Anastasia Reshetova was a Miss Russia finalist. Her beautiful face, body, and heart, as well as her numerous achievements, resulted in a number of fans, including 1.6 million followers on Instagram. But before she reached this milestone in her life, she had faced her fair share of disasters as she grew up.
Despite her beauty and success, Anastasia’s life is not all glitz and glam. Those 1.6 million social media followers are not all good-willed and friendly.
Everything seemed to be going well in her fabulous life until she posted a photo of herself in a bikini. At once, people attacked her, so she decided to do this.
Before she was known as Anastasia, she was known by her birth name, Nastyukha, or her nickname Nastya. Her parents divorced when she was small, and she and her baby sister Valya stayed with their father. Because their father was a military man, they were brought up in a rather strict manner.
They got up at 6 a.m. sharp every morning, exercised, went to school and cleaned their house. These chores were hard for two girls, but for this reason the Reshetova sisters very close. Regardless that these chores might help them lead an independent lifestyle in the future, Nastya decided that this lifestyle wasn’t for her.
The Reshetova sisters were subjected to a rigid upbringing by their military father. But despite his well-intentioned efforts to raise his children the best way he knew how Nastya preferred to be nonconformist. She got tired of cleaning and her father’s need for perfectionism, so when she reached age 17, she went berserk; she skipped school, fell in love and rebelled in full-swing.
Even when she grew up, Papa Reshetov did not agree with her way of living. “My dad is tough. He follows my life on social networks and is very unhappy with it: first a deep decollete, then a photo with a cigar and a bottle. In general, I smoke only hookah and do not drink, but does anyone care about this? True, time has a way of setting things in order, and he tries to put up with the idea that this is just an image,” Anastasia disclosed.
Her relationship with her father was what it was, and Anastasia went on with her life. While she technically ran away from home, she did not ruin her life, thankfully, and grew up to become a rather beautiful and successful woman.
“I just said goodbye,” she recalled. Anastasia met the man of her dreams and entered into a relationship with him. In the first moments of her escape, it was her boyfriend that helped her. Aside from her boyfriend, she had a number of close friends, too. This support was necessary to help Nastya reach her dreams.
In 2014, she joined Miss Russia and finished as first runner-up or “first vice-miss.” Although she ran away from home, she had her friends and her boyfriend who helped her and stayed by her side. “At first, my boyfriend, with whom I met then, helped me, and after the Miss Russia competition I started earning money myself,” Anastasia shared.
Her boyfriend, Timati, is an artist and CEO of his own label, Blackstar Inc. Timati had two clips “The Keys from Paradise” and “Zero” in which Anastasia starred. Anastasia was on a roll, but the reality was that not all people had good things to say. Many believed that Anastasia owed her popularity and fame to Blackstar regardless of her own accomplishments.
Her rise to fame brought her both fans and hater alike. For Anastasia, the haters are an indicator of success and she sees them as something fun. She says, “If you are not discussed or condemned, you are nothing, you are boring. Sometimes I even respond to all kinds of crappy comments. They’ll talk trash about me, and I’ll tell them: “You’re very beautiful,” for example, and a kiss.”
Just recently in 2017, the Russian beauty opened her beauty clinic, Anatomia Beauty Clinic, wherein highly qualified professionals work to help make clients more beautiful. The procedures demand huge fees and are widely popular. Soon after, she also launched her clothing brand InHype, a line of vintage hand-painted jackets. Still, the highs of her life are not without the lows.
Little did she know where this success is going to get her.
The former Miss Russia was having the time of her life; she had the freedom to do whatever she wanted. With that face, body and wild spirit of hers, she had the world at the tip of her fingers. Anastasia had her blissful life on display on her social media networks, posting pictures of her in the different places that she travels to and in different clothes that she wears.
She had thousands of eyes on her, watching every move she made. While some wanted to love her and watch her succeed, others were watching and just waiting for a mistake to be made. And alas, Anastasia posted the mistake that they were waiting for.
The stunning model was going about her day quite normally. Anastasia was on a holiday with her boyfriend, Blackstar CEO Timati. Carelessly keeping her followers updated by posting pictures of her online, she did not expect that one of her photos will spark such hateful remarks.
