TOP MODEL on the Body Image, Pressure of Industry and How She is Dealing with Hate | Coco Rocha

Coco Rocha 0:00 at the age of 14, 15, it's get on a plane, do a shoot, come home. If it was back then, go to school-

Marina Mogilko 0:06 Yeah

Coco Rocha 0:06 ... do your homework.

Marina Mogilko 0:07 What's the craziest story that happened to you through career?

Coco Rocha 0:09 Oh, there's too many. Being in a room that's just full of fire.

Marina Mogilko 0:13 Oh.

Coco Rocha 0:13 Being in water. Working with an elephant. They have to pee every 15 minutes. If you see me on the airplane, I'm crying. I wanted to be a mom more than anything, but I didn't even think what that means-

Marina Mogilko 0:22 Yeah

Coco Rocha 0:22 ... for a model. Career is not that important.

Marina Mogilko 0:25 What about AI? H&M just replaced their models.

Coco Rocha 0:28 Why keep everyone around that's mediocre?

Marina Mogilko 0:30 Absolutely.

Coco Rocha 0:30 It's easier to use AI. But if there is still these core people with great values and who are so good at their job, yes, people will still wanna be around them.

Marina Mogilko 0:39 How do you become that model?

Coco Rocha 0:40 Eh.

Marina Mogilko 0:41 Coco, thank you so much. I'm enjoying this camp a lot, giving me so much energy, and this is your 147th-

Coco Rocha 0:49 Yes

Marina Mogilko 0:49 ... time doing it. [laughing] Where does the energy come from?

Coco Rocha 0:52 I honestly, sometimes at the end of it, I'm like, "Wow, we did that one more time," but it really has to do with the energy of the room. And as you saw, sometimes at the beginning, people can be shy or bashful, and you're like, "Oh, gotta get it out of them." And then there's a moment, something changes in the room, and everyone's excited. So it's really not my energy. You're feeling their energy, and it, it, it helps me, too.

Marina Mogilko 1:13 How do you manage this? So you have a camp-

Coco Rocha 1:15 Mm-hmm

Marina Mogilko 1:15 ... that runs 10 times a year. You are a top model.

Coco Rocha 1:19 [laughing]

Marina Mogilko 1:19 You have three kids, and you also have a modeling agency-

Coco Rocha 1:23 Mm-hmm

Marina Mogilko 1:23 ... and you invest in businesses.

Coco Rocha 1:24 Yes. [laughing]

Marina Mogilko 1:25 Okay, tell me how this all works.

Coco Rocha 1:27 Yes, I think that it's funny how people see the name of anybody, like Coco Rocha, and therefore, she must do it all. It's beautiful teams. We have a fantastic team led by my husband here at Model Camp. I have fantastic managers at Nomad, but plus my personal managers, who, again, my husband is my manager. So I guess, like, family-oriented is really important. Like, we keep our business and family, you know, it's close at hand. Because, as you see, my daughter's here. S- it's not like it's one and the other. It's all one thing. So we make sure that our teams can support us, you know, personally, that can, like, be part of the business. We have great-grandparents that help with the kids. I... Yeah, I just think, like, the behind the scenes is what people don't register on, especially content creators, models, uh, athletes, actresses, and actors. They usually just think it's just us [laughing] doing-

Marina Mogilko 2:20 Yeah

Coco Rocha 2:20 ... all the work, like we're some type of supermodel.

Marina Mogilko 2:21 But it's still a lot of you, right? You're leading this thing.

Coco Rocha 2:24 I-

Marina Mogilko 2:24 You're here on the weekend.

Coco Rocha 2:25 Yeah. [laughing]

Marina Mogilko 2:26 And then you probably have to travel in the next two weeks to another part of the world.

Coco Rocha 2:29 Yeah, and I guess in, in my mind, that's normal. Like, this is how I've grown up in business. Uh, at the age of 14, 15, it's get on a plane, do a shoot, come home. If it was back then, go to school-

Marina Mogilko 2:41 Yeah

Coco Rocha 2:41 ... do your homework. Then I started having more businesses and more opportunities, so I don't really know any different. So when people say, "You're busy," I'm like, "Am- yeah, I guess I am." This is just kind of how it's always been. So they do say, "Give a busy person something to do, and they'll get it done," right? It's usually the people that do have multifaceted things-

Marina Mogilko 2:59 Yeah

Coco Rocha 2:59 ... that you are, people are fascinated by, but they're the ones that are like, "No, I can get it done for you."

Marina Mogilko 3:04 Yeah, and your husband is always with you.

Coco Rocha 3:06 Yes.

Marina Mogilko 3:06 And I used to work with my husband, but we stopped. And, you know, the reason was I didn't feel safe [laughing] because everything- all the eggs are in the same basket.

Coco Rocha 3:12 Yes.

Marina Mogilko 3:12 Like, the whole family-

Coco Rocha 3:13 Oh, okay

Marina Mogilko 3:13 ... during the pandemic. We're in the travel business.

Coco Rocha 3:15 Yep.

Marina Mogilko 3:15 I'm like, "Eh, well, you know." I don't know. Have you ever had these thoughts of, like, eh?

Coco Rocha 3:19 I'm sure I've had a, a moment or two with this [laughing] turbulence on a plane, and I'm like, "We're both on this plane." Um, but on the other hand, I try not to think in, in that kind of way. My mom was a flight attendant, and so she traveled always, and she was a single mom, although my dad did live, uh, a few province over. So in my head, it was kind of like that was all I had, and she was able to travel and do things and support me. So I still think, like, we, we live a safe life. We don't do anything too crazy, and, yeah, I have thought of that. However, I like to think that because we do work together, we get to share things that most couples don't get to share ever.

Marina Mogilko 3:57 Yeah.

