News & Notes — Jan/Feb

Sarah Rose Galbraith won the fourth season of the online modeling reality show “Local Ambition,” created and produced by Always Late TV. The only plus-size model to ever win the grand prize of the show, she’s also one of the oldest participants to ever win. HER caught up with Galbraith, who has worked in the underground utility damage prevention industry for more than 12 years, to find out more about the competition.

HER: Can you tell us what the show is about?

Galbraith: “Local Ambition” is an original reality series from Always Late TV. Local women surrounding St. Louis, Missouri participate in a modeling competition. The models are set against each other in a series of photo shoot challenges designed to test and push their modeling skills. Only one earns the chance to be the best model overall. You watch each model as they share insights into their passion, their lives, and what they’re fighting for.

HER: How did you find out about the contest?

SRG: I’ve been pursuing modeling (for the second time) since 2013, and follow the social media of many photographers, agencies, models, and anything else having to do with the fashion/modeling industry. I found out about the show via Facebook. There was simply an advertisement to apply to be a model/cast member on season four that was shared by Candace Woodward, the modeling coach on season three.

HER: What does the contest require of the contestants?

SRG: Dedication, creativity, and passion mostly. We had to be available to film every other Sunday from February through July. We are given a theme for a photo shoot and must create an outfit or costume. The models (AKA contestants or cast) get a set amount of time with the photographer to take their pictures. This is when we had to give it our all so we remain on the show instead of getting eliminated. We also competed in shorter photo shoots (the “challenges”) in which we could win immunity from the next elimination. I won immunity on our very first challenge, which was taking head shots. We were also interviewed every film day about how we felt about our performance, other peoples performances, the themes, the challenges, etc.

HER: How were you judged?

SRG: The three judges evaluated us based on our photos, posing, expressions/emotion, and creativity.

HER: What was the experience of participating in the contest like?

SRG: One-of-a-kind. I’ve never done such a thing before, and I’ll always remember this. It’s crazy fun, kind of cheesy, stressful, and a lot of hard work, time and money. Totally worth it though. When I originally auditioned for the show, it wasn’t because I wanted to be on a reality show. That’s not what I do. I’ve never done it before and it was outside of my comfort zone. I saw it as an opportunity for modeling, maybe a possible career move and to gain more experience doing the different types of shoots and working with clients. It was also an opportunity to hopefully inspire or encourage someone to feel more beautiful or confident in themselves, to not let what small-minded people think or say change how we feel. We are all beautiful in our own way and we should embrace that feeling and let it shine. I definitely don’t fit the typical model mold, but here I am. I think people need to accept more diversity in the fashion industry. It influences us more than we realize. It’s good when we can relate to something or someone and it makes us feel more accepted and reassures us how great we all are and how different everyone is. We need to see that all sizes, genders, ages, imperfections and disabilities can be sexy and are beautiful and can stand for or represent something. So basically I’m here to do what I love, and to do my part to be part of the changes I want to see.

The entire fourth season of “Local Ambition” can be viewed online at alwayslatetv.com.

Galbraith’s modeling Facebook page is www.facebook.com/SarahRose222.

She will be involved in season 5 of “Local Ambition” and a new show from Always Late TV called “Paranormal Misfits.” Both will start filming in Spring 2016 and will air in the Fall 2016.