Meet Zbarbie | Model

We had the good fortune of connecting with Zbarbie and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Zbarbie, let’s talk legacy – what do you want yours to be?
I would want to be most remembered by my love and passion towards things I believe in deeply. Whether by my art or words, the world will recognize one thing about me and that’s the depths of where love and passion can take you in life. People tend to remember the absolute worse or best things about you so I owe it to myself to only give my best! My drive to face challenges head on have gotten me into some of the best spots in my life. Friends and family’s support has gotten me through my darkest times. Without those ties of love and passion from both myself and my family I wouldn’t have gotten nearly as far as I am today. Even then, I continue to learn the importance of both as I walk day to day. I would hope to leave the importance of sticking to what the heart yearns for, love.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
Although I treat modeling as a job, it’s more of a creative muse. The way I see it, it’s a way of expressing yourself in ways one couldn’t explain. I’ve never felt so restricted yet so free until setting foot behind a camera. It drove me different than anything creative I’ve ever done. In my opinion that’s what sets me apart from most. My drive to make this happen and turn it into something worth striving for. It’s a different type of personal for numerous reasons. One be that I owe it to my younger self. Using my body as art is definitely something I never thought I could do. It just wasn’t something I would typically see in high light with girls who look and are shaped like me when I was younger. I would take pictures as most do but never thought about where I could really take it. I didn’t take it serious until others would point out my potential to stand for something within the model world! It started as a joke but turned into something healing in a sense of a golden highlight. I’ve had pictures that have brought me so much joy and healing so I would want someone to look at what I do and feel it inside as I do. Appreciate the depths of how much time and energy goes into each and every picture I take; each painting l’ve painted. Definitely wasn’t an easy road and still isn’t but the outcome of the hard works pays it off every single time. That’s what keeps me going at it. Past the doubt and fear, the outcome makes me look back and see how it wasn’t so bad after all. It’s one of those things where you just have to trust the process cause it isn’t a short and easy one. There are definitely going to be points where you don’t know how your going to make something happen but it comes down to how bad do you truly want it ? Make it happen.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would definitely say some of my favorite spots are located in the heart of Atlanta. From this pizza joint called Anticos to a cute little crystal shop in the open mall of Little Five Points, there are plenty of tourist attractions to explore. I honestly wouldn’t know where to start! The museums are also a great get out of the house activity. The MLK museum and the Fernbank Science Center are a couple of my favorites. And maybe after that we could end the day with riding scooters around the city !

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
Shoutout to my beautiful mother Zeeh!! The one who has taught me the depths of creative expression. I’ve grown up with her teaching me how to find myself in the most inventive ways. With that type of creative freedom I was able to try all kinds of things that I probably wouldn’t have on my own. I’m my moms biggest fan. Always have been, always will be

Instagram: Z.barbieee

Twitter: @zaniyabarnett

Facebook: Zbarbie

Image Credits
• D.the.visualist • Ule lee • Horace Ottley