Coco Rocha 3:57 You know, like, our date nights, people laugh. They're like, "Oh, don't talk about business." I'm like, "That is our life." We do. We sit, and we'll talk about what happened in the day or what's the next project, what's the next ideas. Most couples don't get to do that. They don't even know what their significant other did. And then, plus, we get to bring our kids. So yeah, I guess there's the pros and cons of stuff, but I see too many pros-

Marina Mogilko 4:21 Yeah

Coco Rocha 4:21 ... of us working together. And funny enough, I think most people because they think they'll fight. Like, "Oh, I can't be with them all day long because we're just gonna have too much, uh, you know, friction and tension." We don't fight about work.

Marina Mogilko 4:35 Oh, that's great.

Coco Rocha 4:35 We'll fight about, like, "Oh, why didn't you make the bed, and why- [laughing]

Marina Mogilko 4:38 Yeah, yeah

Coco Rocha 4:39 ... the dish is not done?"

Marina Mogilko 4:40 Uh-huh.

Coco Rocha 4:40 But it's not work. We're very level-headed when it comes to work. We have the same ideas. Usually, when he's saying something, I finish the sentence. So we've... We're compatible to work well together, and, uh, I do love it, and I hope my kids, if they ever wanna, like, continue [laughing] the family business, if that's what you would call it, they have a, a chance to continue doing it with family.

Marina Mogilko 5:01 Oh, my God, this girl's story is so inspiring to me. Just imagine, she started her career at 15. She's still going, and it's been over, what, 25 years? And she runs several businesses, and she's a mom to three kids, and she's managing everything like a pro. How? By mastering time management and focusing on what she does best. As a business owner, mom of two, for now, [laughing] and a full-time content creator, I can say that it's not just about managing your time and having a solid team. It's about using the right tools that make your life easier. That's why I'm so excited about the latest update from Gamma App. It's one of my favorite time-saving AI tools. They are no longer just for presentations. They now can help you create websites, documents, social media content, and more. So whether you are a consultant, solopreneur, educator, marketer, or sales pro, Gamma is the ultimate all-in-one content creation tool. And the best part, with Gamma, you can create it in minutes, not hours. Just watch how Gamma turns my ideas into a stunning LinkedIn carousel in just a few clicks without touching any design tool. Let Gamma make your work easier, faster, and more impactful. It's the tool that allows you to focus on what really matters while it takes care of the rest. Unlock the power of AI at gamma.app.

6:15 ... and you, so you've been in the career for 20-plus years.

Coco Rocha 6:19 Yeah, I'm like, I gotta do a little math sometimes. [laughs]

Marina Mogilko 6:21 Yeah, and you mentioned something that it's not about, like- well, of course, looks are important, but it's how you network-

Coco Rocha 6:28 Mm-hmm

Marina Mogilko 6:28 ... how you behave on the s- at the set-

Coco Rocha 6:30 Yeah

Marina Mogilko 6:30 ... on the scene. Can you walk me through that, like, some of your networking tips-

Coco Rocha 6:34 [laughs] Yeah

Marina Mogilko 6:34 ... and being nice to people?

Coco Rocha 6:35 I think, uh, one of my... I will talk about it later in some of the classes, but one of my favorite quotes is, "It's nice to be important, but it's important to be nice."

Marina Mogilko 6:42 Mm-hmm.

Coco Rocha 6:43 Uh, and I think too many models, again, m- might start their careers with this belief that, "One day I'll be such a success, and I can just, I don't know, be intense, aggressive, nasty. I can do whatever I want," because people love a villain, and models aren't villains. Uh, the models I know that have made it and successfully made it over and over and over are truly the nice ones in the room. Most. It's like a zero-point-something percent that-

Marina Mogilko 7:08 Yeah

Coco Rocha 7:08 ... make it to the top, but will usually be very thoughtful and kind. And, and it really, like, it... In the end, if I were hanging out with someone for eight hours, and they were just so lovely, but maybe their ears are a little quirky or their nose is a little funny, I'm gonna, I'm gonna think it's beautiful now. But if I see someone that I truly thought gorgeous, but internally started to be nasty, rude, somehow they don't look so gorgeous to me anymore, and I think that is how it works in fashion. Some people might wonder, like, "Why is Coco around? She doesn't have unique features, nothing of... You're a brunette girl."

Marina Mogilko 7:43 Oh, thank you. [laughs]

Coco Rocha 7:44 But, but, but, but I'm not, but I'm not like-

Marina Mogilko 7:46 When I first saw you on the red carpet-

Coco Rocha 7:48 I'm not lowering myself

Marina Mogilko 7:48 ... I'm like, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa."

Coco Rocha 7:49 You're so cute.

Marina Mogilko 7:49 "This is amazing."

Coco Rocha 7:49 But I'm not lowering myself or saying like, "Ugh, I'm not pretty."

Marina Mogilko 7:52 Mm.

Coco Rocha 7:52 I'm just saying some people could say that. But maybe once they meet me, they're like, "Oh-

Marina Mogilko 7:56 Mm-hmm

Coco Rocha 7:57 ... I get it now." That's what I think most models at the top are. So for all my models that are starting and are so focused on how they look, looks do matter, like you said, to a point. But then most people are just gonna be gravitated to you 'cause how you work, how you treat people, and just-

Marina Mogilko 8:14 'Cause energy shows, right?

Coco Rocha 8:15 Yeah, and people just realize you love your job. I want to be around someone that loves their job-

Marina Mogilko 8:20 Yeah

Coco Rocha 8:20 ... not someone that sucks the energy out of a room.

Marina Mogilko 8:24 100%.

Coco Rocha 8:24 Right? Even though they're gorgeous.

Marina Mogilko 8:26 What about AI?

Coco Rocha 8:27 Yeah. [laughs]

Marina Mogilko 8:28 H&M just replaced their models with... They kind of replicated some of their models. What do you think is gonna happen?

Coco Rocha 8:33 Yeah, I think right now we're gonna play around with it, and it's gonna be a little shocking, right? It's in the press. If we keep using it, it might not be so shocking, and we might not even care. But there's something to the live audience, the real thing.

Marina Mogilko 8:47 Mm.

Coco Rocha 8:47 Uh, for example, you think of theater. Who needs Broadway? No one actually needs it. We can all go watch a movie on Netflix. It's very easy to sit in my bed and watch TV and see something quite fantastic, but there's something about the, the in the room, the experience, to watch someone do it right there. It's just something different.

