SI Swimsuit Model Gigi Robinson’s Mental Health Motto Is Worth Stealing

Gigi Robinson is busy. The 24-year-old influencer, photographer, podcast host, and entrepreneur recently added “swimsuit model” to her stacked list of credentials when she became the First Sports Illustrated model to speak openly about her chronic illness.

Robinson passionately uses her platform for advocacy, and chronic illness is far from the only important issue she tackles. He recently launched his podcast, “Everything you need is inside”, to talk about body image, mental health and content creation with experts like Diversity founder Tiffany Yu, sofi the rarityand Playboy social media editor Helen Sibilia. And if that wasn’t enough, she’s also working on an exciting new project that “focuses specifically on self-advocacy for students, patients, and anyone who struggles with their body image,” she says.

Robinson, who was diagnosed with a connective tissue disorder Ehlers-Danlos syndrome (EDS) at age 11, has more than 130,000 followers on TikTok alone. She sums up her mental health strategy with one sentence: “I live by the saying ‘what anyone else thinks of you, frankly, is none of your business.'” But Robinson has much more to say about standing up for herself, finding a support system, and assuming her role as an educator, and what it took for Robinson to speak out in her defense.

POPSUGAR: You are an advocate for mental health awareness. What are you so passionate about that and body image?

Gigi Robinson: Living with EDS has challenged me in many ways, because I feel like my body has betrayed me and it makes everything more difficult, especially when I have flare days. Fortunately, I live in New York City, and during college I lived in Los Angeles with access to expert specialists for chronic pain and EDS. I really needed a support system. For me, that became my health care team as I struggled with my emotional and mental health. At the same time I was taking medication and developing a lot of insecurity with my body. This got me in trouble with Binge and eventually led me to talk about it with my doctors and therapists. I don’t know how I got to a point where I needed help, but I do know that working with a health care team that understood my needs and focused on my specific condition really helped me set more medical boundaries. If it helped me, someone with over a decade of medical challenges, I could only hope it helped others as well. That’s why I advocate it.

In a post-COVID world, where it is clear that accommodations such as remote learning, hybrid class, and extended deadlines have greatly helped the overall academic experience for people with chronic illnesses and disabled studentsThe worst thing is that as we come out of the pandemic, we are reverting to pre-pandemic learning habits and methodologies, which neglect students with these accommodations. And while there are disability and accessibility services offices in colleges, it’s clear that we need to empower students to advocate for themselves, so they can ask teachers for what they need to do better as students.

And part of sharing my story is so others don’t make any more mistakes and can learn from the struggles I’ve experienced with my chronic health issues.

PS: You have spoken publicly about your own decision not to drink alcohol. What guided that decision?

GRAM: I actually never had a problem with alcohol, but I feel like when people say they’re sober or don’t drink, everyone assumes they have a problem. For me, it’s all about my health. There is no other way around it: I am literally allergic to alcohol. It would trigger horrible reactions with my mast cell activation syndrome [which causes repeated episodes of severe allergy symptoms] where my face was swollen and my eyes were almost swollen shut. I also had a lot of pain in my joints every time I drank. So I stopped. Coincidentally, a few months later, I started taking a new pain medication that helped tremendously and changed my life; this type of medicine is considered a controlled substance, and you are not allowed to drink alcohol with it, so it seemed to work in my favor anyway. I really i love not to drink because it just helps me live a better life with less chronic pain.

I often have a club soda with lime, which looks like a tequila shot, or a ginger ale in a whiskey glass with an ice cube that looks like a whiskey, or order a mocktail! No one has to know, and it’s none of your business, frankly. If someone asks me why I don’t drink, I ask them a question that rephrases and deflects the question back to them: “Why do you care what I’m drinking? What are you drinking?” And if they’ve had a drink or two, they usually always jump up to tell you what they’re drinking. If they keep pushing to find out what I’m drinking, I usually know that’s not the kind of person I want to be with, I’m not a fan of peer pressure!

PS: There is a lot of emphasis on building a support system, but how can people, especially during COVID, hybrid work schedules, and remote school, really do that?

GRAM: I stick to the basics: Instagram, TikTok, and even Snapchat. Before the pandemic, I specifically searched for a local community of people living with my conditions. This also led to a series of meetings in real life, which were really enriching. It was great meeting people and also incorporating them into some of my projects. Now that we’re in a post-COVID world, connecting online is definitely something that’s not going to go away, and there are so many more ways to connect with new people. I still refer to Facebook groups and chat with people via DM. I have met some of the coolest people through these support groups, including my friends. @izzy.kornblau, @butyoudontlooksickofficialY @ashley_carnduff.

PS: What would you like everyone to know about the mental health of Generation Z?

GRAM: It is imperative to include us in the conversations, because although we are not as old as you, we are no longer children. We are the generation that grew up in digital environments first that have shaped who we are and how we act. As the world around us changes, we have adapted to it, and in doing so, we have received a lot of rejection from those who do not want to adapt. When it comes to mental health, educational accommodations, social media literacy, the future of the workplace and more, let’s take a seat at the table.