Fashion has always been my passion. For as long as I can remember, I dreamed of building a meaningful career within the modeling industry. But when I finally stepped into that world, I quickly realised it wasn’t as inclusive or diverse as I had hoped.

As a model of colour who is considered “short” by industry standards, I faced constant rejection and limitations that had nothing to do with talent or potential. Time and time again, I watched people like me—skilled, creative, and full of promise—be overlooked simply because we didn’t fit a rigid, outdated mould of what a model was supposed to look like.

It became clear that diversity within the industry was still lacking, particularly when it came to height and authentic representation of people of colour. After experiencing these barriers firsthand, I knew something had to change.

That’s why I created Shorter Than Your Average Model (STYAM).