Spotlight On Eugena Washington | ANTM Star & Playmate of The Year
Eugena Washington is an African American model, well known for being second runner-up on America's Next Top Model, Cycle 7 and most recently known as Playmate of the Year 2016. Eugena is a person who most people would be insanely intimidated by because of her striking beauty and successful modeling career but within a few minutes of hanging out with her, I was like "wow, this girl is so nice!" She is surprisingly honest with her thoughts and opinions, which makes it very easy to get to know her and a heck of a good time to be around.
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Funny story, on the day of our scheduled shoot she was hosting a pool party at Hotel Sixty LES. I had forgotten my makeup brushes in the car and was having trouble applying the contents with my fingers. I was using the mirror in her suite and once she saw me struggling with my makeup she instantly took over, like "Oh no honey, come here." Safe to say, she should ad cosmetologist to her resume, oh, and life coach, self esteem enthusiast and relationship councilor.
I asked her three serious questions and three fun questions that I thought you ladies would love to know. Read all the juicy details below and you'll see exactly why I'm obsessed with her.
Birthday: October 8th
Hometown: Palmdale, Ca
1. How does wearing Muehleder make you feel?
I feel so connected to Muehleder because the pieces are definitely sexy, absolutely unique, super fun, and wildly feminine. That's exactly how it makes me feel.
2. What would you tell your 18 year old self if you could go back in time?
Well I don't remember much about being 18, but I assume I was garbage so let's start at 21. I would tell her first that You don't have to try and save everyone. It's okay if you can't fix everyone's problems especially when it's detrimental to yourself. Be ridiculously selfish, do everything you want to do without any regrets or considering anyone else's feelings. Trust your instincts because they are ALWAYS right. Go with your gut because people will come along with their own ideas of what you should be doing and where you should go next and they will always be wrong. Be the author of your own story. Don't be afraid. ONLY believe, ONLY believe anything is possible.
3. Whats the funniest thing you've read or heard about yourself?
The funniest thing I heard and still hear about myself is that I'm fake. Lol. It's funny because the real deal is I'm super shy. I'm like stupid shy...and meeting new people is scary to me so the only thing I can do to not be nervous is to treat people like I've known them forever and we are besties so it breaks all kinds of personal ice for me, and for people who may feel nervous. It's genius actually. But obvi it makes insecure people feel even more insecure and they don't get it so I guess I'm fake. Womp.
4. What is your favorite hip hop quote?
"Money Hoes and Clothes, all a nigga knows" but Biggie cuz.... Real talk lmao.
5. Whats one thing people would be surprised to know about you?
People would be surprised to know that I have 7 brothers and sisters. Same mom and dad and we are all a year and a couple of months apart so I literally have 7 clones. We all look alike, talk alike, we are all loud and crazy and like to have fun but we are also VERY passionate about justice and equal right for African Americans. My Dad was a huge activist and still is. We grew up watching Documentaries like Eyes on the Prize and Roots and hearing MLK speeches and basically anything involving the civil rights movement even before we started watching Disney movies. Being proud and knowing where we came from was engraved in me since I was a kid and it's apart of who I am. Period.
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6. What was your most challenging moment and what got you through it?
The most challenging time in my life was 2013 when I was 29 about to turn 30. That ENTIRE YEAR was a complete shit can for me. I've never been depressed in my life but I can stand in front of you and tell you that that year: Full blow depression. Being a model for 10 years forces you to believe an egregious lie (no matter how hard I tried to keep myself from it) and the Lie is that it's NOT OK to be yourself. It's not OK to age, it's not okay to gain natural weight, it's not OK to have an opinion, it's not OK to have control over your life choices, it's not OK to aspire to do anything BUT model. Be a complete robot.... Or else you will NOT work. Also think about it: For 10 years I was GIVEN a daily schedule to follow. Daily. So I was living my life on a day to day bases without being able to create goals and I had zero plans for the future. That realization hit me like a ton of bricks and I felt like my life everything I've been "working for" was a complete joke with nothing to show for after all the smiling and faking and castings and jobs I've done... Nobody cared, and as far as I was concerned, life was over. The way I came out of it was definitely Lots of Prayer but, also, I had to get real with myself. I had to ask myself those tough questions to figure out how and why I let myself slip so low, and how I really felt about myself when I looked in the mirror. I had to rediscover the things I was passionate about, redevelop my ambition and motivation that was stifled by years of waiting for instruction, I had to consciously be grateful for where I've been and where I'm going to go. I had to really establish in intimate connection with myself and once I was able to address the problem, I was able to fix it. It took an entire year but I got my power back. There are still some struggles and times where I have to check myself but It's a process.... And I like where I'm going.
7. If you were a super hero what would be your name and your power?
Funny because I believe that I Am a super hero in real life and I have it tatted on my wrist. So my super power would be to change people's minds.... Let that sit.
