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Photography, interview and styling by Lauren Engel
Meet Anuthida Ploypetch. Born in Thailand, she moved with her family to Germany at an early age and shot to fame through competing in one of the final rounds of German’s Next Top Model. These days we love to scroll on her Instagram feed observing her picturesque images of her lifestyle and travels.
You are an influencer, model and how else would you describe yourself?
I think I’m a funny person (laughs) A little bit dreamy.
I was born in Thailand, in Bangkok but I grew up in Germany. My mom had a restaurant in Thailand, typical for an Asian family but then she moved with me and my siblings to Germany where she owns a massage store now. My dad lives in Las Vegas since I was two so I don’t know him well. He is a musician.
“How I want to be remembered by people? As a funny person that makes everyone laugh everyday. As a happy person, inspiring and talented. I want people to say Oh Ya Anu, she’s very cool!”
Why did your mum chose to move to Germany with you kids?
Because my dad left us when we were two and she wanted to leave Thailand. I think she wanted to go Germany because we have family over here and my aunt told her to come and try it out. She liked it and decided to stay with us, also for the reason that she thought it was safer for us kids.
How often do you go back to Thailand?
I have only been there twice for vacation and visiting family. Unfortunately I am not there often, as it´s too far away and I am working a lot.
Do you feel any racial discrimination being Thai in Germany?
Oh ya when I was a kid, children were very mean. They said oh you’re so ugly you’re Asian and things like, oh you look so strange, your eyes are so tiny you look so different. In their eyes I was ugly but I didn´t care because I was born an Asian.
Were you always confident being Thai?
My mom told me just ignore them. My sister and my brother said to just ignore them, don’t care. You are born like that, be grateful and that’s it.
“When I was a kid, children were very mean. They said oh you’re so ugly you’re Asian and things like, oh you look so strange, your eyes are so tiny you look so different. In their eyes I was ugly but I didn´t care because I was born an Asian.”
Was it difficult growing up in your life without a father presence?
It was not difficult for me because I’m not my mom. For my sisters it was more sad because they knew him better than me. I am the youngest and I didn’t really know my dad, but my siblings grew up with my dad. It was hard though for my mother to be alone with everything, but I had a good childhood so everything is cool. My siblings and me are really close even though when I was six they were sixteen, seventeen and they wanted to go out but I wanted to play here at home.
What were you like growing up?
I just liked paying with friends outside or play music. When I was thirteen I started playing the guitar and loved making music with my friends. We would sometimes go to the city center and perform together. I even thought about making music in the future because modeling isn’t forever and I have always wanted to do something related to music. Â My dad is a musician as well so it might be something that I inherited from him, and my brother is very musical as well.
How did you start modeling?
It’s funny because when I was young some people told me oh you’re so tall, so skinny, so beautiful. Why are you not a model? I was like uh.. mmm.. I’m not sure. But when I was sixteen I saw Germany’s Next Top Model. So I thought why not try and my mum was supportive about it too.
Was she worried for you because it’s reality tv?
It’s not really reality because there are cameras everywhere. There was a camera team filming us but when we said no they just went away. It was very stressful with a lot of girls in the villa and it was strange because you didn’t know them before. Girls aren’t so easy. They fought everyday and since I don’t like this very much I just slept when they did.
How did you think you changed since you started the show?
I was sixteen then and now I’m nineteen. I was very different back then; I was so shy and I didn’t know how to speak. I was like okay the cameras are everywhere and I don’t know how to speak. I’m a little bit more confident now, a little bit cooler and not so shy anymore.
“It was very stressful with a lot of girls in the villa at Germany´s Next Topmodel show. Girls aren’t so easy. They fought everyday and since I don’t like this very much I just slept when they did.”
After you did Germany´s Next Top Model what happened? You moved to another city?
Yes, I moved but that was two years after GNTM. First I was wondering what to do next. Back then I didn´t know a lot about social media, but I started posting pictures for my community. I had no idea what an influencer was. But because of the show I soon had 300K followers. So I decided on buying a new camera wanting the photos for my community to be great. After time I realized what the fans wanted to see, asking me to post things of what I am doing, what I am wearing, so I thought why not. They were really cute when I answered them saying things such as: oh you answered me! You like my comment! I’m so happy to make everyone happy. Since then I’ve posted something everyday.
Where do you see yourself in the near future?
Do the social media thing, making music and modeling. I’m interested in design and making my own clothes and dancing! Dancing is more like a hobby but hopefully I can mix everything together.
What do you want to be remembered for?
As a funny person that makes everyone laugh everyday. As a happy person, inspiring and talented. I want people to say Oh Ya Anu, she’s very cool!
