If you haven’t heard of Sara Sampaio, you’ll wish you had.
The Portuguese model is a Victoria’s Secret Angel and has featured in the iconic Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition not once but twice.
It’s not all about modelling, though. She’s also a karate brown belt and a keen poker player, and JOE caught up with her at the filming of a new celebrity game show by PokerStars to find out what she can teach British men about selfies, social media and more.
Oh, and did we mention she’s friends with Brazil and Barcelona star Neymar, who arrived in the middle of the interview to say hello…
https://instagram.com/p/7vJfLBhIKz/?taken-by=sarasampaio
She’s only played poker “about 10 times” but tells me that she’s confident her competitive streak from karate can translate to her new hobby.
“I’m a very competitive person so I always try to do better and try to win,” she tells me.
“I hope it will go in my favour and not the opposite.
“Poker is fun because you’re kind of lying and trying to trick the other person, but I try not to do much of that in real life…unless I want something really badly!”
https://instagram.com/p/8DxmyZCP5-/?taken-by=pokerstars
Sara isn’t lying about her honesty and openness across social media, either, and she believes the popularity of her Instagram profile (she has 2m followers) comes from making sure people “feel like they could be my friend as well.
“If people want to see my work they’ll just buy the magazine I’m in or they’ll go to the store I’m in, but with social media they’re trying to see who’s that person outside the photoshoots,” she adds.
“It’s a win-win as I get to interact with people who like me and like my work. At the end of the day they’re very important for my job and I try to give back as much as I can.”
https://instagram.com/p/8zWenWBICT/?taken-by=sarasampaio
Now, we imagine JOE readers aren’t always the type to post selfie after selfie on social media, but perhaps that’s just because you haven’t been told how to do it by one of the world’s top models.
It would be remiss of us not to ask Sara about how guys can improve that side of themselves, and naturally she had some pretty solid tips.
We’ve certainly upped our collective game since listening to what Sara had to tell us – no more dodgy photos where we’ve got our eyes closed – so we want to pay it forward.
“Always face the light. My favourite is sit facing a window, but not with the sun in your face. It’s kind of shadow but with the light hitting the front, and always go with the angle.”
https://instagram.com/p/6-c9wBhIKg/?taken-by=sarasampaio
Oh, and there’s another secret to it…
“Take 100 then choose one – you can delete them these days,” she laughs.
“But try not to do that in public, it’s always awkward when you get caught doing the selfie.”
Not too scientific, right guys? That Tinder profile photo should be looking better in no time.
