CATWALK’S RISING STAR
Champion rock climber hopes to be next top model after being signed by agency
Ava Hamilton is used to scaling dizzy heights as a rock climber but is now hoping to conquer the catwalk as Scotland’s next top model.
The 14-year-old, who is the country’s reigning climbing champion, was out shopping in Primark when she was spotted by a top modelling agency. And the 5ft 10in teenager, who has her sights set on competing in the Olympics, wants to combine both high- f lying careers.
Ava, who is known as Ava Gracey in the climbing world, said: “I think climbing and modelling work well together. Climbing keeps you very healthy physical ly and mental ly. It is about movement, flexibility, power and risktaking, so it gives me the tools to do a ny t h i n g I ’ m a sked to modelling-wise. “One of the girls on my climbing team, Eugenie Lee, is a model and has done work for Nike and many other big brands.
“Her climbing and modelling are both something to look up to for me.” Ava, from Kilbarchan in Renfrewshire, has won gold at the Scottish Climbing Championships an incredible seven times and travels to Leeds every weekend to train with the elite GB Precision Team,
The Kelvinside Academy pupil hopes to make the British squad for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
She said: “I’m just starting out in modell ing but if it works out for me that would be a dream job.
“As long as my career involves adventure and travel, I will be happy. I want to go further in climbing and travel the world. Luckily the two careers can go hand in hand if I’m smart about it.”
Ava said she was speechless when she was approached by
Colours modelling agency.
She said: “I was out doing some last- minute Christmas shopping with my auntie when this random lady came hurrying towards us clutching a pile of bags.
“She introduced herself and asked if I’d ever considered modelling? At first I thought she was joking but, when I got home, my mum looked up the agency and realised it was a big deal. She phoned up and a few days later I was signed.
“Modelling was something I had never considered. In the past I had been told I was photogenic and natural around a camera but that was as far as it went.”
Ava, who won her first climbing title aged seven, added: “I would love to land a sportswear campaign since I have to wear it six days a week. Brands like Nike, Gymshark and Lululemon would be amazing to model for. To be honest, I’m up for modelling anything. Brands like
Urban Outfitters and Hollister are a favourite right now but obviously it’s a dream to model high fashion at some point in the future.”
Ava’s parents knew their daughter was destined to be a climber from the moment she scaled a lamppost aged six.
Artist mum Karen, 50, who helps her husband John, 59, run his specialist recruitment business, said: “As a toddler, Ava climbed on anything and everything. She was always up trees or hanging upside-down from climbing frames.
“We knew we had to harness her passion when we lost her at the Edinburgh Fringe. She was only six but had managed to froggy to the top of a lamppost in the Grassmarket.
“We took her to a climbing party and, within three months, she was in a squad. She entered her f irst Scottish Championships aged seven and won. Seven years on and she has never not been Scottish champion.”
Climbing debuted at the 2020 Tokyo Games and was one of the most-watched sports. There are three disciplines: lead, with ropes, bouldering, without ropes, and speed – and Ava excels in them all.
Although Paris 2024 is a possibility, Ava is targeting the 2028 LA Games.
The S3 pupil said: “My dream is to make it to the Olympics. You’ve got to work hard and train hard to get results and I’m up for the challenges modelling and climbing will throw at me. Bring it on.”
Alison Bruce, of Colours, said: “From the minute I spotted Ava in Primark, I knew she had something special about her.
“She is unique, cool and glows with health and happiness. We have great hopes for her future.”