The Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show is less than a month away! The highly anticipated annual show has been home to some of the industry’s biggest names, like Laetitia Casta, Alessandra Ambrosio, Adriana Lima and, now, Josephine Skriver. We caught up with the newly minted Victoria’s Secret Angel to chat about getting to wear those coveted angel wings, health, fitness and how she trains like an angel.
First of all, congratulations on getting your angel wings!
Thank you, thank you. I am so excited. I can’t believe I finally get to walk the show with [angel] wings on!
How does one earn their angel wings?
You know, I’ve worked with Victoria’s Secret for a long time. You hope and you hope and, for me, it came as a complete surprise. You don’t know what the selection process is, or who else is in the running, so I am just so grateful that they did [choose me].
What was it like for you when you found out you were getting your wings?
It was the most surreal moment of my life. They just casually told me over coffee. You know when you hear something, and it takes a minute for the information to sink in? I had to stop and ask, Wait, what did you say? I couldn’t believe what was happening and then I was just jumping up and down. I couldn’t sleep for a week, I was so excited.
Will you be training harder now that you know you’re walking the show”as an angel, no less.
Being a [Victoria’s Secret] angel is a year-round job but, in terms of the show, I definitely amp up my routine a little bit. I work out and build my curves, because I want to know that when I walk down that runway, I really earned my place and I deserve to be there.
Take me through what a regular workout looks like for you.
I don’t do too much cardio because I’m trying to avoid losing weight before the show. For me, it’s about building and toning muscle, as well as building curves, so I use a lot of heavy weights. A typical workout for me usually starts with focusing on one muscle group, so it changes up every day.
When did you love for health and fitness begin?
Honestly, I don’t remember life without being active. I’ve been active for as long as I can remember. I used to do gymnastics and dance classes as a kid and, when I got a little older, I wanted to play soccer, so I did that. I’ve always been athletic and active and I especially enjoy team sports. That’s one of the things I had to give up for modelling because it’s hard to commit to a team when you travel the globe. That’s when it became more about personal fitness for me and training to get my body looking its best. That was my fitness journey as an adult”just figuring out what works for me. For example, I learned that too much cardio makes me too skinny and because I love having curves, weights and heavy lifting are the way to go.
Did you play other team sports besides soccer?
Yes, I also played team handball and I was a competitive swimmer with a group as well.
With your love of team sports, I guess it’s no surprise that you would get together with a friend like Jasmine Tookes and come up with something like @JoJa. Where did you get the idea for that?
We always wanted to share more about our love for fitness. Once, we were doing a shoot and part of it had us doing yoga poses, which we thought was really fun to do. Then we thought, Why don’t we share this online? So we started a combined account and, after a while, we realized people were really interested in what we were doing, so we just kept going with it. It organically created this online sisterhood of girls motivating each other; us motivating them and them motivating us. It’s cool to see them try the workouts we post, and to see who now goes to the gym with their best friends because they got inspired by us. I feel like there’s this great trend going on among the youth right now with the idea that to be strong is healthy, and to be healthy is sexy.
Do you think that you and Jasmine will ever expand @JoJa outside of an Instagram account?
Oh, definitely. I would love to turn @JoJa into a fitness phenomenon, but really, I just want to be a great role model for girls to look up to. I want to teach them that you need to work hard to get what you want.
What’s your golden rule for staying fit and healthy?
Make it fun and enjoyable. Make sure that working out doesn’t feel like just a task. Figure out why you want to do it, and what motivates you. For me, working out is all about fun. There are certain workouts that I hate to do, so I never do them. I’m motivated by things I enjoy doing, and when you do what you like, you can really start to see the progress you’re making, like when I can start to see that I can lift heavier weights for example. Doing it with a friend also got me off the couch, but some people need to do things on their own”so again, really find how you can make working out enjoyable for you.
In terms of your diet, are there any foods you absolutely will not eat?
For me, it’s more about keeping a healthy lifestyle and, with the training I do, I need a lot of protein as well as carbs for energy, so I just try to make sure I have a clean, healthy diet. It’s about being healthy, being fit ad being the best version of yourself you can be. If you want to indulge every once in a while, I think you definitely should. I don’t deny myself anything, so if there’s anything you want, have it. Just make sure that you’re doing everything in moderation.
Do you have any favourite indulgent foods?
Lately, I’ve been craving steak”a lot. That’s my biggest cheat food right now.
How do you keep yourself motivated?
I’m a really competitive person, so I always try to be better than I was the day before. For me right now, the [Victoria’s Secret] Fashion Show has been my biggest motivation.
What advice do you have for people who are trying to make healthy lifestyle changes?
My best advice would be that if you’re trying to make healthy changes to your lifestyle, make sure you’re committing to them. I don’t believe in quick fixes, so people need to understand that things don’t just happen overnight. It takes time to see the results you want, and the best way to make sure that you reach those goals and see those results is to stay focused and commit to the changes you make”you’ll feel like a better person for it.