Marina Mogilko 9:05 Mm.

Coco Rocha 9:06 I don't think we're gonna lose that for the next little while.

Marina Mogilko 9:08 What about the commercial, though? Like, if it's just, you know, all of the websites that are selling where you're just required to sound like that.

Coco Rocha 9:14 And it could. You know what? Maybe they do start using AI for the simpler things.

Marina Mogilko 9:19 Mm.

Coco Rocha 9:19 But look at... We're in a room full of models that don't want to do the simpler things. Isn't it interesting?

Marina Mogilko 9:23 Exactly. Yeah.

Coco Rocha 9:23 So yeah, models can complain all they want and say, "AI is taking over," but then on the other flip side, they're complaining that they have these jobs where they just stand there. What do you want?

Marina Mogilko 9:32 Yeah, yeah.

Coco Rocha 9:32 Do you want the job where it's, uh, boring, but you get money, or are you complaining that AI is taking those? So I don't know yet where I stand on that, but when it comes to the very theatrical photo shoots where the performance has value, I'll see some people will use it, 'cause they're just maybe, "Cheap is easier." But there are other people that want the experience.

Marina Mogilko 9:54 The art, right?

Coco Rocha 9:54 They want the art.

Marina Mogilko 9:55 Yeah.

Coco Rocha 9:55 And they still exist, and so they'll do it that way. Just like, do you know there's a ton of photographers that still use film? That's not easy. They should probably just use digital cameras, but they love the experience of film, and they'll continue to use it. So it is going to be ki- like most creative fields, it will start to crumble, and we'll figure out what's going on. But then there will be the light at the tunnel for some individuals, and that's why I say to the models, "It's important that you're actually good at your job."

Marina Mogilko 10:24 Yeah.

Coco Rocha 10:24 Because why keep everyone around that's mediocre? Why keep the people that complain or are mean or nasty?

Marina Mogilko 10:30 Absolutely.

Coco Rocha 10:30 It's easier to use AI, but if there is still these core people with great values and who are so good at their job, yes, people will still want to be around them and watch them because it's live art.

Marina Mogilko 10:42 How do you become that model?

Coco Rocha 10:44 Ah. [laughs]

Marina Mogilko 10:44 Uh, do you think social media, for a model, is important, social media presence?

Coco Rocha 10:49 Yeah. I think that we are... And we're gonna have this class a little later, but there, there is going to come a time where our content creators, or bloggers, or, you know, whatever you want to c- call them, and models or traditional models, it's going to be warped into one. You will not be able to model without having a substantial part in social media, and those that have started off in social media, you're gonna have to find a way to make sure that your artistic eye is not just this one direction, 'cause people get tired of that.

Marina Mogilko 11:19 Mm.

Coco Rocha 11:19 So you have to learn to be a muse to other people and sell products that aren't yours. It's one. I think it's so strange how both worlds look badly at each other, or it's like, "You can't be part of my club." "Well, you can't."

Marina Mogilko 11:32 Mm-hmm.

Coco Rocha 11:32 You do. And so models need to take a, a note from content creators because they took something that was nothing and created an empire. And yeah, content creators look at models and go, "How did they get from nothing to all of a sudden on the covers of magazines?"

Marina Mogilko 11:49 Mm.

Coco Rocha 11:49 What... Like, we have stuff that we should learn from one another.

Marina Mogilko 11:52 Yeah. Do you think there exists a fast track to becoming a top model these days?

Coco Rocha 11:57 Yeah, there's-

Marina Mogilko 11:58 Like, you go viral on TikTok-

Coco Rocha 11:59 [laughs]

Marina Mogilko 11:59 ... and suddenly you're... But, like, Emma Chamberlain is such a great example, like, sh- how she entered the fashion world just being a YouTube creator.

Coco Rocha 12:05 Yeah.

Marina Mogilko 12:06 What do you think about that?

Coco Rocha 12:06 But how long was she trying to be a YouTube creator?

Marina Mogilko 12:09 ... yeah, she's been creating on YouTube for-

Coco Rocha 12:12 Correct

Marina Mogilko 12:12 ... over 10 years, right?

Coco Rocha 12:13 There you go.

Marina Mogilko 12:13 Yeah.

Coco Rocha 12:13 So I think people say something is fast, forgetting that, like, there was years before that.

Marina Mogilko 12:18 Mm-hmm. Maybe not fast, non-traditional, right? 'Cause she never started-

Coco Rocha 12:20 And I love non-traditional

Marina Mogilko 12:22 ... walking the catwalk.

Coco Rocha 12:23 Yeah.

Marina Mogilko 12:23 She was just making those blogs-

Coco Rocha 12:24 Yeah

Marina Mogilko 12:24 ... and suddenly she's the face of Miu Miu and Louis Vuitton.

Coco Rocha 12:27 Yeah, and I love that. That's how I wish models would think now, because so many want a traditional experience to almost say, validate, like, "Oh, I'm a model because I traditionally did the model path." And nowadays I'm like, "Why does that matter?"

Marina Mogilko 12:39 Mm-hmm.

Coco Rocha 12:39 And no one's [scoffs] no one's looking at me going like, "Oh, tradit- traditional, you're, you're the better ones." It's just like, wow, look at you creating something, and people actually resonating with it, and they're obsessed with it, and here you are in this new category that you never saw yourself before. How great is that? No one is gonna care. I don't think they should care, like, were you scouted in a mall-

Marina Mogilko 13:03 Yeah

Coco Rocha 13:03 ... and then you went to a s- to an agency, and then you became a big-time deal. I prefer actually the models that had background in creating something on their own.

Marina Mogilko 13:14 Mm.

Coco Rocha 13:14 And they know what it's like to achieve and fail, so that when they bring it to modeling, they know how to successfully do this and not do it.

Marina Mogilko 13:21 Do you get any backlash from the fashion world? Like, "Ah, this is not-" [laughs]

Coco Rocha 13:25 "This is not fashion."

