Fashion modeling is a cutthroat world where too many suitors compete for a limited number of places in the limelight, which makes it a hard industry for new entrants. Would-be hopefuls come from near and far, their looks, posture, color of skin, and eye types reflecting mankind’s ethnic and cultural diversity. Each model is unique and deserves kudos for the efforts made to get where they are in this business. Meet Cata Freer, a model turned influencer and entrepreneur, born and raised in Costa Rica. Costa Rica is deemed the “world’s happiest country” for a reason, an exotique tica with unforgettable looks, and an outgoing and well-wishing personality. She sees her mission in bringing that tropical Costa-Rican personality and looks to the US, sharing her positivity with others. Cata’s way to modeling was natural as she was surrounded by models in her family from childhood with many aunts who were models. However, her journey was not altogether smooth.
Cata was a very active and positive child prone to adventure and extreme sports, such as jet skiing; “the love of adventure is rooted in me,” says Cata. Like a real “Bond girl”—and she does have the looks—she claims she can drive anything with wheels attached to it, be it a car, a motorcycle, an ATV, you name it. Honoring her love for nature and adventure, Cata has always been very environmentally conscious and a proponent of a healthy lifestyle. Cata takes pride in the fact that while coming from as small yet picturesque a country as Costa Rica with a 5-million population, she managed to build a brand of herself that is recognized at galas in Los Angeles and celeb-studded events in New York. She attributes her success to the hard work and the kind of persona she has built during the years, accessible, cordial, and always ready-to-share attitude about physical health, mental health, and, fashion. Cata easily communicates in different languages: her native Spanish, English, Catalan she picked up during her time working with Cosmopolitan in Barcelona, a smattering of Portuguese that she acquired after a brief stay in Brazil, and French, her latest linguistic passion. Having traveled to work in many countries like Mexico, France, England, Brazil, Spain, and more, Cata calls America her second home. While waiting for her immigrant visa to be processed she was not allowed to leave the country for two years.
Concerned about what would come of her jet setting modeling career, Cata got creative and tapped into her entrepreneurial savvy. This is when she doubled down on social media, including TikTok, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise. What, as she puts it, started as a joke, greatly expanded her reach and she got noticed by more agencies. As a result, a whole career shift occurred. Cata now creates content for multiple brands, including Kim Kardashian’s Skims and Khloe Kardashian’s Good American. The list of her collaborations is impressive and includes such brands as Agent Provocateur, All Saints, Fashion week Latin America, Guess, Honey Birdette, Maxim Mexico, Mae Paris, Mercedes Benz, Revice Denim, Revolve, Stradivarious, and Steve Madden. On top of fashion, Cata was featured as a lead model in music videos of top Latin American artists such as Alejandro Sanz, Nicky Jam, Mark Anthony, Prince Royce, Daddy Yankee, Ozuna, and Lunay.
Continuing her entrepreneurial streak, Cata started her own brand, in tune with her latest linguistic passion, called the Chat Noir, French for ‘black cat.’ With hopes to see it up and running in a year, the brand will offer travel accessories, lingerie, and workout clothes. Viewing herself as a gentle person in a very hard industry, Cata Freer, a model turned influencer, content creator, and entrepreneur has a lot to share with people based on her unique experience and her kind and empathetic nature. In the meantime, as we wish her a successful launch of Chat Noir and her other projects that are in the works, you can visit her Instagram and TikTok.
Presented by: Ascend Agency
