Casey Boonstra is a bold depiction of a strong, unapologetic woman embracing her truths, as she rises to stardom and excels at life.
The illustrious world of exotic tropical destinations, red carpets, and high fashion photoshoots seem unreachable. As a child born in Sydney, Australia, Casey Boonstra was an acrobat for 10 years in school and competed for Australia at the World Age Games in Portugal in 2006 finishing 9th in the world. Ever since the beginning, she believed that if she worked hard, remained humble, and treated everyone with respect, she could achieve all her goals. In hopes of pursuing skin science and beauty therapy, Casey studied and acquired an international diploma that allowed her to work internationally, after graduating at the top of her class.
She also won the Miss V8 Supercars from Procon Leisure in 2013. However, she achieved a breakthrough in 2015, when she competed against about 1,500 young women across Australia and New Zealand and was among 30 girls in the final at Miss Indy Australia 2012 after her aunty dared her to do so. She later ended up winning the ‘MAXIM Australian Swimwear Model of the Year’ title. The win opened up new avenues for Casey to grow as a model and also earned her recognition in the modelling industry, social media, and the television front through EDGEtv. Edited excerpts follow…
From being the Australian Swimwear Model of the Year in 2015 to grace the covers of many international magazines over the years. How would you like to describe your glorious journey?
Insane. I can’t believe the number of opportunities that competition opened up for me. Never in my life could I have imagined I would be where I am now in only a matter of 5 years. If someone would have asked me “where do you see yourself in 5 years from now” I couldn’t have imagined having the answer for where I’m truly at today. I want to help young people that may have big goals and dreams that seem out of reach to go for them because you never know where your dreams will take you. At once, my modelling journey was a dare, now it’s a career and I have so much passion and love for what I do, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
You have also competed in the Swimsuit USA competition in Mexico in 2017 placing yourself second in the world amongst 70 other beautiful ladies from around the globe. It is evident that you are a competitive person. How have you learned to harness that spirit so it doesn’t entirely consume you?
I feel that I’ve always been competitive from a young age, as I was also a gymnast. Discipline plays a big role in making sure your spirit doesn’t get consumed. You need to always remember why you’re working so hard and remind yourself you’re also meant to be having fun and enjoying the ride. When it doesn’t become fun anymore, take a step back and refocus on the “why” you started this goal or journey, to begin with. Life is an abundance of beautiful moments and being aware and in tune with how you work within yourself is key to having the work-life balance to make sure your spirit is never consumed.
What got you into this type of career? What was your motivation behind it?
Crazy enough it was a dare, to begin with. However, I always knew deep down inside me I had more to offer than working in the Medi Spa industry. I love the modelling world but after a few years, I still wanted more out of it. Today, my passion lies in TV hosting. The opportunity that I now have with EDGEtv really makes me feel like I’m on the right path in life and I truly feel like I’m thriving. I’m so grateful to Casey Bennett for seeing the potential I had and giving me the opportunity to continue to grow multi-folds.
As a child born in Sydney, Australia, Casey Boonstra was an acrobat for 10 years in school and competed for Australia at the World Age Games in Portugal in 2006 finishing 9th in the world.
We have also read that you were into gymnastics, and acrobatics in your childhood years; you were a World Acrobat Gymnast at YMCA, who won the 2012 Miss Indy Australia and Miss V8 Supercars title in 2013. What do you think was the hardest hurdle to get over in your athletic endeavour? Where did you have to really push yourself and why?
Gymnastics is a sport of discipline. From a young age, I used to train for an insane number of hours to get to the level I was at. At the peak of my gymnastics career, I was training for almost 25 hours a week. I remember running home from the school bus just to make it to my training on time. I’d get home at 9:30 and do my homework and repeat it all week and on weekends. Gymnastics was always a push, mentally, and physically. The hardest hurdle was the injuries — my ankles, knees, and back were always in pain. I ended up fracturing the C2 in my neck that put a stop to my love for the sport but the lessons I learned from being a gymnast will be with me forever. I loved my teammates, the sport, and the benefits of gymnastics. It was always worth the push for me. I still love doing gymnastics when I get the chance and hope I can still backflip by the time I have children.
Is it true that you used to train for over 20 hours each week till the age of 15, and you initially began participating in state and national level competitions and eventually went on to represent Australia at the World Age Games in Portugal? How did such an opportunity at such a young age make you feel?
Yes, it is all true, and honestly, it made me feel so proud. To have such an amazing achievement from such a young age truly made me feel like I was capable of so much more in life. It definitely has given me the drive I have today to pursue anything I set my mind towards. Gymnastics is a sport that I recommend to anyone. It helps with so many other aspects of life without even realising it.
You were offered a once in a lifetime job as the main model and TV host of Bikini Destinations working for Casey Bennett’s online channel EDGEtv and have travelled all over the world with them from Mykonos Greece, Miami, Bali, Tulum Mexico to Bimini Bahamas. To what do you attribute this success?
I feel like I was in the right place at the right time to meet Casey Bennett. He was looking for a full-time host of Bikini Destinations and he saw the potential in me to offer me this once in a lifetime position for EDGEtv that changed my life, for good. I couldn’t believe it initially, and I had to call my mother at the time because it sounded too good to be true. I call Casey the dream maker because that truly is what he is. Casey Bennett opened up a whole new world for me and I honestly couldn’t imagine working for anyone else.
I love my job and the team that we have at EDGEtv. The team has so many years of expertise and knowledge and they have taught me so much. I’m so grateful to have been able to host all these amazing shows in some of the most beautiful places on earth. I just co-produced my first show in Bali alongside Casey Bennett and the show is absolutely phenomenal. I’m extremely excited about my future with EDGEtv, and I couldn’t imagine my life in any other place.
