I'm always sad to leave paradise, but I leave behind the hopes of coming again soon.

When I was growing up in Russia, my grandmothers would cook the best pancakes in the world, the best meatballs, the best dumplings.

My personal memories of the brand go way back to the time when I was a teenager. L'Oreal make-up felt like a real luxury for me, and I remember dreaming of purchasing a L'Oreal lipstick.

Nothing is easy, and as far as my modelling career goes, the path to the top has been long and difficult, but that's what makes it special. I always look back to remind myself where I've come from.

We arrived the way most emigrant families did. My father came first, and the rest of us - my mother, my sister and me - followed a year later.

I've always felt heroic about my life... As a child, I remember little girls in the playground moaning about how boys could do more than they could. I didn't think that was the case at all. My parents didn't treat me as a girl.

The message I really want to get out there is that I'm someone who works hard, gets the most out of his talent, off the course has a great family life.

I feel that sometimes, holding yourself as black, saying that is your sole identity, can sometimes stand in your way of being a member of the humanity of man, being a member of the family of the divine.