We have the honor to welcome really exceptional guest from Australia in our “Instagram Queens on YouQueen” series. She is young, successful, creative, professional, optimistic, and in great shape.
Her Instagram profile is full of amazing photos from wonderful places, where she is celebrating beauty and joy of life while presenting her great swimwear designs at the same time.
Please meet Karina Irby, another Instagram Queen who gave an exclusive interview for our lovely YouQueen readers. You will immediately fall in love with her!
YQ: Who is the person behind @karinairby?
Karina Irby: I’m @karinairby, owner, and designer of international swimwear label @moana_bikini. Bikinis, the beach, and fitness have become my life, and I couldn’t be happier about it!
In reality, I’m just a regular East Coast Australian surfer girl who always wanted to spend as much time at the beach, in the water and waves, as I could, so I did everything I could to create a life where it was possible.
YQ: What are you working on at the moment and what are your future plans?
Karina Irby: At the moment, I am working with the Moana Bikini team on designing and manufacturing our 2017 range! It’s really exciting, but also quite challenging. Definitely worth it!
I think that the new Moana Bikini range for 2017 will be our best yet and all of our existing, and new, Moana Babes are going to love the new designs.
At the same time as this, I am busy creating new fitness guides and products under Moana’s fitness brand – @bikini.body.burn
Bikini Body Burn encourages girls to get active, fit and healthy through resistance training and the correct nutrition.
Karina Irby: It came about as all of our Moana Babes wanted to know how myself and our Moana models got their Moana Booties! The reality is that it was through hard work and eating correctly, but we wanted to make this process as easy and enjoyable for everyone as possible. Enter @bikini.body.burn!
With the new Moana range and Bikini Body Burn, there’s not much time for anything else! So in my down time, I am enjoying relaxing and switching off at the beach with my puppy, Billie, and my partner, Ryan.
YQ: What do you think, how did you become so popular, and did popularity change you in some way?
Karina Irby: My social media popularity grew, I believe, primarily through the growth of Moana Bikini. Moana Bikinis are cheekily cut and, five or more years ago, this kind of bikinis was pretty rare in Australia, so they instantly gained a lot of interest online.
This interest was originally on Facebook, and then through avenues like Tumblr and Instagram as Facebook’s relevance declined.
My personal popularity initially grew when I modeled the product myself, and then as the brand started to grow of its own accord, with bigger and more high-profile models, my personal popularity increased due to the success of the business and my role as business owner.
Separate to the brand and the product, however, I like to think of myself as a regular, everyday, average Australian girl – easy going, fun loving and relaxed. I think that this is communicated through my presence online and especially when I interact with my customers and followers online.
I’m just me, in real life, and online, and I think that’s important, as social media users are smart and can sense fakes and phonies straight away – popularity hasn’t changed me.
YQ: You look fabulous, what’s your secret?
Karina Irby: @bikini.body.burn! I train @starke_fitness, 4xper week – resistance training + cardio – I try to eat well; lean meats, fruits & veggies! I do have sweet tooth! So I train to off the chocolate too ;-)
YQ: What’s your morning routine?
Karina Irby: I try to rise with the sun, will quickly check my emails/social media accounts, cuddle my puppy and partner and then have a big glass of water, a bowl of oats, a cup of tea and then I’m office bound!
YQ: If we came to your home and looked inside your refrigerator, what would we find?
Karina Irby: Oh, good question! Most likely:
– a couple of lean chicken breasts for tonight dinner
– a good mix of colorful and healthy vegetables – my favorites are broccolini, asparagus, carrot, capsicum.
– some filtered iced water
– maybe a sneaky block of chocolate ;-)
– my partner and I just moved into our new home, so there’s a bottle of Moet in there as well! I don’t drink, however, so some of our guests will have to enjoy that!
YQ: When it comes to relationships, what is the most important quality you look for in another person?
Karina Irby: Support. I have a very busy, intense lifestyle, especially at the moment, so having the knowledge that my partner will be there for me and help me through any problems I have – whether work or personal – is a huge thing for me.
It might be opening a jam jar, or it might be a huge business proposal, but having someone you love and trust behind you and supporting you makes the world of difference.
YQ: How would you define your fashion style?
Karina Irby: I’m not sure I even have a defined style! I’m just a relaxed, casual, beach girl and I’m in a bikini as often as I can be!
YQ: If you could shop for free at one designer store, which one would you choose and why?
Karina Irby: I’m not a huge designer-brand shopper.
YQ: What’s your dream travel destination?
Karina Irby: The Bahamas: how can you argue with that water color!?
YQ: If you could choose one superpower, what would it be and why?
Karina Irby: I’d love to be able to STOP time, while I could keep on working. Sometimes I need a little bit of extra time to get on top of everything that’s on my plate! But I think everyone has the same problem.
YQ: How do you deal with everyday stress and what would be the best way to relax after a hard day?
Karina Irby: My favorite thing to do after a hard day is to cook a yummy, healthy meal and curl up on the couch with my man and my puppy and watch a good movie. Sometimes the simple things are all you need!
YQ: Where would you go in a time machine and why?
Karina Irby: I’d love to go back and perfect all of my past ranges up until now! I’m a bit of a perfectionist. But I know that everything can’t be perfect, so jumping forward 500 years would be interesting, to see if we’ve changed our ways and saved the planet. Fingers crossed.
YQ: What’s your favorite quote?
Karina Irby:“Never be afraid to sit awhile and think.” – Lorraine Hansberry
YQ: What’s an article on YouQueen you would share with your fans?
Karina Irby: 10 Magical Beach Vacation Destinations – there are some beautiful locations in there – and maybe some ideas for future Moana campaign shoots!
At the moment when we made this interview (June 2016), Karina Irby had nearly 280K Instagram followers. Be sure to follow her great work on her Instagram profile www.instagram.com/karinairby
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