Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Faith McKinstry. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Alright, Faith thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

My parents believe in me and are giving me a chance to pursue doing what I love. Whenever I first said that I wanted to give acting and modeling a try, they were supportive and were all for me giving it a try if I was interested. Although, they were a little skeptical at first because I had never done either of these things before. I always knew I was interested in these career paths, but I never really told anyone, so to them this just came out of nowhere. Although, after I started modeling and acting, they told me how at first they had been skeptical, but after seeing me actually do these things, they could truly picture me being successful in these industries. They believe in me, and even at the time when they were unsure, they still encouraged me to give it a shot. Their support means so much to me and helps me have the determination to continue pursuing the careers that I love.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Hi, my name is Faith McKinstry, and I am an actor and model. I started pursing a career in these industries because I didn’t want to settle on my future and give up on trying to do something that I truly love for the rest of my life. I wanted to give my dreams a chance to actually happen. Furthermore, specifically with modeling, I wanted to prove that you don’t have to fit the industry standard to be a model. I’m 5’6” and curvy, which is not the typical model physique. However, I have now worked with many photographers, designers, and productions in places like Texas, New York, LA, and Paris and been in publications such as Elle Magazine and Harper’s Bazaar. I hope to inspire others to not be afraid to follow their dreams just because they don’t fit a certain standard because everyone deserves to be represented in fashion. Especially since fashion is an extension of yourself that lets you represent yourself and be confident in who you are. As for acting, I want to make people feel something when they watch my work and enjoy and connect with the story they are watching. I’ve loved stories ever since I was young, and my goal is to be able to share through my work the feeling of awe and raw emotion that I would always get from watching a good story. I have now worked as a background actor and stand-in on multiple tv shows such as Lawmen: Bass Reeves, Landman, and Lioness and had speaking roles in a few indie films that are all either still in the process of filming or in post-production. With every project I participate in, I feel my passion growing, and I am very excited to see where this journey will take me.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

This isn’t really a specific story, but it is what I try to remind myself throughout my career. There are times when I feel subpar and like I will never have enough talent to be successful as a model and actor. I think it’s almost inevitable to feel this way sometimes in creative industries like these, but recently I have started to tell myself to keep trying and pushing forward no matter how I’m feeling about my skills. I see it like this: I can only get better, and there’s no way to know when an opportunity that might change my career forever might appear, so I just have to keep moving forward and making progress. Taking an inch of a step closer to your goals even when you feel like they are impossible to reach is better than not trying at all.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I would say always showing up on time, working hard, and pushing myself to do as much as I can have helped build my reputation the most. Going to every rehearsal, every fitting, every class that I possibly can and showing up for the commitments that I have made has proven to the people around me that I am serious about my work. Designers I’ve worked with have made statements like “Faith is always here. She’s always on time,” and “You’re always doing something. Always working hard,” which helps me know what I do that makes the biggest impression on people.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.faithmckinstry.com/
• Instagram: https://www.faithmckinstry.com/
• Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@faith.mckinstry?_t=ZP-8wk4u6I9OyV&_r=1

Image Credits

Katrina Girtakovska

Carl Peters

Elijah De La Garza

Tina Laroshenko

Danny Thakur