'I don't need legs to feel sexy'': Aspiring legless model earns more than $1K a day in racy lingerie, bikini shoots
An aspiring model born without legs is earning more than $1,000 a day flaunting her toned body in racy underwear.
Stunning Kanya Sesser, 23, defies traditional beauty standards by working as a model, and hopes to prove that “different” is sexy.
From a young age the California girl was determined to overcome her disability and started modeling for sports brands at 15.
After shooting for a number of outlets — as well as being featured by Billabong — the beauty was soon scouted by underwear and bikini brands.
Now she combines her modeling career with motivational speaking and her love of sports — she’s currently training for the 2018 Winter Paralympics.
"I was mainly doing athletics shoots then as I got older I got into lingerie modeling,” said Sesser, who lives in Los Angeles. "It's something fun and it shows my story — I'm different and that is sexy, I don't need legs to feel sexy.
"I enjoy making money from it and I love showing people what beauty can look like. These images show my strength.”
Sesser didn’t always dream of modeling.
“It just happened for me and I got used to it,” she said. "I like expressing myself in a different way than people usually see.
"I'm very honest, I'm real — I'm never going to behave different to anyone. This is just who I am.”
Sesser was adopted from an orphanage in Thailand when she was 5 and moved to Portland, Oregon, with her new family.
Instead of a wheelchair, she uses a skateboard to get around and learned to walk on her hands.
Sesser loves extreme sports and hopes to compete in mono-ski in the Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in 2018.
One of her biggest fans is her new boyfriend Brian, whom she has been dating for the past month.
“Brian is awesome — he is very supportive of everything I do,” she said. "He recently saw me modeling for first time and told me he thought it was beautiful and unique."
Despite her work as a model, Sesser admits she prefers her natural looks. She is also working on a book about her incredible journey through life, set to be published in 2016.
“Outside of work I don't wear make-up,” she said. “I can be girly and I don't mind wearing it — I like getting my make-up done when I am on a shoot.
"But people say I'm beautiful whether I'm wearing makeup or not."
An aspiring model born without legs is earning more than $1,000 a day flaunting her toned body in racy underwear.
Stunning Kanya Sesser, 23, defies traditional beauty standards by working as a model, and hopes to prove that “different” is sexy.
From a young age the California girl was determined to overcome her disability and started modeling for sports brands at 15.
After shooting for a number of outlets — as well as being featured by Billabong — the beauty was soon scouted by underwear and bikini brands.
Now she combines her modeling career with motivational speaking and her love of sports — she’s currently training for the 2018 Winter Paralympics.
"I was mainly doing athletics shoots then as I got older I got into lingerie modeling,” said Sesser, who lives in Los Angeles. "It's something fun and it shows my story — I'm different and that is sexy, I don't need legs to feel sexy.
"I enjoy making money from it and I love showing people what beauty can look like. These images show my strength.”
Sesser didn’t always dream of modeling.
“It just happened for me and I got used to it,” she said. "I like expressing myself in a different way than people usually see.
"I'm very honest, I'm real — I'm never going to behave different to anyone. This is just who I am.”
Sesser was adopted from an orphanage in Thailand when she was 5 and moved to Portland, Oregon, with her new family.
Instead of a wheelchair, she uses a skateboard to get around and learned to walk on her hands.
Sesser loves extreme sports and hopes to compete in mono-ski in the Winter Paralympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, in 2018.
One of her biggest fans is her new boyfriend Brian, whom she has been dating for the past month.
“Brian is awesome — he is very supportive of everything I do,” she said. "He recently saw me modeling for first time and told me he thought it was beautiful and unique."
Despite her work as a model, Sesser admits she prefers her natural looks. She is also working on a book about her incredible journey through life, set to be published in 2016.
“Outside of work I don't wear make-up,” she said. “I can be girly and I don't mind wearing it — I like getting my make-up done when I am on a shoot.
"But people say I'm beautiful whether I'm wearing makeup or not."