Marina Mogilko 13:25 ... "artistic. This is not fashion."

Coco Rocha 13:27 Yeah. When I started, for sure, I got a lot of, uh, uh, not so much phone calls, more like in-person meetings saying, "Continue using these platforms, and we won't work with you anymore."

Marina Mogilko 13:37 Oh, no.

Coco Rocha 13:37 "You're watering down the aesthetic of a fashion model." Um, now, look, all of us have to be on it.

Marina Mogilko 13:44 Did you lose any contracts with them?

Coco Rocha 13:46 I'm sure... Not l- lost contracts, but I'm sure I lost opportunities-

Marina Mogilko 13:50 Mm

Coco Rocha 13:50 ... I wasn't even aware of.

Marina Mogilko 13:51 Wow!

Coco Rocha 13:51 And I still think to this day, some people might think I'm gimmicky.

Marina Mogilko 13:54 Mm-hmm.

Coco Rocha 13:55 Some people might think, you know, "Coco used to do such of the traditional world, and now look at her, she's doing sort of these silly vid- a, a TikTok video." Ugh. But then I have to say to, for my business, "Do I actually want to work or support people that do not see how the future is going?"

Marina Mogilko 14:12 Yeah.

Coco Rocha 14:12 So then it actually is a relief for me to not have my name associated, because those individuals or those companies are gonna figure it out soon.

Marina Mogilko 14:21 Mm-hmm.

Coco Rocha 14:22 But if they don't figure it out, if they're just going to die out as a company.

Marina Mogilko 14:26 Yeah.

Coco Rocha 14:26 And so I'm fine that I wasn't associated, right? So for all my people building businesses or your modeling careers, it's okay to hear the word "no," because they don't see your value, and maybe one day they will, 'cause they realize in growth that you were on the right path. Or maybe, guess what, you were on the wrong path, and in growth, you do find yourself with them. But I never say... You know, you know, don't burn the bridge.

Marina Mogilko 14:54 Mm-hmm.

Coco Rocha 14:54 I don't need to say to someone, "You're wrong, and I'm right." I bow out gracefully, "Thank you for your time, and we'll see where we're at, uh, at another year, another two years." But at this point, social media has not done me bad, except maybe lost a few opportunities, and those people are now catching up, figuring out how to use this platform that they should have started a long time ago.

Marina Mogilko 15:17 Yeah, that's great. But have you ever thought of, like, slowing down at least? [laughs] With three kids, you're like, you're doing so many things. Were there any thoughts like, "Oh, maybe with this, I need to stop but, like, double down here-

Coco Rocha 15:28 Mm

Marina Mogilko 15:28 ... so I can be more with my family?"

Coco Rocha 15:29 I think people must think I'm always on the move and traveling. I am very much a stay-at-home mom a lot of the time. Uh, again, those businesses are run by some very beautiful, amazing partners and also teams, so that it can all flow. I mean, no joke, my husband is the man behind the scenes. And honestly, I trust his judgment and his decision-making, that he'll pretty much be like, "Hey, you have this option. What do you think?" I'll be like, "Yep." And then I kind of forget about it, and he'll be like, "And that option is now a job, and you're going tomorrow."

Marina Mogilko 16:00 Wow. [chuckles]

Coco Rocha 16:00 I just get to diligently show up and be around the kids-

Marina Mogilko 16:04 Mm

Coco Rocha 16:04 ... go to school functions, take them to their, like, play dates, go... I'm, I'm with them all the time, and it's my favorite thing. And so that's our deal, is that he does all the computer work behind the scenes.

Marina Mogilko 16:16 Mm-hmm.

Coco Rocha 16:16 And I'll show up for the jobs, but please let me, like, hang out and be mom, and he's so great at letting me just having those opportunities.

Marina Mogilko 16:24 So look, I'm trying to understand your schedule. So in a month, how many days are you a normal mom?

Coco Rocha 16:28 [laughs] Every day.

Marina Mogilko 16:30 Every day?

Coco Rocha 16:30 Um, I, for example, this morning woke up, uh, my middle boy, he has a, um, a project on tornadoes, and so we woke up together, and we worked on the project together.

Marina Mogilko 16:42 Do you want to work 6:00 a.m.?

Coco Rocha 16:43 Yeah.

Marina Mogilko 16:43 'Cause the-

Coco Rocha 16:44 Yeah

Marina Mogilko 16:44 ... camp started, no? [laughs]

Coco Rocha 16:45 Yeah, so 6:00 a.m. we-

Marina Mogilko 16:46 Wow!

Coco Rocha 16:46 ... he got up, so we got on tornado project. We had breakfast together. My littlest was with grandpa having a sleepover, and my oldest, as you see, is here. So everyone gets a little time, and then after, I leave at a very specific time at Model Camp. I get to go, and I tell the models, "I'm going home to be mom now," and usually everyone respects that.

Marina Mogilko 17:06 Mm-hmm.

Coco Rocha 17:06 I'll have movie night with them. I'll do bath tonight. I put everyone to bed. Wake up, they have school tomorrow.

Marina Mogilko 17:11 Mm-hmm.

Coco Rocha 17:11 Uh, well, James will run them to school before we have Model Camp. So we're there.

Marina Mogilko 17:16 Yes, that you're involved.

Coco Rocha 17:17 Yeah.

Marina Mogilko 17:18 Yeah.

Coco Rocha 17:18 We're involved, and they're right now hanging out with grandparents.

Marina Mogilko 17:21 And you have your grandparents here, so when you travel, grandparents take care of them.

Coco Rocha 17:23 Sometimes, yeah. So grandma right now is from England. She's here for a little bit. My mom's from Canada. She'll come for a little bit.

Marina Mogilko 17:28 Mm-hmm.

Coco Rocha 17:28 And James' dad lives nearby, so we always just have, like, a-... someone nearby. And then we have, like I said, some great staff who are literally like their brothers and sisters.

Marina Mogilko 17:38 That's great.

Coco Rocha 17:38 Their older si- and they love them, as you see. Like, Ioni just went with one of our staff members. She thinks of them as their, their big sisters.

