GRETA MATILDA JÖNSSON TALKS MODELING
"Made me determined to prove it's possible"
Daniel John
Some want to see the world, some want to represent something, some want discounts on sneakers. What got you to start modeling?
Honestly, it was never an obvious choice for me to start modeling, so there was never any like real goal during the first years. I have always had low self-esteem and constantly compared myself to others. When I got booked for jobs, I would think things like, “Why are they booking me when there's so many other, more beautiful models out there?” and “What do I have to offer compared to others?” As I got older and actively worked on myself, my self-esteem also grew stronger. I have never been signed with an agency but have worked freelance throughout my career. Over the years, most people I’ve met have looked skeptically at that, rolled their eyes and said things like, “Oh, okay, good luck with that!” or, “Well, you do understand that you need an agency to land big jobs and clients, right?” That made me determined to prove that it actually is possible. So today I have two goals with my profession. One is to experience the world, and the other is to inspire other models to dare to take the step and work freelance as well. Think about it, we have freelance photographers, filmmakers, makeup artists, stylists, and so on. But how often do you hear about independent models?
What was your very first modeling job?
The first time I stood in front of a camera was for a makeup studio in Borlänge in 2008, but my first paid assignment was for a shoe store in Kupolen, that must have been around 2010 or 2011.
You’ve modeled for many different types of clothing brands, different styles of clothing, different artistic genres, and you’ve even worn a mustache for modeling. But no matter what you’re modeling for you often bring a sense you into it. With you in a photo it breathes of joy, life and adventure?
Yes, it’s been quite a mix of different jobs that I’ve done, and a mustache is far from the strangest thing I’ve had in a photo. At the beginning of my career, for example, I posed in underwear and a tank top with Play-Doh clay shaped like a penis placed inside the underwear (laughs), thank you for the kind words, it means an incredible amount that my work is perceived that way.
Have you always been so at ease in front of the lens?
I really have not always been comfortable in front of the camera. Even though I may have always been fairly good at hiding my insecurity. My self-esteem has been poor, but a strong self-confidence has saved me in many situations.
Have you always felt that your opinions matter. That as a model you have been just as heard as you have been seen?
Yes and no. I have always felt that my opinions matter but it has not always been obvious or easy for me to express them, even today I still struggle with not caring too much about what others think or feel, although I have gotten better at it. Daring to express my opinions has helped me develop as a model. When I take initiative during a workday and say that I sometimes want to look at the images that have been taken, I keep developing all the time. I become more aware of how I move, what my facial expressions look like, and what I need to “bring out more or less of.” That’s also when I can suggest what I think might work well in photos. Sometimes an idea doesn’t work at all and sometimes it turns out really great. But how would you know if you don’t try? It’s easy to get a bit overrun as a model, and it’s important to dare to take space.
What do you wish you'd known when you first started?
That I am just as capable as everyone else that I used to compare myself to, and that you can go as far as you want. It’s all in your head.
How aware have you become of your measurements and your height, for example, while modeling. Have you ever felt that you needed to change yourself?
That is the biggest reason why I have always worked freelance, when I started and came into contact with agencies, they measured me and informed me about what I was allowed to eat and not eat, and how much weight I could or couldn’t gain, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to represent me. Once, I was even told not to use so many facial expressions and, above all, to avoid smiling. Not smile?! Thankfully, I have always had a basic sense of security within myself, and I never hesitated for a second to turn my back on agencies that expressed things like that. Sure, I have probably missed out on many great assignments and my career would likely have taken off much faster with an agency, but my health, both physical and mental, has always been my top priority, to this very day I often thank myself for daring to stand my ground.
What do you love most about your body?
My mom was a single parent during my upbringing, and in order to make time and finances work, we were assigned a support family. I started spending time with them on weekends when my mom had to work, starting when I was five years old, and we still have a close relationship now, twenty-five years later. The man in that family dove from a pier and broke his neck in his early twenties, which resulted in him being paralyzed from the chest down. Thanks to him, I am deeply grateful for my entire healthy body. That I have legs I can walk and run with, ski, ride horses, hike in the mountains and drive a car. That I have functioning arms and hands. It’s so easy to take for granted the ability to pick up a knife and fork and eat completely on your own. Or to hold a book in front of you before falling asleep. Basically, everything you can do without assistance.
What do you wear when you want to feel your best?
Honestly I feel my best when I’m not wearing any clothes, not anything at all. The advantage of living in a house in the countryside is not having any nearby neighbors with direct visibility.
You’re also a fin at diving, what is it about life below the surface that draws you beneath it?
(Laughs) Yes, you could say that. When I was a child, I probably spent more time in the water than on land and I always had a dream of getting a diving certification. In 2011, I finally did something about it. Before I got certified, I imagined that diving would just be about seeing cool fish and corals. But it’s so much more than that. I love diving in Swedish waters just as much as in warm, exotic locations, even though visibility at home often isn’t better than three to five meters. Many people ask why. Because for the most part it’s not about what you see but about the feeling of being able to breathe underwater. Below the surface, you can’t talk. Everything is silent except for the sound of bubbles from your breathing, and you’re left alone with your own thoughts. I’m also filled with a constantly growing respect for Mother Earth when I dive, realizing how small we humans are compared to nature. That I, as merely a human being without protective equipment, wouldn’t stand a chance if a life-threatening situation were to arise. It makes me humble and grateful for the privileged life I live. In the future, I want to develop my diving even more. I want to get certified to dive in caves. At the moment, I dive quite a bit in the Tuna-Hästberg Adventure Mine, but I have to stay in areas where I have a water surface above me. The dream is to be able to swim in and truly explore the mine tunnels. I also want to move into technical diving, which in short means that instead of breathing air from a tank that eventually runs out, you breathe through a closed-loop system where the air is purified by using soda lime contained in a unit on your back. So you essentially breathe the same air all the time. No bubbles are released when you exhale, which allows you to interact with marine life in a completely different way, and you can actually spend several hours underwater.
Have you modeled underwater?
I’ve done quite a bit of underwater modeling through diving, mainly with photographer Alex Dawson. It’s truly a completely different way of working compared to above the surface. Down there you can not communicate verbally so all planning and briefings take place at the surface. And then you have to rely on memory and hand gestures. Seeing him transport all the heavy lights and camera equipment and watching him place everything around the area where we are shooting is incredibly impressive. I definitely want to continue working as an underwater model and also try leaving the tank behind and modeling as a freediver.
Are there other things like that you haven’t done yet but would like to do in the future?
There are so many things. My goal is to work and or collaborate with major companies, especially within sports and outdoor, such as Naturkompaniet, Peak Performance, Suunto, Lundhags, 8848 Altitude, Röhnisch, Adidas, Nike, Asics, and Björn Borg, just to name a few. Fashion–wise, I am completely in love with Namelazz and Cult Gaia. And when it comes to photographers, my dream is to work with André Musgrove, John Kowitz, Jean Noir, Perrin James and Marie Bärisch.
Do you have any dives coming up this summer?
This summer, I want to further develop my diving. I want to take a fundamentals course, get a cave diving certification, and a certification to operate an underwater scooter. At present, I am also training to become a personal trainer together with my boyfriend, and we both hope to start online coaching during next year, so my main focus right now is studying. I wish there were twice as many hours in a day to fit in everything I want to do, but as the old saying goes, “All in due time…”
