We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Isabella Castorino a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Isabella, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I’ve always known I was different.
From a young age, I noticed that people would let their gaze linger on me longer than others and that making eye contact with me was not their goal. It was always about the birthmark.
When I was in the first grade, I was called to the office for early pickup and was met with a high school girl I did not know. She said that I was going to be her shadow for the annual Autumn Pageant. I spent the day with her as she prepared for her big night. I watched as she got hair, makeup, and fitting done.
Near the end of the day, she pulled me aside and lifted her shirt to show me a large birthmark covering her belly. She told me that her birthmark didn’t stop her from being in the pageant and that mine shouldn’t stop me from following my dreams.
Now as a child, my dream was to be a Princess. As I got older it would change to Rockstar, Vampire, and President. These all have something in common in that they all made me feel powerful and confident. I also believe they all recieve attention and respect, simultaneously, which is something strangers never gave me.
Over time, I made the decision to take my power back and welcome people to stare at my body. I wanted to fully embrace myself and give myself permission to be seen and heard.
Modeling is such fantastic avenue for me creatively because I am able to tell my story through my photos and engage with other creatives that see me for the art that I am.
Isabella, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
My name is Isabella Castorino, I’m 21 years old, and I am a Curve Model. I was born with a Giant Congenital Pigmented Nevus, also known as Birthmark. I speak on Body Positivity, Beauty, and Fashion on my social media channels.
I became a model in February of 2021 after attending an open call with Tribe Talent Management. I had never considered modeling before, but a friend of mine from Tiktok is a model and he really pushed me to get into the industry. I’m so thankful to him and my agent for taking a chance on me! This opportunity has truly changed my life and I know that I have a fruitful career ahead of me.
My goal in this industry is to make waves of representation for everyone. All shapes, sizes, colors, abilities, sexualities, etc. DESERVE to see themselves in the products they consume. Proper representation is crucial to changing the way the world views this phenomena called The Industry.
Be the change you want to see in the world.
Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?
Tiktok is a Social Media powerhouse, no one would debate that. It has the ability to promote on a global level, spread information quickly, and change people’s lives.
When the app rolled out, I was very against joining for a long time. I thought it was a kids app for dancing and singing, much like its predecessor Musical.ly. It wasn’t until Covid-19 shut down University and my waitressing job in 2020 that I decided to download Tiktok. I had no idea what I was doing, but I knew that I wasn’t about to learn an entire choreography for a 15 second clip.
I began posting my makeup, skincare, and getting ready routines because those are things I find interesting to watch. Eventually I started to get more confident with myself and I posted a video of me dancing in a bikini and it BLEW UP! It was the first time I had ever worn a bikini and the kind support from strangers was so appreciated because that was such a big step for me.
I made more content showing my birthmark and just living life as myself and speaking up on issues I believe in, and I began to grow a following of about 40k people! All here to listen and hear me, which is such a good feeling.
The best advice I could give to anyone who is wanting to build a social media presence would be to be genuine. People are drawn to authenticity and if you are true to yourself, it will show through to the people who are viewing you.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding aspect of my job is when people say thank you.
I have been thanked several times by mothers who have children with a birthmark like mine for giving them hope. They don’t want their child to grow up feeling ashamed of their differences and miss out on a beautiful life. They ask me how I got to where I am today as far as my self esteem goes, and I always say the support of my family and friends. Everyone needs someone to lean on, and having a support system who loves ALL of me gave me the push to love myself.
I will never stop fighting for what I believe in, because i beleve in myself.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://castorino.godaddysites.com/?fbclid=IwAR1EOnBOmQph3PSSDTzTPtvFqN-g-fTiV1n4T1AQbVyBWLiKsPVDhhGX_bY
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/Isabelladcastorino
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/isabelladcastorino
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/belladcastorino?t=XBV_TPQ8nWmrW_v-4gIoqA&s=09
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@isabelladcastorino?_t=8UF4tFcNGYc&_r=1
Image Credits
Sonder Images Searcy Studios Punk Rock Photography Chase Portraits