VEGAN BEAUTY

ABOUT

Hiske Bongaarts has been a vegetarian since 2013 years and made the transition to a vegan lifestyle in 2015.
„I've always loved animals and it always felt so unnatural to me to eat them, even when I was just a kid. My parents convinced me that I needed the animal protein to be healthy, but when I was 18 and went living by myself I went to a vegetarian lifestyle. It took me some time to trust, that I didn't need the meat to stay healthy, and some researching too, as there was no instagram yet full of all the wonderful food bloggers and recipes. Since I went vegetarian I felt it as my duty to learn more about everything I eat and where it comes from, and that's where I learned about the cruelty in the dairy and egg industry and decided right away that I didn't want to contribute to it in any way, if I didn't need to for my health. I started researching about a healthy, plant based, vegan lifestyle and was inspired mostly by Instagram and documentaries.
Later I found out that the meat and dairy industry is the biggest contributor in climate change, and since a sustainable life has always been important to me, it is another reason for me to be vegan. 

Hiske Bongaarts started modeling after a professional headshot photoshoot for her acting portfolio. The Photographer inspired her to try her luck in the commercial and advertisement modeling industry, so Hiske arranged herself some test shoots and signed with a few modeling agencies right afterwards.
It's really funny that my acting career went a lot better after telling the agencies I was a model too, even though I completed my education as an actress studying music theatre.

Hiske did a lot of commercials work as for Emirates, Andrelon, BMW, Renault, Vodafone and many more. She also did advertisement campaigns for Samsung, webshops, and skincare brands.
Her first two bigger commercial jobs gave her the extra push for her modeling career It started with 2 commercials and after that modelling became a steady income for me. Over the years it became more and more important for me that I don't contribute to any kind of cruelty. I am into animal and human rights and live a sustainable lifestyle, So I'm super happy and exited to collaborate with JSW Models and sustainable brands who see the world like the way I do, and are trying their best to make it better with every little thing they do, and every product they sell.
What are you doing besides modeling?
I work as an actress, singer and presenter as well. Together this is the perfect combination for me and a chance to do something new each day. I'm also a volunteer at the Buddy Film Project, an initiative of Dutch filmmakers to build a platform for refugee filmmakers. We produce films, commercials and and initiate projects and provide them with our network, to help our  refugee collegues to integrate into the Dutch film industry and build their life and careers up again.