How genetically blessed international model Shanina Shaik beat the schoolyard bullies

DESPITE a childhood being bullied and an initial reluctance from the fashion industry to accept her unique multiethnic look, Shanina Shaik reveals how she managed to achieve a successful modelling career.

Shanina Shaik might be a citizen of the world, but she still calls Australia home. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

SHANINA Shaik strikes a pose against the medieval walls of Marrakech, decked out in the vibrant fabrics associated with the Moroccan city for a recent Harper’s Bazaar shoot.

The Australian model is in her element, her trademark multiethnic look and piercing eyes gazing confidently at the camera. But it’s a confidence she acquired despite a childhood being bullied and an initial reluctance from the fashion industry to accept her unique look.

The 27-year-old attributes her good genes to her mixed cultural background — her mother is part-Lithuanian and her father Pakistani and Saudi Arabian. It’s hard to believe the secret to her success now was the source of angst as a teenager.

Shanina Shaik drew the attention of school bullies. While she found it difficult at the time, she has good advice for teens. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Her background, and her place in an accelerated learning program, drew the attention of school bullies. While she found it difficult at the time, she has not let that define her and has good advice for teens in the same position now.

“My message to young girls who are suffering the same thing at school is this: the kids that stand out — the nerds, the artsy types, the gangly looking kids — they’re the ones who will go on to do amazing things in life, so don’t be afraid because you’re a bit different,” Shaik tells BW Magazine.

“And please ask for help, there are so many people who can help you, you don’t have to suffer alone.”

Shaik says her cultural background made her start in modelling a painfully slow process. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

It’s hard to believe now that Shaik found it hard to break into the modelling world at all, but she says her cultural background made her start in modelling a painfully slow process.

“I often hear people say that my modelling career took off really fast, but I started modelling as a child and it didn’t really take off until I was around 20,” she says.

“When I was younger and starting out, the Australian modelling scene was very unaccepting of my look. I felt like I didn’t fit, because the typical Australian look was the blonde beach girl and here I was, the complete opposite. It’s the main reason I went on the show because I felt like I had to try another way to get into modelling — I knew I had to get to New York and the show was my way to achieve that.”

The “show” Shanina speaks about is the 2008 reality TV series Make Me A Supermodel, hosted by Jennifer Hawkins, where Shaik was the runner-up. Despite this, she was still offered a modelling contract and landed in New York a month after the show finished.

“I remember arriving in New York right after a snowstorm and I’d never even seen snow,” she recalls.

“I wasn’t even 18 and was living alone and trying to get around in this big city, navigating the subway system and trying to book jobs. I booked a hair campaign on my second day, which gave me some financial breathing space, and I really had a sense I was making all the right moves. It was a really scary time but also super exciting.”

Shaik splits her time between homes in Los Angeles and New York when not travelling the world. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

The girl the Australian modelling industry didn’t know what to do with was snapped up in the US, where she was thought to be everything from Latina to African-American and Arabic.

And it didn’t take long before she caught the eye of the big names: first Chanel for her first Paris show while still a teen, and shortly after, the Victoria’s Secret casting agents.

“The scene in the US was so different (to Australia) because culturally you could be anything,” she says.

“I was booking lots of jobs and sometimes being categorised as a Latina, which was fine with me. There’s certainly more acceptance and understanding about cultures now and that there is not just one look, but so many that can be celebrated.”

Shaik was snapped up in the US, where she was thought to be everything from Latina to African-American and Arabic. Picture: For Love or Lemons/Zoey Grossman

Shaik says another big change in the modelling industry is the advent of social media, where an Instagram account can now double as a portfolio and you can book a job on the strength of your account.

“I almost view my Instagram account as my portfolio, I’ve been able to book jobs through it,” she says.

“What I love about social media is that it can show another side of your personality and the things you love and are passionate about. And in that sense, it allows you to have more control over your career. I have a great agent and team behind me but social media allows you to have a bit more control than before.”

Her new life must feel like a long way from her suburban Aussie upbringing but her January 2016 engagement to boyfriend Greg Andrews, aka DJ Ruckus, confirmed her new status.

She was surprised by an elaborate proposal at a private island in the Bahamas — owned by Ruckus’ cousin, music legend Lenny Kravitz — with a ring created by celebrity jeweller Lorraine Schwartz and delivered to the island by none other than actor Denzel Washington.

The pair proudly announced their engagement on Instagram the next day.

The exotic model on the catwalk during the 2014 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show in London.

She won’t reveal when the wedding will take place, but confirms it won’t be in Australia as it’s too far for so many friends and family in the US. Instead she says she’ll fly her Australian family to the secret destination for the celebration.

These days, Shaik leads a bi-coastal life in the US, splitting her time between homes in Los Angeles and New York when not travelling the world. But she says Australia is still home.

Shaik and DJ Ruckus in Sydney last year. Picture: Justin Lloyd

Shaik with fiance Gregory Andrews aka DJ Rukus. Picture: Instagram

If Shaik is living the fairytale now, it’s been a long time coming. The model has spoken out about being bullied at her Melbourne public high school, the sought-after Werribee Secondary College, because of the cultural background, intelligence and early forays into modelling, which she says made her stand out for all the wrong reasons.

“It started when I was about 14 and got so bad that I simply decided to stop going to school,” she recalls.

“It was emotional bullying and it had a domino effect in that one girl would decide she didn’t like me and then another would follow and so on, which made it quite widespread. It was mostly because of my background and also because I was in the accelerated program at school, so I was like the nerd. I remember my mother saying to me ‘they’re just jealous of you’ because I had done some modelling already, but I didn’t even understand what that meant, I couldn’t process the whole jealousy thing.

“I would tell my mum, ‘But I’m really nice to them, why are they being so mean?’ It was just a really confusing and frustrating time in my life. It really took a toll on my self-esteem. I’d come home in tears all the time and I started to retreat into myself, refusing to leave my room on weekends.

“I just couldn’t deal with it because it was constant and I remember saying to my brother one day, ‘I’m not going back there,’ and for about three months I stopped going to school on and off. Of course my grades started to suffer and eventually I had to tell my mum because I had worked so hard to do well at school, I didn’t want to lose it all.”

Shaik views this time in her life philosophically, saying being bullied made her stronger and more independent and able to work hard for what she wants.

“I don’t think about the girls at school with a look-at-me-now attitude because I think success speaks volumes,” she says. “I don’t want to focus on the negatives because it can throw you off balance. I think it’s really important to always look to the future, not the past.”