Relaxing in a luxury yacht, the model posted a photo of her in an orange bikini. While her body is exposed in her summer attire, it was not what the skeptical followers took notice of – it was her feet. The photo posted in her Instagram account received numbers of hurtful comments just because of one fact.
A physical appearance like hers is not something to be ashamed of and she has every right to flaunt what she’s got so confidently. But then, there are watchful eyes everywhere and as much as a stunner the model is, she was not an exception to the enmity of the society. The photo she posted of her in an orange bikini received hurtful comments just because she has big feet.
These hawk-eyed followers were too quick to point out the large size of her feet and even commented that she had ‘flippers.’ Some people would have looked and admired her beauty and her lifestyle, but these people were so harsh and left these comments on her wall.
Despite the beauty of the model and atmosphere behind her on display, the netizens chose to pick on her feet. The angry trolls referred to her feet as ‘flippers’ and even asked awkward questions like whether she had trouble finding shoes that fit. A user with the name ëpavira2004í replied: ‘We don’t see the atmosphere, we see the size…’
Since that photo went viral, the netizens mocked Anastasia for every single time that she would post pictures showing her feet. On the other hand, the charmer does not, and should not, seem to care, and even posted more photos of her “wearing flippers.”
The spectators had more to say in other aspects of her body aside from her feet. The model had also been criticized for looking ‘too thin’ and was even attacked for gaining weight when she showed up in Moscow Fashion Week in March. Whatever way she looked, the society still had something terrible to say.
“I wouldn’t have thought I would feel so confident at my age. At school, I was bullied by both girls and boys, but as people say, you are judged by how you look. One way or another people will pay attention to the cover, and only after will they see what is inside,” she shared. Concerned, she did something about it.
Not particularly caring what people have to say about her body, Anastasia made efforts to better herself. Just a year ago, she became a vegetarian and raw foodist which means she only eats those products that were not exposed to heat treatment. She was afraid that her weight would even gain a gram.
Even though she stands 178 cm tall, Anastasia only weighed 52 kg and said that she did not have any fat or muscle, and that’s when the model decided that she needed to change something. Anastasia currently weighs about 60kg, and her diet primarily consists of products rich in polyunsaturated fats (Omega-3, Omega-6). She receives a lot of remarks, and while some expressed hate, some did otherwise.
Technically, the model did not do anything to anger the public. All the hurtful comments thrown to her targets her body, and while some people unreasonably mocks her for quite normal things, there are still people who support her and got her back. On one of Anastasia’s photos, a supporter wrote, “I have size 41 but 42, and it is really hard to get a nice pair of shoes for my feet. But who cares?!” Indeed, who does?
Another one said, “This is not the worst thing in the world. Haters are simply willing to find a tiny thing about you that they can nag about.”
No matter how hurtful and how harsh the comments she receives gets, she was all familiar with these that these are nothing new to the former Miss Russia. Even when she was still young, she was subject to the cruelties of many bullies.
It is evident that Anastasia was too tall and has a prominent jaw until now. But the Russian beauty was unreasonably singled out for the physical features that she had since birth. The extended size of her feet might be in the haters’ spotlight now, but before that, there are still other things.
For Nastya, what those people say is not important, no matter how many they are and how hurtful their comments are. It is the opinion of her relatives and friends that are more important to the Miss Russia finalist. Her boyfriend, for instance, encourages her in everything she does, concerning creativity, business, and style. She still has a family, aside from her boyfriend, her little sister Valya who is very creative.
“I had a sad experience with my friends, so my sister is the only one who never betrays. After all, blood is not water. It does not matter if I have money or not, Nastyukha or Anastasia Reshetova, she will always love me, she is my family,” she shared. But young Nastya was not as loved.
Anastasia as a grown woman may have been surrounded by supportive family, friends and fans alike, but young Nastya was not as adored. Given her current beauty and fame, Nastya was not famous in high school and did not get bouquets and gifts from fans. Her classmates bully her calling her ‘horse’ and ‘giraffe.’
As if the verbal abuse was not yet enough, three of them even beat Nastya. She disclosed, “I came home, coated bruises with foundation, put on a hood and decided not to tell anyone.” Up to this date, she remained strong and independent, saying “I hate complaining to someone, I think it’s humiliating.” And it all did not stop until she grew up.
Good-hearted Nastya could have easily slapped her current success to those who have wronged her before and even now, but she did not take those things to heart. She did not listen to what the haters threw onto her and did not let unfortunate events bring her down.
