The FORT Interview with Kyle, 10/29/05
Kyle, the girl all the judges called “pretty” while making that sound like a bad thing, was the seventh girl to be eliminated from the competition on this week’s episode of America’s Next Top Model. Kyle left her small town of Dexter, MI and her steady job as a Dairy Queen Manager for the exposure the show could bring to jumpstart her modeling career. Diving into Tyra’s Model Boot Camp was a different environment than her country upbringing, but Kyle cheerfully endured - maybe even enjoyed - the crazy-themed photoshoots, the late night parties and the wild, drunken housemates. She survived Janice Dickenson’s blunt appraisal and several rounds of the brutally critical judging panel. But was it really worth her while to sit in foul-smelling mud for several hours with no shower privileges in sight? Only time will tell if daring to be dirty will pay off in the long run; but for now, Kyle is free to be sweet-natured, sweet-smelling, and as gosh-darn pretty as she wants to be.
Thank you for speaking with me this morning, Kyle, and congratulations for making it this far in the competition.
Thank you so much!
First off, what attracted you to the show?
Well, I’ve watched the show ever since Season One, and I’ve been modeling all my life. Watching that show, wanting it so bad, and knowing that it’s your dream to be a model - well, I just had to apply. My family urged me to apply many times, so I finally did, and I guess it was the right thing to do!
You said you did some modeling before the show?
Yes, I had done a little bit of local modeling, some fashion shows here and there, so it wasn’t a completely new experience. But the show was definitely not what I thought it would be, so it was a new experience, for sure.
What do you think of your makeover? Will you keep the brunette hair?
Actually, I’m still brunette. I probably will keep it for a while because I do like it. I’m a natural blonde and I’ve been blonde my whole life so it was cool to see brown for a change.
What was the best part of the experience?
Honestly, I’ve made some of the best friends I’ve ever had on the show. It’s just nice to know people - I’m such a people person, and I love getting to know people, and the fact that I have met some amazing people is just great.
What was the hardest part of the experience?
I took the criticism way too much to heart. I wish I wouldn’t have done that. It was hard not to, though. You know, going to panel and being critiqued and criticized is really hard. I took it to heart and I wish I would have lightened up on myself a little bit.
You had a rough judging in the last episode. What do you wish you had done differently during the challenge they gave you during the panel?
Oh, gosh! (Laughs) See, the funny thing is I went into the room, and you know we had three minutes to find a sexy outfit...well, my idea was that I would put on a cute miniskirt and I was trying to find a tank top or a wife beater, and for some reason I couldn’t find anything. I just put on some cute stilettos, and it didn’t end up coming out that way! (Laughs) I was really upset. I wish I could have found the right clothes in that amount of time, but we can’t all be that lucky! (Laughs)
Who would you say was the most annoying person in the house?
Definitely that would be Lisa. I liked her, but we had our differences, and she was always getting in our faces and she needed to stop.
What about the drinking, was it as bad as they made it look on television?
She did drink, but even when she wasn’t drinking she was still in your face and it got to you.
Who were you closest to in the house?
I was closest to Kim throughout the whole thing, from semi-finals we just clicked right off the back. Kim was amazing; we had so much fun together and I miss that.
She looked so sad last night.
I know, it was so sad to watch and see her tearing up. I almost cried just watching her.
Can you tell us what it was like to do a go-see for ELLEgirl while covered in mud?
Oh, gosh! For one thing, that was seriously the worst thing I’ve ever done. (Laughs) I mean, I don’t think it was mud, let’s just put it that way. It smelled way too bad. And then we had to sit around in it for nine hours! It was just crusted into our bodies.
Nine hours?
Yeah, nine hours! We had to sit in it all day long. And then going to a go-see, we had no idea that’s what we were doing. So, you know, walking down and seeing the people from ELLEgirl magazine, I didn’t know what to do. It’s hard to feel good about yourself when you’re covered in mud - or worse! But, it was funny. It was funny to watch and see how everyone else reacted.
So now that you’ve seen the show, what did you think of Jayla’s comments about you (that you have no personality, or that you’re not intelligent)?
The funny thing is, Jayla and I got along! We were friends, I thought. Up until yesterday, that is - apparently we’re not friends anymore! She definitely dogged me yesterday and I was surprised to hear that from her because she never once mentioned anything like that to my face, she was always really nice to me. So it was really surprising to hear her say really mean things about me. But what can you do?
What was your favorite photoshoot?
My favorite photoshoot was the plastic surgery one just because we got to work with Janice. Janice is amazing, I loved her! She’s crazy?
Do you think you would have enjoyed it if she had been a judge?
Honestly, I think so! Working with her, I was really intimidated at first. I thought I was going to be the girl that she hated, because Janice picks her favorites and least favorites. I thought I was going to be the girl that she hated, but it turned out that she kind of liked me! So, it made it nice to work with her. It was a lot of fun. It’s funny to hear the comments that she makes because it’s just crazy. She’s so direct.
Did you feel like they picked your best pin-up girl photo?