Marina Mogilko 17:45 That's awesome.

Coco Rocha 17:46 And it's great because they, they need support in different ways, and it doesn't always have to be mom and dad, but, like, they can share with other people. It's fantastic. I wish I had this when I grew up. Not so much the modeling, I'm just saying the support. I- it was me and my mom, and then when she was gone, I had babysitters, and I never really-

Marina Mogilko 18:05 Yeah, and you had 58 babysitters or something like that?

Coco Rocha 18:07 58 ba-

Marina Mogilko 18:07 I've heard that number.

Coco Rocha 18:07 Oh, good for you, 58 babysitters-

Marina Mogilko 18:09 That's crazy.

Coco Rocha 18:09 And not all of them were great.

Marina Mogilko 18:10 Yeah [laughs] .

Coco Rocha 18:11 And I didn't have the support, so I think being very present is very important to me, and it is the hardest thing. When we travel to Cannes or to Paris, uh, if you see me on the airplane, I'm crying.

Marina Mogilko 18:23 Mm.

Coco Rocha 18:23 I'm wishing to be with them. And I know that it's only five days, and it's... I don't do that quite often, but, uh, it bothers me, and I think it's young Coco, when her mom left, comes back-

Marina Mogilko 18:34 Yeah

Coco Rocha 18:35 ... and she's missing. But I know my kids are like, "See you!" [laughs]

Marina Mogilko 18:38 Do you tell yourself, "This is the last trip, this is the last trip?"

Coco Rocha 18:41 Never is it the last trip. It's just, "Oh, the- it'll get better."

Marina Mogilko 18:44 Mm.

Coco Rocha 18:45 And it's, again, when, when I leave, they're fine, 'cause they're like, "I'm with my, my grandparents-

Marina Mogilko 18:50 Yeah

Coco Rocha 18:50 ... I'm with my brother and sister. I have play dates planned. You've, [laughs] you know, filled my days, so I'm gonna have fun." It's me.

Marina Mogilko 18:57 Mm.

Coco Rocha 18:57 It's my little, like, remembering how it felt, and it's funny how that's just never gone away, so-

Marina Mogilko 19:03 Yeah

Coco Rocha 19:03 ... I really make sure it's always special with them.

Marina Mogilko 19:05 Yeah, mine cry, so [laughs] -

Coco Rocha 19:07 Yeah, it's-

Marina Mogilko 19:07 "This is probably the last trip-

Coco Rocha 19:09 [laughs]

Marina Mogilko 19:09 ... but I might have to work soon as well."

Coco Rocha 19:11 And you know what? They're go- I look back, and, yeah, I cried when my mom left, but also I'm not like, "Oh, how horrible!"

Marina Mogilko 19:16 Yeah, it's like a-

Coco Rocha 19:17 It's like, it's like-

Marina Mogilko 19:17 ... lifelong trauma.

Coco Rocha 19:18 No, it... but it is, it's things that I'm like, "Oh, I wish I was on those trips." I bring my kids, and when- I'm sure you're gonna, like, do more and more with them the older they get.

Marina Mogilko 19:27 Yeah.

Coco Rocha 19:27 School gets in the way. But it does, it gets... It starts to be so fun the way we get to share all this together.

Marina Mogilko 19:33 Like, can you walk me through this decision when you're like, "Oh, I'm gonna have this kid-

Coco Rocha 19:36 [laughs]

Marina Mogilko 19:36 ... and then the second kid and third kid, and I'm a top model, and my body is basically my product," right?

Coco Rocha 19:42 Yeah. Oh, so the first time, uh, honestly, I, I didn't probably know enough to know-

Marina Mogilko 19:47 How old were you?

Coco Rocha 19:47 ... and that's probably good. Uh, I think I was pregnant at 24.

Marina Mogilko 19:50 Oh, wow.

Coco Rocha 19:51 24, 25.

Marina Mogilko 19:51 Mm-hmm.

Coco Rocha 19:52 And it was just an excitement. Like, I wanted to be a mom more than anything, so I didn't even think of, like-

Marina Mogilko 19:56 Mm

Coco Rocha 19:56 ... what that means for a model.

Marina Mogilko 19:59 Yeah.

Coco Rocha 19:59 Uh, I probably announced it too early, 'cause everyone's like, "Oh, she's pregnant, so she has a bump, so we can't work with her."

Marina Mogilko 20:04 Mm, mm-hmm.

Coco Rocha 20:04 And I was like, "Oh, well [laughs] why am I working now?" Um, after having baby, my body seemed to have gone to, through its natural course, and a few months later, I was able to go back to work. I was excited to go back to work. Where some people say the models are pressured to... They have to do it immediately, I thought of it as, "I can't wait to share my new life with my baby in my world that I love."

Marina Mogilko 20:28 Mm.

Coco Rocha 20:29 And so as a model, it is, uh, fascinating. We get to kind of decide things when we go to work. Like, I can decide if I'm bringing my kid or not. I can decide-

Marina Mogilko 20:38 Let's see if my kids do stuff.

Coco Rocha 20:39 Yeah. "Well, I need to breastfeed."

Marina Mogilko 20:40 Yeah, right?

Coco Rocha 20:41 "Mom's gotta-

Marina Mogilko 20:42 Yeah, yeah.

Coco Rocha 20:42 ... uh, has to, to work, but also Mom has to take care of you." So if that meant, like, bringing grandparent, well, they'd watch them, and I'd shoot, and then I would f- feed. And then at certain points, like, okay, they can stay home, and I'll-

Marina Mogilko 20:55 Mm-hmm

Coco Rocha 20:55 ... I'll work. But other times I'm like, "Let's just bring. Why not?"

Marina Mogilko 20:59 Oh. Yeah, with the third kid, like, when you know what it takes, when they're two years old, three years old-

Coco Rocha 21:03 Yeah

Marina Mogilko 21:03 ... it's, like, a completely different involvement, where you're like, "Oh, maybe I should just pause."

