ANTM Interview: Brittany Rubalcaba

Yesterday, I got to sit in on a conference call with the most recent eliminee of America’s Next Top Model, Brittany Rubalcaba. Brittany, a 19-year-old student from Nevada, spoke about why she doesn’t like being called pretty, living in a house with so many girls, her several confrontations, and more.

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Full Q&A session is below the cut!

You seemed pretty upset with the whole pretty stigma. How do you feel about that now?

I’m not just pretty. I saw myself as being more than just a pretty commercial face. But I’ve taken what the judges have told me under consideration and I learned from Jay and Miss J and Tyra that there isn’t anything wrong with being “pretty.” Maybe I just don’t have the face for high fashion, maybe I can take my modeling career down a different path. Maybe I’m meant for catalogue.

What did you learn from your time on the show?

I learned you better come with it or you’re going home. I learned about posing and how you’re supposed to look and take pictures and attitudes and how to take critiques and use them. Every critique I was given, I took them home with me and have been applying them to this day.

did you keep your makeover?

Yes, I definitely kept my makeover.

You were involved in both the Hannah being prejudiced issue and the situation involving Elina and her mother. Why did you bring these issues to the forefront?

The situation with Hannah was blown out of proportion. I never said Hannah was racist. That’s something I never said. However, there were certain situations in the house with Joslyn, Nikeysha, Isis and myself and it was like “Oh, that happened to you? That happened to me too.” It came across like we ganged up on her, but it wasn’t really like that. It was overblown and edited for television. I was probably the main vocalist in the event, but it wasn’t confrontational.

With Elina and that event, I apologize for the wording I used. It came out wrong and if I could take back what I said in regard to that situation, I would. She and I are on good terms now. I am apologetic and embarrassed for how it came across on television. I should have not said those things. They came out poorly and I’m sorry.

Why did you get to be the Brittany who kept her name?

They told us a Brittany could keep her name and I said to the other girls, I’m keeping mine. So the other girls had to change their names.

What was the most difficult aspect of the swimsuit challenge?

What was going through my mind at the time was me trying to make my pictures as fierce as possible. I wanted to put 100% into it and give it my all and put everything I had into my picture and best represent the month they wanted me to represent.

Are you keeping in touch with any of the girls on the show?

I keep in touch with Isis and sometimes I hear from ShaRaun. But my main person is Isis.

Who would you like to see win?

Umm…I think that everybody after I left was fair and honestly, whoever made it deserved it. Whoever wins it deserves to win. That’s all I can say.

Now that the show is over, what’s next for you?

I plan on continuing to pursue modeling. I’m still in school and I’m planning on getting my degree and pursuing that too. I want to keep modeling and get my career going.

Is there anything you can to say to your fans and supporters?

I would want to say thank you. Thank you for watching. I apologize for my foul language and you’ll be seeing me in the future!

What did you think of your picture?

I saw myself and I saw a little bit of frustration in my eyes. I was giving it 100%, I was giving it my all. I wanted it to be perfect. I actually liked my picture. Unfortunately, the judges didn’t agree with me. But I liked it!

What did you think of the judges comments about your picture? Could you see what they were saying?

I did see what they were talking about. I respect their decision 100%. With every critique they’ve given me, I’ve thought about it and I’m working on it and I know what to do next time.

What would you say are your strengths and weaknesses as a model?

My strength. I can be very diverse. I have a good catalogue look. I bring presence. My weaknesses might me my body movements, as Tyra says, the way I move I didn’t know what I was doing in front of a camera, so I’m working on that. I also need to work on connecting with the camera and bringing it to my pictures, brining it to high fashion and being more fierce.

In the first week, you had one of the strongest photos? What changed?

Honestly, I wish I could say. I don’t know. I felt like I had just as much drive and just as much energy. I wasn’t drained. I was working harder and giving it my all, 100% the whole way through. There wasn’t much of difference for me or what I was doing. I was still the same person from beginning to end.

How did the other models feel about their makeovers?

I think everyone was pretty much happy with their look. At the time, some people were upset by their looks. But after it was over everyone realized that these makeovers would make us better models and we were given them for a reason and we were happy with them.

Did you have a model in mind that you were trying to emulate when you were posing for the camera?

I was, in my mind, trying to think of models in past cycles, like Jaslene. She’s so beautiful. Or Tyra and smiling with her eyes. I just wanted to bring presence and drop dead photos to the table and just stick in the judges’ mind. This is why I’m here, this is why you brought me here, this is why I belong here.

Have people always called you pretty?

Yeah. That and once I felt like I got that stigma about me, it stuck. It was all “You’re so pretty.” But the judges were like “We don’t want pretty.” I wanted to break out of that mould. But I felt myself being continuously in that mould and photographing that way. They were all “This photo is so pretty!” and I was like “Man, I want my photo to be fierce!”

If you did go the commercial route, what products would you want to do a commercial for?

I’ve always wanted to be a Victoria’s Secret angel or do Cover Girl commercials or Neutrogena commercials, Maybelline, MAX. As far as other catalogues outside Victoria’s Secret…uh Victoria’s Secret is definitely number one!

What was your initial reaction to Isis being on the show?

My initial reaction, was that I was surprised. I would never have guessed that looking at Isis. But from early on, I had a good understanding of the
competition and regardless of her being transgendered, she’s my competition and that’s how I saw it. She was a fair competitor and she was there to win, just like me. And she’s a very, very good person.

Is there anything you wish they had shown, but didn’t?

I do wish they showed some of the really good times. Like the whole truth or dares. If they had played all our dares, America would be falling out of their seats. We had good times. I think America got a whole misunderstanding of the whole Hannah situation. I wish they had showed something that had better explained why we reacted that why and why it was resolved that way.

Did you go pick up all the European fashion magazines, like Tyra asked you to?

Yes! Harper’s Bazaar, all the Vogues, some I can’t name, theirs titles are so hard to pronounce! I went to Barnes & Noble and asked for all the European magazines and they gave them to me. It is helping. I’m practicing voguing and practicing my looks and posing. I’m in the mirror way more than I should be.

Thank you for taking the time to chat with us!

Thank you!