Mikey Makiotto overcame being overweight to losing weight while the industry told him he’s not good enough. He’s now living in sync mentally with his current body. He resides in Los Angeles, CA.
Age: 25
Where do you reside: Los Angeles, CA
Instagram: @mikeymakiotto
Mikey Makiotto | PH: Dan MartinWhat’s your definition of confidence? When speaking of confidence these days, I can’t have the conversation without bringing humility to the surface. The conviction I carry isn’t due to my training alone, but it’s more because of my beginnings. When I learned to accept myself for who I was and stopped trying to force the vision to be what I thought it should be, I suddenly became happier.
Confidence for me isn’t screaming or shouting that I’m the best. It’s about showing everyone that the magic is in the action.
Have you ever had body image issues? I definitely had body image issues growing up. I went through a chubby phase at a younger age, and after that, I dropped a ton of weight. I was skinny, and I was scared of being smaller after watching my father battle with cancer.
When I started to model, I think some of those issues resurfaced after working with different photographers. In this industry, you consistently have people telling you what your image should be, and if you’re not careful, you can become mentally enslaved to someone else’s idea of beauty.
I consistently fought with being bigger. I wanted muscle mass so I could work with certain photographers and appeal to a particular audience.
Lucky for myself, I learned to accept myself over time and realized that having a solid base shouldn’t come with a compromise. I still workout today, but it all begins with my mental health first. When my head is in the right place, I can feed my body and soul much better.
Photographers
Photographer Jeannie Liautaud | Instagram @jliautaudphoto (Headshot)
Photographer Dan Martin | Instagram @photawgrapher (Full Body)
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