Coco Rocha 21:08 No, the third one was... The day they announced COVID was the day I found out I was pregnant.

Marina Mogilko 21:13 Oh, perfect timing. [laughs]

Coco Rocha 21:13 So I was like-

Marina Mogilko 21:14 You're like-

Coco Rocha 21:14 ... "I'll just be staying home-

Marina Mogilko 21:15 Awesome

Coco Rocha 21:15 ... being pregnant." It was a little nerve-wracking-

Marina Mogilko 21:17 Mm

Coco Rocha 21:17 ... 'cause you're like, "There's some- something growing in me that I want to protect, and the world is crazy right now." But no, the third one, I was just... I wanted another baby, so... I- there was a time where my life, I allowed the industry to... And I say it in a generalization. It's not all bad people, but the industry dictated what I would do and how I'd do it, and, like, "Be thankful, and don't mess it up." And I think that I was so over that-

Marina Mogilko 21:42 Mm-hmm

Coco Rocha 21:42 ... that anything, when it comes to my decisions now, I won't ever allow that to happen again. So I never really have thought, like, "Oh, why did I get pregnant? I'm gonna mess this all up."

Marina Mogilko 21:51 Mm, I see.

Coco Rocha 21:51 It's because I knew that ha- being a mom probably was gonna be far more fabulous than doing this five more years-

Marina Mogilko 21:58 I love that

Coco Rocha 21:58 ... if they told me, "You were done."

Marina Mogilko 22:00 Yeah.

Coco Rocha 22:00 And here we are today.

Marina Mogilko 22:01 Yeah.

Coco Rocha 22:01 We're not done.

Marina Mogilko 22:02 Yeah.

Coco Rocha 22:02 We're still doing it, and I'm glad I took tho- those opportunities. But yes, I know some models that they wouldn't get pregnant, 'cause they were so worried about the career, and I'm like, "The career is not, not, to me, is not that important to change my entire course of life just so I could be relevant for one more year."

Marina Mogilko 22:22 Yeah. And you've done so many other things differently in the industry, 'cause you advocated for, in New York, right-

Coco Rocha 22:27 Mm-hmm

Marina Mogilko 22:27 ... that girls are now treated as actor... Minor girls are-

Coco Rocha 22:29 Yeah

Marina Mogilko 22:29 ... treated as minor actors. When you're doing these changes, and you're, like, changing the whole k- thing completely, and you get hate, what is your mindset?

Coco Rocha 22:36 [laughs]

Marina Mogilko 22:37 Like, how do I continue pushing? What is your support system?

Coco Rocha 22:40 In 2013, there was, um, a flaw. Before 2013, there was a flaw in, in that there was no protection for underage models, and then we were able to fix that. I thought in my mind, "Wow, this is going to be that moment in my career where people will look back and be like, 'Remember that time that you did that thing?'" And I thought it was always [laughs] gonna be a positive reaction. And my first photo shoot after that, I did, I got, like, a big round of applause at the shoot, and I was like, "Oh, this is it. This is how it will always be." And then one individual just jumped at me and was like, "What did you do? Who do you think you are? Because your career is, you know, falling, you thought you should destroy the rest." And I was like, "Wow, someone believes that?"

Marina Mogilko 23:23 Mm-hmm.

Coco Rocha 23:23 And the room didn't know how to react, so they didn't do anything. And I thought, "Oh, my goodness. Never mind the positive. I might actually be entering rooms where people just-... can't stand me.

Marina Mogilko 23:34 Yeah.

Coco Rocha 23:34 And, yeah, it, it hurts when you have stuff like that, when you realize you're not trying to be the whistleblower. You're not trying to be mean or nasty. You're just thinking that people would like to take care of their models and like to take care of their children, and they didn't see it that way. And so, yeah, I, I sometimes still have a hard time in rooms where people look at me and be like, "Goody two-shoe. The girl that always wants-"

Marina Mogilko 23:57 Mm

Coco Rocha 23:57 ... to like better, but is she really that better? I second-guess a lot of what people are thinking about me, and it's something I'll have to probably deal with forever.

Marina Mogilko 24:07 How, how do you deal... Does it fade away?

Coco Rocha 24:08 It doesn't fade away. I'll have great days where I walk in a room and I can tell someone's not into me. I'm like, "Eh, it's fine."

Marina Mogilko 24:14 Mm-hmm.

Coco Rocha 24:14 And then other days, you're like, "Why do I feel so vulnerable and, and-"

Marina Mogilko 24:17 Yeah

Coco Rocha 24:17 ... nervous? And I'd say to anyone, it's- you're never gonna have a, an appropriate reaction. It's just how you're feeling at that time. Hormones, sleep-deprived, sick, empowered or not, that is going to dictate how you're going to react to things in that moment. So I never can look back at a moment and be like, "You should have done better." That's how I was going to react at that moment for what I was going through at that very time. So that's how I deal with it, and I'm okay if I do cry sometimes from a reaction or response, and I'm proud of myself when I react otherwise. But you are right. You do want to have a, a team. You want people that can talk to you and be reasonable with you.

Marina Mogilko 24:59 Yeah.

Coco Rocha 24:59 James is that person with me. It sometimes annoys me how reasonable he is. I'm like, "No, I just want you to hear me cry!" [laughs]

Marina Mogilko 25:05 [laughs]

Coco Rocha 25:05 But he will... Like, the other day, I had a, a moment, and reasonably told me some stuff, and I was like, "I needed to hear that. That's exactly what I needed to know." I knew it-

Marina Mogilko 25:14 Yeah

Coco Rocha 25:15 ... but I needed to hear it. So for people in business, again, stop finding the yes-man, the person that always says yes to you, and agrees with you, and tells you whatever you want to hear. Uh, you do need the [laughs] the no-man sometimes. And as much as you hate it in the moment, you don't really want to hear that you did wrong or you should have done this. Um, those are the people that really will benefit a- your career or your businesses.

