Here at Taste the dram, we like to keep interviews fresh and light and let you get to know the different personalities and personas of Instagram. Not all interviews have to be serious or about some celebrity, because honestly there are enough Magazine’s overlapping and covering each others stories. We were lucky enough to speak to Panda (as she refers to herself) about being a model and sharing her passion and craft through Instagram. If you love what you read here today, feel free to give her a well deserved follow on @banhbaodown. Read fun interview below:
Panda, please tell us a little about yourself. What are some things people that follow you on Instagram might not know about you?
P: Honestly, I’m not sure what my fans do and don’t know about me. I’m literally an open book, so I’m sure my followers may know a lot about me if they pay attention.
How did you develop an interest in modeling and travel respectively?
P: I became a model to become more feminine and in touch with my womanhood. I used to be such a little boy, haha. When I travel, I always try to get shoots booked because it’s such a waste for me to travel and not at least have ONE shoot with someone in the area I am traveling to.
What are you most proud of?
P: I’m most proud of my growth as a person.
You obviously keep in great shape. What inspires you to be the best version of yourself. Also how do you keep to a strict routine when traveling?
P: Haha, I’m skinny fat and not in shape AT ALL, but what inspires me to be the best I can be is people. I am such a push over, and I just love to see people happy. How I keep a strict routine is that I usually don’t have one. I literally just do my own thing every day. Every single day for me is a challenge so I always say, “Take it day by day.”
How important are ethical standards for influencers?
P: I’m not sure if I understand the question exactly but if we are talking about work ethic then I think it’s important because influencers are their own business. They ARE the business. Putting in work looks easy, but influencers put in a lot of time into their page to build and brand properly to what they want. Hard work and dedication get you far, that’s what I believe in. You want it? Work for it.
What are your three favorite trends at the moment?
P: I am so bad with trends, I barely keep up. Like I said, I like to do my own thing. I don’t really follow any trends either. I tend to look and see if it’s like a business/branding trend to see how it works, but either than that, I’m just mostly doin’ me.
Millennials are one of the largest and most influential demographic cohorts and they hold authenticity above content. 43% of millennials rank authenticity over content when consuming information. How important is authenticity to you when choosing a brand to work with?
P: I find it quite important since that is my brand. To always be myself and be as authentic as I can be. As a model, I strive for my supporters to learn about ME, not my pretty face or “perfect” body. I want to make an impact in the community in a way that it will help aspiring models / influencers. Never be afraid to be yourself! I think people love to learn and connect with the person they are supporting on a deeper level rather than superficial.
If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be?
P: I’d travel back to Vietnam, the motherland.
Describe your Instagram feed in 5 words:
P: Authentic, expression, art, passionate and sexy
They say you are what you eat, what are you?
P: I’m a whole ass rice bucket. I eat rice almost every single day. I love rice a lot.
Unfortunately, for every 99 comments, there will always be 1 comment full of judgement and hate. How do you brave the judgement on Instagram from complete strangers?
P: I don’t need to brave anything because they’re just that. Strangers. If you’ve been a supporter of mine for a while, you’ll know you’ll be put in your place if you’ve got something shitty to say. I don’t really pay attention to hate too much. I usually just comment something snarky back when I’m in a petty mood but most of the time, I just delete the comment because it’s not needed on MY page, ya’know? Or I leave it because I think it’s funny.
Lastly, tell us about your dream collab, who is it and why?
P: Hmm, dream collaboration… I’m not sure. I think maybe @cicioffici.al because I consider her a friend and she’s just been so positive and encouraging to me. I really love her for that, and she helps motivate me when I’m feeling at a low.
