Why We Have Decided to Stan Justine Biticon

Once upon a time, Justine Biticon was eliminated in episode two on “America’s Next Top Model.” Where many young public figures would allow this dismissal to stifle their confidence or be chained to it as a career highlight, Biticon has turned this appearance into a footnote. She’s amassed 390,000 followers on Instagram and 720,000 followers on Twitter. Her popular content showcases, alongside her modeling and fitness, a unique aesthetic and a predilection for streetwear — many of her ‘fits’ consist of cropped tops, sneakers, and other trendy streetwear concepts. She brings her own unique look to every shot; partially through her daring, often-quirky poses, and partially through her features as a woman of Latinx and Asian descent.

But the Mexican-Filipino model is perhaps most unique in how she candidly speaks on her experiences with mental health struggles, which has built a deep connection with her followers. Given the hectic state of our world in congruence with growing attention towards wellness, Biticon’s words are poignant and timely. She often uses Twitter as an outlet to speak her mind.

Biticon vented on Twitter, “I feel like i get more and more frustrated every day and all i want to do is sleep forever until it stops.”

Other times, she’ll give out crucial advice.

Despite being a model, she also allows herself to be the silly, confused 20-year old that she actually is.

“Honestly, i have absolutely no idea what im doing most of the time but i swear im gonna make something of myself real soon,” she tweeted on Sept. 13.

Other times, Biticon will fight against toxic social norms, as when she stood up for fellow model Slick Woods.

What Biticon manages to do with her platform is envied by many public figures. In a tense political climate, old-fashioned celebrities often get caught espousing problematic views in an attempt to engage the conversation.

Many models like Biticon slip into irrelevancy because they don’t do the simple-yet-difficult thing she does best; channeling authenticity. Even though Biticon has a great mind for aesthetics, what truly shines in her posts is her ability to be all aspects of herself, acknowledging her own faults while remaining free enough to say what she feels when it works for her. She can post short, witty captions on some of her elegant Instagram photos as well as heartfelt paragraphs on others and grow a devoted audience from it because it all comes naturally from within her. None of it comes off as artifice, or plotted specifically to trigger a certain reaction rather than to express.

This authenticity and uniqueness has led Justine Biticon to work with big brands such as Nike, as well as collaborate with famous musicians, as she did when she starred in the music video for “Miss You” by Cashmere Cat, Major Lazer and Tory Lanez.

Through this, she’s become one of NextShark’s favorite social media figures in 2018. We hope this doesn’t bother you too much.