I have had to keep a strong mind a number of times in my life and it’s challenging. In my practice, I see a lot of acute and chronic trauma. The brain pays attention to visual imagery and processes trauma with bilateral stimulation. Sometimes, no matter how hard you push, your body might feel stuck and I think this is where trauma therapy can be highly effective.

I grew up in Northern Wisconsin on a farm, on a lake, in the middle of the woods. It was faster to canoe across the lake then walk across the field to visit our nearest neighbor. My siblings and I grew up climbing trees while listening to the whippoorwill at night from the open screen doors. We would collect firewood all summer long because we didn’t have heat in the winter. My brother and I would catch leeches in our lake..somehow we thought this was fun. It was a very whimsical and magical childhood. My family had our own set of obstacles, but my parents instilled family values of hard work, kindness, and discipline. I miss the quiet of our farm where you can see stars. I’m very grateful for my childhood and it makes me want to provide a similar sense of peace for my own family one day.

I stay busy with my therapy practice and I do my best to help my clients overcome and process trauma. I weight lift daily and I take my golden retriever Blue to the beach and on hikes. My hope is to someday train him to visit nursing homes. He is a silly, but sweet little guy and I think he has a lot of love to give. I enjoy cooking, baking, and hosting people at my place in Venice. Blue and I also love to take walks to look at flowers and butterflies.

My cheekbones are from my mom and my blue eyes are from my dad. My sister says my jawline could slice cheese which always makes me laugh. I try to stay very natural, I don’t color my hair and my mom told me to never cut it and to always keep it long.

I am open to all opportunities! I think it would be amazing to work with different brands whether fitness, skincare, clothing, the list goes on. As a creative I am also excited for the artistic side of modeling. I love to plan and create different types of shoots with teams that evoke emotions on a deeper, more meaningful level. This could range from a dreamy shoot in the middle of the desert where we’re sweating in 100 degree weather or an artsy studio shoot where the colors just pop!