You know, I do feel like I had better ones. The photo that they showed, I was in the middle of blowing a kiss, and I wish they had used a different one. I know I had smiled in a few and other things, but I guess I can’t change it. But I do feel like I had a better one.
After the pin-up girl photoshoot, were you confident you had a good picture?
From the feedback that was coming from the photographer, I did feel like I had done good. I felt myself that I had struggled a little. For some reason, I couldn’t really grasp the facial expressions. It was hard to actually be kind of goofy. Those pinup girls, you had to smile and do little smirks, and I wasn’t used to doing that in a professional photo shoot. And so it was harder for me to grasp that, but the photographer and Jay gave me really good feedback, so I was expecting to get a better photo out of it.
What is your opinion of what Tyra said about you during judging; (you’re stuck in you’re home town, you’re stuck at "pretty")?
I was kinda confused by what she said, me being stuck in my home town. I guess that she was maybe saying that I didn’t improve, that I was stuck and didn’t know how to make myself better as a model? I don’t really know what she was getting at but it definitely hurt me to hear her tell Bre that she could tell Bre wanted it so badly, that Bre just lived for modeling. It hurt me that I wanted it so badly but that Tyra couldn’t see that.
That was my next question, actually, to see if you agreed that Bre wanted it more?
I’m sure that Bre wanted it really badly, but it sucks to know that Tyra didn’t see that I did too.
Okay, I’m going to read off the names of your competitors, could you give your impression of them in one or two words?
Oh, gosh! Okay.
Ashley - I didn’t get to know her that well, but from what I know of her she seems really nice. I think I learned more about her boyfriend than I did about her, because she was always talking about Richard. (Laughs)
Bre - She’s like the mom of the house. She’s always offering inspirational words. She was always nice to listen to, I liked hearing her advice.
Cassandra - She was my roomie! I liked Cassandra; she kept to herself, and she was hard to figure out, but when you actually got her to open up a little bit – I really enjoyed talking to her. I was upset that Cassandra decided to quit. Going into this competition, you knew they were going to give you a makeover. You had to be prepared for what they’re going to do. I just upset me to think that so many other girls wanted what she got, and she didn’t take this opportunity.
Coryn - She’s such a sweetheart. She’s really quiet and shy, but once you get her to open up, she seriously has the warmest heart and I really love her.
Diane - I never really took the time to get to know her, and she never really took the time to get to know me. She’s a nice girl; pretty funny, but I really honestly don’t know that much about her.
Ebony - She’s hilarious. (Laughs) You could just look at that girl and she would just make you laugh. I was probably the saddest to see her go.
You know, a couple of the girls have said that about Ebony - that she was a real crackup.
Yeah! She just brought something to the house that when she was gone, there was so much energy lacking. She was just so, so funny.
Jayla - I liked her, she’s kind of immature to me. I never really clicked with her, but I didn’t know we had any problems until last night.
Do you think she had something to say about everyone, and they just showed us what she said about you last night?
(Laughs) She may have gotten her few words in, but I don’t know.
Kim - Kim is amazing. She’s my best friend in the house, and I feel like I’ve known her my whole life. She’s so funny, and she was my backbone in the house.
Lisa - In one word: crazy. (Laughs) And I mean that in every way possible! She’s just crazy in the sense that something’s just not right.
Nicole -. She’s so funny. When I first met her, I thought she was going to be this shy, quiet girl, but once you get to know her, she’s this crazy, wild girl that just cracked me up - we really got along.
Nik - I didn’t really get to know Nik either. We did have a few conversations, and she’s a sweet girl, but she kept to herself most of the time and she didn’t really get close with anyone in the house. She was kind of close to Diane, but other than that she didn’t take the time to get to know anyone.
Sarah - She was my roomie also! At semi-finals, her and I talked and we were like, we have to room together, so when we got into our house we busted through the doors and found a room together. I love Sarah, she’s such a goofball but I love her.
Who do you think has the best shot at the win?
The best shot at the win...I mean, Lisa takes really good pictures. I’m hoping that Kim wins because she’s my girl, and I think that she could do some amazing things and she’s a look that they haven’t had before, so I’m hoping Kim wins, but I think Lisa has a really good chance.
Do you feel like this show prepared you for the world of modeling? Or was it just like any other reality show - concerned with “good TV”?
I do think that it did prepare me. I do think that I’m ready to become a professional model now. There’s definitely things they did just for good TV, like running through mud - I don’t really think that will prepare me in any way for the modeling world. But the photoshoots, and the scheduling. You know, having to get up really early and stay up late, a jam-packed schedule - that’s going to prepare me for what is hopefully going to come in the future.
Do you read the Internet sites where fans talk about the show?
No I don’t, really. I try to stay away. (Laughs) They say some pretty mean things, so I just try to stay away. My family sends me sites and it makes me laugh, it’s funny to hear.
What’s ahead for you? It sounds like you definitely plan to continue modeling, do you think you’ll move to New York?
I definitely plan on it - New York or L.A. Right now I want to wait and see if there’s any agencies that want to pick me up and see if any opportunities come around for me.
Thank you to Kyle for answering my questions, and many thanks to UPN for granting the interview.