Marina Mogilko 25:42 I like how you explain this. You do not avoid these feelings. You just you leap through them, and you're like, "Yeah, this is..." Yeah, 'cause I thought when I was just starting out the creator career, I was like, probably once I'm 10 years into it, I just, it developed this immune system-

Coco Rocha 25:56 Yeah

Marina Mogilko 25:56 ... against hate. Never happens.

Coco Rocha 25:58 Also, it's because you're a good person. So-

Marina Mogilko 26:01 Yeah

Coco Rocha 26:01 ... good people-

Marina Mogilko 26:01 Yeah, I get-

Coco Rocha 26:02 ... are, you're not gonna turn into some sort... I hope you don't turn into some robot that-

Marina Mogilko 26:05 Mm-mm, mm-mm

Coco Rocha 26:06 ... has no feelings anymore. You- I hope you react. I hope you're like, "Oh, that ignited something-"

Marina Mogilko 26:12 Mm-hmm

Coco Rocha 26:12 ... "that's frustrating me." But if you all of a sudden just like nothing bothers you, that's strange-

Marina Mogilko 26:17 Yeah

Coco Rocha 26:18 ... and I, I don't want that for people. But like you heard me in class, I do want people to, like, hear, um, you know, uh, feedback on a photo shoot and not assume it's always negative. Like, not everything someone says to us should be translated as like, "They don't like me. They hate me."

Marina Mogilko 26:34 Yeah.

Coco Rocha 26:34 And I think that's one thing we all need to add in our filter system, [laughs] is, like, filter that a little before you judge it completely.

Marina Mogilko 26:42 Yeah, like thinking of yourself as a business.

Coco Rocha 26:44 Yeah.

Marina Mogilko 26:44 That's-

Coco Rocha 26:44 Just figure it out

Marina Mogilko 26:45 ... business, me, producer-

Coco Rocha 26:47 Yeah [laughs]

Marina Mogilko 26:47 ... you know? [laughs]

Coco Rocha 26:48 It's all the same.

Marina Mogilko 26:48 All the difference.

Coco Rocha 26:49 And, and so, yeah, sometimes I remember saying to people, um, early on in my career, "This person bullied me, and this person did this, and this, and this," and looking back, I was like, "No, they weren't trying to bully me." I just was... Immediate response was, "That's what they were trying to do." So I, I always say, like, "Filter it. Just make sure, like, what you are seeing is what exactly they're actually giving."

Marina Mogilko 27:13 Yeah.

Coco Rocha 27:13 And, uh, to your surprise, you might realize not everyone is a meanie. Not everyone's trying to be a bully. Depending on their background, where they... their upbringing, where they live, they might just speak matter-of-fact.

Marina Mogilko 27:24 Exactly.

Coco Rocha 27:24 And you're from a place where it's, you're a little more soft-

Marina Mogilko 27:27 Yeah

Coco Rocha 27:28 ... in your approach.

Marina Mogilko 27:29 Yeah. I need some beauty tips from Coco.

Coco Rocha 27:31 [laughs]

Marina Mogilko 27:31 Coco, who has three kids and travels around the world. Um, so when you're going on a 16-hour trip-

Coco Rocha 27:37 Yeah

Marina Mogilko 27:37 ... for three days in China, I don't know-

Coco Rocha 27:39 Yeah

Marina Mogilko 27:40 ... what is your strategy-

Coco Rocha 27:41 [laughs]

Marina Mogilko 27:42 ... of staying alive? [laughs]

Coco Rocha 27:43 Yeah, I... You know what? I could sleep on, uh, the dot. Like, I, on a plane, I, I can really just fall asleep, wake up, start. Um, as moms, I think we're very s- sleep-deprived, so I think it's actually great for our kind of work, 'cause you can take a few hours and start the day. I don't think I have the greatest answer when models ask me or if people ask me, like, "How do you do it?" Um, it's again, like, uh, there's light at the end of the tunnel. When I get back from that trip, I'll go back to normal life-

Marina Mogilko 28:14 Mm-hmm

Coco Rocha 28:14 ... normal experiences. I'll be able to go to bed in my... and sleep, but right now it's chaos, and so get through it. And that's all-

Marina Mogilko 28:23 Just survive.

Coco Rocha 28:24 Just survive. It's always-

Marina Mogilko 28:24 Ah, tone it. I don't know, like-

Coco Rocha 28:25 Yeah, [laughs] no.

Marina Mogilko 28:26 No?

Coco Rocha 28:26 No.

Marina Mogilko 28:26 No, just, you just-

Coco Rocha 28:27 And also, like, that to me, try to find positive out of a negative.

Marina Mogilko 28:31 Mm-hmm.

Coco Rocha 28:31 The negative might be, "Oh, my goodness, I'm gone for hours, and I only have to be there for a few hours, and then back on a plane. I get to go watch movies- "

Marina Mogilko 28:39 Yeah

Coco Rocha 28:39 ... and eat on a plane, sleep-

Marina Mogilko 28:41 And no one's doing nothing

Coco Rocha 28:42 ... and no one's pulling my clothes. Even though I'm upset that I'm not with them-

Marina Mogilko 28:45 Yeah

Coco Rocha 28:45 ... there's also like, wow.

Marina Mogilko 28:47 Yeah. [laughs]

Coco Rocha 28:47 There's this peace and a little, like, this movie I've always wanted to watch. Yeah, there's something exciting about that, so try to find the, like, excitement in things that you might dread. Yes, it's 16 hours-

Marina Mogilko 29:00 Yeah

Coco Rocha 29:00 ... but also, how cool that you get to hang with your bestie-

Marina Mogilko 29:03 Yeah

Coco Rocha 29:03 ... have a champagne, watch that movie, do your job, and then come back. Life is not that hard for-

Marina Mogilko 29:10 Mm-hmm

Coco Rocha 29:10 ... uh, especially the content creators and the models.

Marina Mogilko 29:12 Yeah.

Coco Rocha 29:13 We're not curing cancer. We're not fighting-

Marina Mogilko 29:14 Yeah

Coco Rocha 29:14 ... wars, so yeah, I think a little sleep, sleep-deprived, we're gonna be okay.

