Meet Tash Galgut | Model

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tash Galgut and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi TASH, what do you attribute your success to?
As a model, most think success is bound by to your physical appearance. A perspective that I myself used to agree with.

I operate in an industry that judges you on how well you encapsulate the essence of the brand you are representing and how well you form yourself into the aspirational vision of beauty, so it can be easy to judge yourself and others in a very black and white way. Do you fit the brief and are you beautiful; yes or no?

As I’m not your typical model. I am not a size 0-2, I do not have lusciously long legs and I am under the 5’9″ minimum height on the measuring pole; all factors that should make me ineligible to jump on the ride of modelling. But somehow, I kept being booked on jobs.

With each campaign, there was a constant battle between a sense of belonging and imposter syndrome. Feeling a sense of belonging in the art form that was modelling, being able to contort myself into the image of the “aspirational girl” navigating herself through the scene that was set for the image to be captured. But there was always this tugging against some string in my chest, a sense of doubt, a sense that you are not “enough” as you are.

Most of the time, I never really understood why I was being booked, but the constant feedback was “you’re so much fun to work with”, “you make our work day easy”, “we love having you on set”. Great… I’m the social hire… the imposter syndrome winning again.

Despite the reasoning why I was booked, I WAS getting booked, over and over, having my little slice of success in Australia, I never believed I was anything like the models I idolised in the glossy pages of magazines. And you know what… I’m not.

I’m not and I’m proud. Again and again I would be praised for my hard work ethic, my ability to show up, do my job and do it well. I transformed my focus from not being “enough”, enough like the other models I saw, and shifted to a work ethic perspective.
This is the perspective that changed everything:
HOW CAN I MAXIMISE THE RETURN ON INCOME FOR THE BRAND I’M WORKING WITH TODAY?
How? By asking myself these questions…
Why am I on set today?
What am I selling?
Who is my market?
What vibe is this person buying into?
What kind of girl do they want to be?
How can I best encapsulate that aspiration?
How can we get through as many garments as possible to make the client happy?

I’ve taken my work ethic, infused with my marketing lens, from Australia, to London, to Los Angeles, where I am now based. Finding my slice of success in each.

I also have to give an honourable mention to the audience that consumes our images and what we are selling. I would not have the success I have had today without you all purchasing the products we are pushing. It’s because of your acceptance, your desire to see yourself represented across marketing materials, that a wide array of models have been able to abolish the imposter syndrome and have success and do what they love; make art with your body, the only vessel we have.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
Hello!!!

My name is Tash, a South African by blood, Australian born and raised.

It still feels strange to say this, but professionally and primarily I am a model, secondly a fashion producer.

As a model, I have been working for 12 years now and have sustained my career through the beautiful evolution of the modelling industry over this time. I’m proud to see how diversified our industry has become and operate in a space where we get to represent a wide array of the population we sell our image to. I’ve been privileged enough to work across Australia, London, Los Angeles and New York with my most notable campaigns being Sephora, Revlon, Ulta Beauty, Urban Decay, Jergens, Wrangler, P.E Nation, Sheike & Co, ASOS, Rusty and Bras and Things.

I always tell new models coming into this industry that this is not just a job, its a lifestyle. A lifestyle that requires a constant discipline to take care of yourself fully. You need to exercise like an athlete in maintenance training, eat like a nutritionist, ensure your hair, skin and nails are ALWAYS in their best condition, because if they are not, it’s a disservice to the team around you, as they can’t do their jobs effectively. I’ll give you a light example, if you come to set with dirty hair, how will the hair stylist be able to do their job to the best of their ability? I wish I knew this right off that bat, I wish they provided models with some sort of training and education, but all was learnt through trial and error.

The same goes for movement while you’re shooting. Moving is an essential art to the success of ones modelling career. I was extremely lucky that my parents forced me to go to dance class for years, much to my dismay… but it’s one of the two reasons I actually became “good” at my job. The second reason; when I got scouted, I spent hours and hours at home studying magazines, cutting out my favourite poses in my favourite editorials and quite literally practiced them in front of the mirror.
*I was 15 and unashamed
I’m glad I was brazen back then because I learnt all the angles to my face and body young and learnt to exploit them.

Through the years, I’ve become very proud of the awareness I’ve gained to see the correlation between myself, the team and the output we can produce together. It takes all the creatives working in synchronicity to produce high quality content, and that is no easy feat.

This leads me into the second job, which I kind of free fell into. Just by being on so many different sets, all run so differently, I have been able to gain a unique perspective on how to organise a shoot efficiently and effectively. I’ve been privileged to work with an incredible array of talented photographers, hair and makeup artists, stylists, and renowned models. Coordinating an environment so they can each flourish to the best of their ability and create something beautiful for our clients. The coolest aspect to production is the amazing places it has taken me around the world. I have been able to produce photoshoots for various fashion brands and magazines across the US, Mexico, Galapagos, Hawaii, Bali and Colombia.

For those interested in production or already in production, you understand that it is not as glamorous as I make it out to be. The coordination of the shoot, mediation between client and team members, not to mention the actual shoot day can warrant 12-14 hour days. It’s a huge responsibility as well as a privilege, requiring discipline to make it rewarding.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Oh my gosh, my LA itinerary is so large now that I’ve been here for a few years. I’ll try my very best to condense it.
Food:
Cecconi’s for an Italian inspired lunch in the courtyard
Uchi for amazing modern Japanese
Erewhon (it’s cliche, but everything is amazing)
Dr Sandwich for some authentic Israeli food
Crossroads for a vegan dinner
Gracias Madre for vegan Mexican (it’s insane and great wine list)
Great White (any location, any time)
Layla’s Bagels are crack
Catch LA (the vegan mushroom sushi is berserk)
Gran Blanco for an after dinner cocktail
Elephante
Gjelina Venice
Mon Ami (my favourite gnocchi in all of LA)
Verve (for their Tumeric Ginger Tea)

Hikes:
Runyon
Tuna Canyon
Red Rock Creek Trail
Los Linos Trail
Calabasas Cold Creek Trail
Temescal Ridge
Santa Ynez Canyon Waterfall

Beaches:
El Matador
Lechuza
Laguna (Woods Cove is my favourite)

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I would like to dedicate my SHOUTOUT to the consumers who are motivated to consumer better

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tashgalgut

Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@tash.galgut