Anja Leuenberger talks about pressure in the modeling industry
“I was told I was fat”
Anja Leuenberger is self-confident and secure in a new interview with Urs Gredig. But it was a long road to get there.
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Anja Leuenberger is one of the most famous models in Switzerland.
Anja Leuenberger (30) is one of the most successful models in Switzerland. But working in this industry also has many downsides. At “Gredig direct”, the Aargauerin talks about experiences that she made as a 14-year-old. “I was told I was too fat,” she says.
The whole thing happened when she was a teenager in Milan as a model. She applied to six agencies for a place in the file. “In each I was told it was difficult with me and my pants. I might have to carry others.” This was a strange experience for her: in her home country she was constantly told that she was anorexic. “I’m thin, I’m unhealthy. And suddenly there was talk of love handles sticking out of my pants.” She then contacted her event manager in tears and he advised her to return immediately. You got an agency in Milan, “but the few times I ran there, I was always criticized a lot.” Today she has a little dislike for the Italian fashion capital.
Model Anja Leuenberger: “I was raped twice”(00:53)
“My doctor told me I was overworked”
An experience in Tokyo was also bad. At that time she worked like crazy: “Sometimes I had two jobs a day and worked my ass off. In the end, you just function.” The reason for this is a contract in which she would not have received any money if she had not worked out a corresponding amount over a certain period of time. “It was a huge pressure, I’ve never experienced anything like it before. My body was measured there once a week.”
Gaining weight was never an issue for her. “I’ve always been slim.” Her problem is more that “when I’m super stressed, I lose weight very quickly. My metabolism is then extremely stimulated.” Due to the stress and loneliness, her menstruation suddenly stopped. “My doctor told me I was overworked.” She knows that this also happens to many models because of the weight. “For me it was psychological and because of the stress.”
She’s in a good place in life
Anja Leuenberger also speaks to Urs Gredig (52) about the two cases of abuse that she made public almost three years ago. “The message was always: That happened. What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” The perpetrators never apologized to her, but she looks ahead. “What I learned in my process: People like to hold on to pain and people often identify with it.” In the meantime, she has forgiven the perpetrators. “It was a year-long process.”
Gredig von Leuenberger wants to know whether she is happy. «What is the definition of happiness? For me it’s that I’m healthy, my family is doing well, I’m financially stable and I can get up every day and say how beautiful life is.” She recently lost her grandfather, so she asked herself many questions about this topic again. Finally she says: “I am healthy. I am well. I’m at a good point in my life.” (imh)
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