Middle of last year, I had the pleasure of meeting (and talking to) all the male and female candidates of Bodyshots Philippines 2014 during a Press Night scheduled by the organizers several days before the finals. During that activity, there was a round-robin type of interviews where members of the Press hopped from one table to the next where around six (6) contestants were seated in each. And I can vividly remember staying the longest in the last table where Arcel Yambing, Nathan Wilson, Juan Carlos Schubert, Chantal Serafica, Christienne Garcia,  Catherine Legaspi and Jinlyn Talocod were assigned to. I must admit that I took special interest in then 21 year-old Jinlyn upon the special request of fellow blogger Raul Gatal who is quite proud of the girl and since they are both from Bohol. I spoke to this kooky-girlish ingenué and found her vibe very easy to relate with. I silently told myself that she will do well as a model if the breaks come her way.

As it turned out, Jinlyn did not win Bodyshots. And I did not hear much until I started seeing her getting booked for a number of modeling gigs that gradually multiplied as months passed. And almost exactly a year after the model search she thought would be the key to doors of opportunities on the runway, she turned the defeat into a challenge to do better than most of her fellow contenders. She learns fast, translates her learnings into action and adds a healthy dash of good-naturedness and hard work into the equation.

Jinlyn may not be at her peak yet, but she is doing very well as a talent for ZeModels Manila. She gets picked by fashion designers left and right. During the very recent Philippine Fashion Week Holiday 2015 alone, she walked the ramp for Jian Lasala, Lyle Ibañez, JunJun Cambe, Randall Solomon and Raoul Ramirez. And for Nereku Manila last Thursday, she had four (4) appearances for Cherry Samuya Veric, Ezra Santos, Vanessa Unite and Jerome Salaya Ang. And I bet we’ll see more of her in the months and, perhaps, years to come.

Jinlyn is reliable. And in the fashion industry, that adjective speaks volumes, and gets the quick nod during go-sees and bookings.

I’m glad I was able to see her transformation. And I will definitely look forward to more of her evolution into a topnotch catwalk diva. 😉