You are currently working as a TV presenter for EDGEtv. What have been the major challenges in your career so far and how did you deal with them?
I love a challenge and moving from the modeling world to the TV presenting industry was a huge challenge. It’s one thing being on camera modeling but a whole other ball game talking and interviewing others on camera. I’m Australian and it’s in our nature to talk quickly. I always have to remind myself to slow down, and breathe… as it’s not a race and I have to rely on my message to our audience in the appropriate way. I’m lucky that I have an amazing team behind me with years of experience to guide me in the right direction to make sure every show turns out perfect. Don’t get me wrong, I still have a lot to learn but I’m loving every bit of the process.
I like to stick to my routine. I do Crossfit 3 mornings a week at 8:30 am before breakfast and then will hit the gym in the afternoon to do cardio or targeted training for the areas CrossFit doesn’t hit.
Have all your career moves come about as a matter of proactive choice of the next thing you want, or have they been unforeseen breaks due to your excellent networking?
Networking in every industry is important. It’s important to know the people in your circle. You can learn so much from people’s experience and expertise. I definitely have career moves that I’m still making but being proactive and putting yourself in the right place is also helpful to move forward. Learning and growing are all part of success.
What do you love most about what you do? Is there anything you don’t like, such as the diet?
I’ve never been one to be on a strict diet. I eat healthy 95 per cent of the time but I don’t restrict myself to indulge on occasion. I love what I do and being on camera is a huge part of it so I like to put my best self forward always, mentally, and physically.
What does it really take to look the way that you look – the dedication, the diet, and the workouts that you do? What are the big challenges that affect your lifestyle?
Quarantine affected my lifestyle massively as I’m sure it did on a lot of other people as well. I’m someone who only likes to work out in the gym. When the gyms closed down, so did my motivation to work out. I struggled with getting myself to do an at-home workout or go for a run 80 per cent of the time. It was good to give my body a break. Now that the gyms are open I do CrossFit 3 times a week and train in the gym 5 times a week. I train a lot at the moment to get myself back on track.
As a social media influencer, you are always in the public eye. Does it ever get daunting to keep challenging yourself to stay relevant? How do you handle trolls and criticism?
Social media is a crazy global stage. I have a platform where I have fans and followers that like to know my day to day life. It for sure can get draining. However, I’ll still share the raw real moments when life isn’t as perfect as Instagram my show. I think it’s important to show that at the end of the day we are all people. Just because there is a screen between me and the person on the other end it doesn’t give anyone a right to criticize or bully someone. I try to keep my page as real and relatable as possible on my stories but of course, I share my best moments. You never know what someone is going through, it’s important to be kind always.
What does your current workout regimen look like? Do you prefer sticking to a routine or experimenting with different fitness modules trending these days?
I like to stick to my routine. I do Crossfit 3 mornings a week at 8:30 am before breakfast and then will hit the gym in the afternoon to do cardio or targeted training for the areas CrossFit doesn’t hit. I have Sundays free for my rest day but I’m in the gym 6-8 times a week as of lately. Since we are all caught in the middle of the global pandemic caused by COVID-19, plans and goals seem to have taken a back seat.
Margo Robbie. She is an amazing Australian actress who took over the world and is absolutely crushing it in her career and dreams.
As a social media influencer, you are always in the public eye. Does it ever get daunting to keep challenging yourself to stay relevant? How do you handle trolls and criticism?
Social media is a crazy global stage. I have a platform where I have fans and followers that like to know my day to day life. It for sure can get draining. However, I’ll still share the raw real moments when life isn’t as perfect as Instagram my show. I think it’s important to show that at the end of the day we are all people. Just because there is a screen between me and the person on the other end it doesn’t give anyone a right to criticize or bully someone. I try to keep my page as real and relatable as possible on my stories but of course, I share my best moments. You never know what someone is going through, it’s important to be kind always.
What does your current workout regimen look like? Do you prefer sticking to a routine or experimenting with different fitness modules trending these days?
I like to stick to my routine. I do Crossfit 3 mornings a week at 8:30 am before breakfast and then will hit the gym in the afternoon to do cardio or targeted training for the areas CrossFit doesn’t hit. I have Sundays free for my rest day but I’m in the gym 6-8 times a week as of lately.
Since we are all caught in the middle of the global pandemic caused by COVID-19, plans and goals seem to have taken a back seat.
Tell us something about your upcoming projects.
We have so many exciting things coming up in the future. Casey Bennett and I have been working on our next show for EDGEtv and Bikini Destinations in the Maldives with 7 beautiful models from around the world. This show is going to be epic, and I’m getting my skydiving license with EDGEtv to jump with 2 of the best wingsuit flyers in the world Niccolo Porcella and Rudy Cassan in Bora Bora hopefully in the near future when the world opens back up. I’ve been in acting school to further myself in the film industry. We have so much going on behind the scenes here in America with EDGEtv and me, the future is looking very exciting.
Rapid Fire
- What are your secret skills? – I can do a backflip anywhere anytime, I can cook amazing food and make something out of nothing and I’m also secretly good at interior designing.
- What’s one thing you’ve done, but will never end up doing again? – Once after a night out, I got home drunk, made pizza and fell asleep. Later I lost the pizza and my home was nearly about to catch fire. It was scary.
- What’s the nicest thing someone could genuinely say about you? – That I am a loyal friend and very caring
- If you could have dinner with anyone in the world, past or present, who would you choose? – My Opa. He passed away when I was too young to appreciate his life stories and everything he could have taught me. I wish that I could get a chance to meet and have dinner with him.
- What role models do you respect the most? – Margo Robbie. She is an amazing Australian actress who took over the world and is absolutely crushing it in her career and dreams.