Marina Mogilko 29:19 Yeah. This is... And this reflects in all your work ethic, like what you're talking about, like, during the show. Love that.... What's the craziest story that happened to you throughout your career?

Coco Rocha 29:27 Oh, there's too many. You're gonna hear later. [laughs]

Marina Mogilko 29:29 [laughs]

Coco Rocha 29:29 I'm gonna save those for, uh, tomorrow night. I- we have our, like... I share all my silly, crazy photo shoots and stories, but, uh, you name it, it's probably happened. Weird stuff like working with animals. They're not fun. Uh, being in a room that's just full of fire, being in water, working- did you know working with an elephant, they have to pee every 15 minutes, so you have to get the photo-

Marina Mogilko 29:52 Oh, my God

Coco Rocha 29:52 ... and then they gotta go. Working with other people's children, it's kind of hard because it's not even your child. We call it guerrilla style, when you don't have the right to be maybe in a building or on the grounds, but you're shooting really fast and hoping no one gets you in trouble. Yeah, things where it's like you can't control the sun, you can't control the environment, but you have to produce this moment. Those are usually the most challenging, and then of course, the team. You never know if you're getting, you know, a good team or a bad team early on in your career, 'cause you don't know everyone.

Marina Mogilko 30:22 Mm.

Coco Rocha 30:22 So that, I think, was the challenging moments, is like, "Oh, I have a bully on set," or-

Marina Mogilko 30:26 Yeah

Coco Rocha 30:26 ... "Oh, this person is just not fun to work with." But now, I get to, let's say, per se, get to pick my teams a little more.

Marina Mogilko 30:34 Mm-hmm.

Coco Rocha 30:34 And so it's, it's great. It's fun. I love having a shoot where it's just full of laughs and giggles, and we create some fantastic things.

Marina Mogilko 30:41 We're almost done. I just actually wanted to show you some photos. Um, just a sec.

Coco Rocha 30:49 [laughs]

Marina Mogilko 30:49 What would you say to this, Coco? Any advice for her?

Coco Rocha 30:53 That photo looks so much like Ioni right now, it's kind of crazy. I remember shooting that in, like, Lower Manhattan. I remember it being so lost in, like, movement, didn't know what I was doing. But playing with my hair, my long, long hair. The photographer was like, "Yeah, keep going," and all the photos are just me tangling my hands-

Marina Mogilko 31:14 [laughs]

Coco Rocha 31:14 ... in my hair. Around that time, I do remember hearing from a photographer saying... He showed me a photo of a famous model at the time, her name is Gemma Ward, from Australia, and he wanted me to copy this pose. And he said, "Be like this model." And then he said, "You'll never be like her, but, like, try to be her." And I, I look back at that, and what a strange thing, too. That guy already decided that I would never make it. "But try to make it, but you're never gonna make it." And I think it's such a, a shocking attitude-

Marina Mogilko 31:46 Mm-hmm

Coco Rocha 31:47 ... to come to anything, being like, "Well, it's never gonna happen, so why even try?"

Marina Mogilko 31:52 Yeah.

Coco Rocha 31:52 And I- that, that time in my life, I remember hearing a lot of that. "You're never gonna make it, but, like, I guess just do try." And I'm like, "Oh, I'm gonna try now. You've told me I can't have it? I, I definitely know I'm gonna try for it."

Marina Mogilko 32:05 Who is Coco Rocha in five to seven years?

Coco Rocha 32:07 [laughs]

Marina Mogilko 32:07 What are you doing? Where are you?

Coco Rocha 32:09 Coco Rocha, I'm assuming, is still working with, uh, the gen- next generations. If it is Model Camp, if it's in other ways, uh, I think that this will never be something... Education in fashion is never gonna die out, right? It evolves, and we, you know-

Marina Mogilko 32:23 I think you should call this Camp Coco Rocha Confidence Camp- [laughs]

Coco Rocha 32:27 [laughs] It could

Marina Mogilko 32:27 ... for, like, all women, 'cause it's for everyone.

Coco Rocha 32:29 It's-

Marina Mogilko 32:29 It's not just for models.

Coco Rocha 32:30 It's true. It started off for models, assuming that's who, uh, wanted this information, and you're right. Since then, it has been all sorts of beautiful people coming in here, with the intent of, like, producing imagery in their businesses. But yeah, maybe it is going into, like, life coaching of confidence-

Marina Mogilko 32:47 Exactly. [laughs]

Coco Rocha 32:48 ... in another field, but it is still something special to me. I think we have something-

Marina Mogilko 32:52 Mm

Coco Rocha 32:52 ... beautiful here, and I'd love... We're at 5,000-ish models that have come through here.

Marina Mogilko 32:57 Fascinating.

Coco Rocha 32:57 I would love to hear that number in the tens and the hundreds of thousands, and that to the point where the industry has slowly evolved into something far more beautiful than it, it is right now. We're on a good path and journey, but we need to, like, go faster and quicker.

Marina Mogilko 33:12 So what- would you say this is the most exciting thing you do now in your career, like?

Coco Rocha 33:15 I think that this is the most fulfilling when I see the feedback of what has happened to the models.

Marina Mogilko 33:22 Yeah.

Coco Rocha 33:22 Like, when I hear, like, a year's time from now, and like, "Wow," James will be like, "That girl, she came to Model Camp." I'm like, "Wait, isn't that... Oh, my goodness, I just saw her."

Marina Mogilko 33:31 Mm.

Coco Rocha 33:31 That's always amazing.

Marina Mogilko 33:32 Yeah.

Coco Rocha 33:32 Not that Model Camp was the moment that changed their career, but it's just fun to know you had a little bit of part of it.

Marina Mogilko 33:38 Yeah. Coco, thank you so much. You're exciting.

Coco Rocha 33:41 Oh.

Marina Mogilko 33:41 You're fascinating. Everything that you do is just so much inspiration for everyone watching.

Coco Rocha 33:45 Oh, thank you.

Marina Mogilko 33:46 Thank you so much for this.

Coco Rocha 33:46 Thanks for being here. Get ready for your next class now.