Nonetheless, the more recent accounts of body shaming targeted to her feet are no joke. The Russian model recently posted a sexy photo of her on Instagram, but some of her followers focused on the size of her feet. Because of this, she did not back down, and she did something beautiful about it, instead.
Anastasia went through a lot even at her young age. From growing up into a broken family, breaking free from it, being bullied and beaten at school and being mocked online for something that she was born with naturally. Even so, she did not see those as obstacles to be successful in life. It also inspired her to make a bold move.
Her body has become the matter of most of the hurtful remarks that she got throughout her life and just recently, her feet got all the attention. But instead of having it wear her down, she used it as a weapon.
Russian fashion magazine Women published a photo gallery of beautiful women with big feet. And as much as Anastasia’s feet have garnered unwanted attention, she was one of the stunners that were featured in the gallery. Some of the beautiful ladies highlighted alongside the Russian model were several footballer wives.
Anastasia did not hide her feet into shame; she even jolted it higher up in the air for the entire world to see even clearer. With more women featured and in a public medium, even more, people found it bizarre. Even so, these women braved all the skeptic eyes and flaunted their tippy toes.
The same online foot gallery that featured Reshetova, Russian fashion magazine Women also featured model Aiza Anokhina, 32 or as known as Russian Victoria Beckham. She used to wish that her shoe size was smaller than it is, but just like Anastasia, she did not let the trolls decide for her.
Also one of them was former ballerina Anastasia Volochkova who was dismissed from the Bolshoi Ballet which claims that she was ‘too fat’ to be part of them. It was not only her feet; she was also body shamed for her weight.
Also featured in the same online gallery was 31-year-old Olga Buzova who was previously married to FC Lokomotiv Moscow midfielder Dmitri Tarasoy. She was mocked nonstop by online commentators because of her large feet, but it did not stop her from sharing saucy selfies on social media on a daily basis.
Another one of the women is 30-year-old Maria Pogrebnyak-Shatalova on the picture. She was ex-wife to ex-Fulham and Reading striker Pavel Pogrebnyak and is widely known for her love of ankle boots and huge platforms. Though their feet are technically not a problem, they are not alone in their situation.
The fantastic gallery that put the giant feet of these beautiful women on display did not exactly engross the public. It has reputedly been the topic in various internet forums, and it would not be a surprise if the sentiments there are similar to what the trolls leave on Anastasia’s comment boxes online.
As the gallery was published online, it was easily accessible to the public and sadly, also more available to antagonistic trolls. One user said, “Well, whatever people say there might be men crazy about women with large feet. But this still seems rather odd.” Still, the gallery was missing something.
“Size does not matter” and “Beauty comes in all sizes” are sayings that are often considered as excuses, but for the Russian model, it is her reality. She was used to be bullied for being ‘too tall,’ but beauty comes in all sizes. Her large feet were mocked, but still, beauty comes in all sizes. It is not her excuse; it is her reality.
In all goodness of the online photo gallery that featured Anastasia and other models with large feet, it still lacks something. The magazine did not state the size of the women’s feet, but they are still beautiful all the same. Regardless of their sizes, it still does not stand close to the record holder.
The sizes of the women’s feet featured on the gallery were not stated. It is not the point of it all. As the saying goes, “Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.” While some mock them for their feet, others think that no one should care about it all. Still, they are not alone in the long-feet zone.
In 2015, record-holder Jeison Orlando Rodriguez Hernandez from Venezuela had claimed the title of ‘largest feet on a living person.’ His right foot measures 40.1cm or 1 ft 3.79 inches while his left foot measures 39.6cm or 1 ft 3.59 inches. Even so, his world record did not come without any struggles.
Due to his US size 26 feet, Jeison Hernandez of Maracay, Venezuela was presented with a new Guinness World Records certificate with the title Largest feet on a living person – male. However, Jeison’s feet are far too large for regular shoes, so he still has to get his footwear specially made just for him.
Almost like Anastasia’s bearings, Jeison was often teased for the size of his feet. But where there are bad guys, there are also good guys. Before, Jeison found it hard to find shoes his size in his hometown. Luckily, expert shoemaker Georg Wessels offered his help, ending the record-holder’s days of sandals made of old tires and fabrics.