P

atricia Gunawan caught everyone’s attention when she finished runner up in reality show Asia’s Next Top Model earlier this year, following compatriot Ayu Gani’s win the previous season.

First, there was her stellar showing overall: the 26-year-old, one of two Indonesians in the competition, was the only contestant in the fourth cycle who was never ranked in the bottom two and she was also named the best performer of the week three times.

Combined with her modeling prowess was her irrepressible personality. Kelly Tandiono, the cycle’s model mentor, praised Patricia during an interview with The Jakarta Post, saying “[she] has one of the strongest runway walks and she is very entertaining”.

Patricia, who is also known as Patricia Gouw, was indeed the “class clown” of the competition with her spontaneous antics. It included doing her version of the goyang gergaji (so-called “saw” dance moves) in front of the judges, who consisted of the host, Thai-American model and actress Cindy Bishop, the famously fierce creative director of America’s Next Top Model Yu Tsai and Subaru executive Glenn Tan, drawing much laughter. Her high-spirited personality also made her well liked not only among the judges but also her fellow contestants.

Patricia said her friends and family tried to persuade her to sign up for the competition from when it first began. She had taken part in various contests — she was in the 2012 Miss Indonesia and also Wajah Femina (Face of Femina) — and she had been doing a lot of modeling and hosting jobs, although none of her family members work in the entertainment industry.

“I decided to participate in the fourth season just so that my relatives would stop talking about it, and thank God I made it this far. Looking back, I think God put me there for a reason,” she said in a phone interview.

While the show is also famous for its drama, Patricia, who said she had never been a competitive person, made sure to stay clear of it.

“If you don’t have any problem then don’t make one […] we can show to the audience other things like our friendship, humorous behavior rather than drama and b*****ness,” she said.

The experience helped her in not only advancing her career in the industry, it also transformed her as an individual as well. With no cellphones and internet allowed, she jokingly says that she found out she can actually live without a phone. On a more serious note, she admitted the time in quarantine helped her figure out the purpose of her life and brought her closer to God.

“I used my free time to read the Bible and do rosary every day […] The pressure of being in the competition and the emotional roller-coaster, it [could] turn you into thinking negatively about every single thing,” she said.

“During the two months I spent there, I met a lot of inspiring mentors. I took note of the things that they asked me to do, even when they gave comments to the other girls.”

(Photo courtesy of Patricia Gunawan)VERSATILE SIDE

The words of advice from the show’s main judges gave her the confidence to pursue her interest in the entertainment world more seriously.

 “Yu Tsai, Cindy Bishop and Kenneth Goh [one of the judges and Harper’s Bazaar Singapore editor-in-chief] advised me ‘Pat, you’re very versatile, you can do more commercial [modeling] as well as being an entertainer,” she said.

“And I get that a lot — friends telling me to become a presenter because I talk a lot. So, it got me thinking that maybe being a presenter is actually good for the long run. Do I still want to be a model until I’m old? Perhaps yes, but does the industry still want me to be [one] once I’m married and have kids?”

Patricia has decided to focus on being a presenter instead of simply returning to the modeling world. She is now a host of TV infotainment program Insert Siang, a radio announcer for Hard Rock FM radio station and social media influencer, and she also does talk shows to inspire the younger generation. She still models on occasion for editorial photoshoots and magazines.

A model, social media star and presenter, you can also add businesswoman and YouTuber to her resume in the near future.

“A YouTube vlog is coming soon, despite the fact that I didn’t watch YouTube before. Again, this idea comes from people telling me to give it a try,” she laughs.

“Sometimes you need other people to see the potential in you. Six years ago a lot of people were telling me to do modeling and I kept saying no, and look what happened now.”

As for the entrepreneurial side of her, she’s currently busy with the hair supplement business that she owns and markets through social media. Becoming a businesswoman is something that she says has been her ultimate life goal.

“People in the modeling industry know very well that I always sell things to them. From clothes, iPhone cases or whatever it is that I can sell, I always need to have a side job,” she added.

Who does she look up to in mapping her career?

“Victoria Beckham — I know that I won’t be as big as her but she’s the ultimate goal. She’s a mother of four children yet manages to still look that hot! She’s also a businesswoman who has a background in the entertainment industry.”

Well, with a knack for being in front of the camera, outgoing personality and entrepreneurial skills, perhaps she will prove herself wrong one day and make her mark like the former Posh Spice.