In the Winter of 2006, OneSelf Magazine interviewed Cycle 5 runner-up Nik Pace following her appearance on Top Model. Here is the text from the article (written by OneSelf Staff Writer):
YM: Tell me a little bit about the person you are Nik; something you might want to clear the air about.
NP: The main thing I would like to express about myself, that might be a misconception from the television show, is that everyone thinks I’m this quiet, softspoken girl, which I am, but at the same time I’m a very fun-loving girl who likes to have fun, likes to help a friend, who’s just a caring person, someone spontaneous. I think that didn’t get on the show, the fact that I have a personality. I just want everyone to know that, because it’s great to have a personality and to be carefree and just a loving person. It is good to be shy and quiet, but at the same time it’s just not me, it was just perceived that way on the television show.YM: Sometimes we don’t think about friends unless we are put into a certain situation. Tell me, you shared a house full of strangers; did you ever think about the value of true friendship and loyalty?
NP: Oh my goodness! Definitely, just going into a house with thirteen strangers and just the fact that they were all women was very stressful. I never really realized that you could just meet random people from different parts of the world and just build lifetime relationships and, you know, one of my best friends to this day, and I talk to her on a daily basis, is Diane. She was a girl from the show which I only spent a month of life with. I talk to her everyday, she knows everything about me, the good, the bad. It’s a good thing, I never would’ve known I would have gotten that out of the competition you know? I’m competing against this woman and now she’s one of my best friends in life.YM: Given the opportunity to let young girls, dreaming of becoming a supermodel, know some of the greatest challenges of becoming one, what would be some of the things you’d share with them?
NP: The main thing I would tell any upcoming model is that you have to have self confidence. To me, being a model has nothing to do with being the most beautiful woman or the most desirable, because at the end of the day when you go in front of the director and the different designers, they wanna see the inner beauty and the confidence. Oh my goodness, on a daily basis you get turned down and you just have to be confident in yourself and know that just because you didn’t get a job is not because they didn’t like you and you’re not good enough, it’s just you’re not the girl at the moment. As long as you are secure, you could take that beyond modeling. You could take that (confidence) into the everyday life and it just helps you be a better person; it helped me. I have to have to be self confident.YM: Before ANTM, what were some of your character traits that people said stuck out?
NP: (quietly laughing) I think before, people would say I had too much of an old soul. I was more of the serious type who went to work everyday and was this straight 9-5 person. Now I’m completely different. I think I was just into getting by into the next day, now I live everyday like it’s a new day. I never think about what’s gonna happen, I just live life. I was on a schedule, but now I realize that I have a whole different plan. I could either take control or let God do his work. I’m just enjoying myself much more.YM: Do people treat you different now?
NP: I definitely believe I have many more friends now. I just think people are more aware of who I am. Maybe I had a good presence on television so people might want to get to know me as a real person now. It seems to be a good thing though; it’s not a bad thing.YM: Do you consider yourself a role model?
NP: No. I never really looked at myself like a role model, but if someone might have seen me and taken something in a positive way that might help them in the future, that would be amazing. I think I’m a good person. I think I have good morals and I represent myself in a very professional way, classy, and if there are some women and young ladies that would grow from that, it would be amazing!YM: What can we expect to hear or see from you in the near future? Working on any projects?
NP: I am definitely going really strong in the modeling. I’m doing an upcoming spread in Complex, doing commercial things like Snuggle and working with L’oreal. The modeling is going amazing. My main focus now is to get into acting and I am really pursuing that strong. My management team for 2007, and we are gonna go for it full force. I just got a call from my manager it’s so recent I don’t want to jinx it. It would be something on television, working with a big network and some very famous people that you’ll know, so I’m you know, keeping my fingers crossed. It was really stressing but its good news.YM: Is there anything that you want to say that I haven’t covered?
NP: I just want to say to any fans out there that I appreciate all the support that I had when I was in the show. I hope you still support me in all my upcoming career ventures. If you want to see any new photos or anything, you can always check me out right now.
To learn more about Cycle 5’s runner-up Nik Pace, visit her bio page here.
Source: The Fashion Spot / OneSelf Magazine
Photo: Jason Willheim
