Hi, I am Saara.

By labels, I'm a fashion model, coach, entrepreneur, head judge, mentor, podcast host and a positive psychology practitioner. By heart, I'm a goofy energiser who doesn't take herself too seriously. I'm so happy you are here. Why? Because I think your career (and life) is about to change.

I have worked and earned my living from modeling over the past 10 years but my career wasn't built overnight. Success did not come in the first season nor the second. The biggest misconception of modeling is that it is all about appearance. When I started in the industry, I was given catwalk training and posing instructions, and I thought I was ready. Turns out I would have needed much more guidance off the catwalk than on it. I had made the choice to work as a talent without knowing how much it actually required mentally.

Let’s face it, the fashion and entertainment industry can be cruel and a lonely world where clients and agents constantly evaluate whether you are fit for this job or not. Whether they should change something in the way you look ”you need to lose weight” or the way you behave ”smile less in the castings” – it is easy to feel like you are never enough and that you have to ”fit in” into a certain stereotype in order to belong and be happy.

After a decade working successfully in the industry, I woke up one morning in my flat in New York and felt empty. Everything around me was really good but deep inside I felt like something was missing. Long story short, I hired myself a life coach, looked inwards and found positive psychology.

It didn’t take long for me to realize that I had found my calling. Positive psychology, the science of wellbeing, made me think, rethink, reframe and grow my mental muscles more than I could have ever imagined. I knew I had to make positive psychology available for the people in fashion and entertainment. 

That’s why I founded WITHSAARA in 2019 and it is my mission to create more wellbeing and mental support within the fashion and entertainment industries for the people who create visual stories and make our world a more beautiful place. 

Working as a talent in a healthy way, requires more than just the outer appearance. It requires deep self-awareness, self-care and resilience skills. When you feel good internally and when your inner glow is bright, you will also spread that light brighter externally. 
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Saara Sihvonen, the founder of WITHSAARA, is a certified positive psychology practitioner (CAPP), a certified professional Co-Active coach (CPCC, ACC) and an internationally recognized high-fashion model. With over a decade-long experience in the fashion world’s capitals, Saara has worked with the Fashion industry’s leading names such as Saint Laurent, Givenchy, Celine, Uniqlo, Elle Magazine, Vogue Magazine, Zara to name a few.

She is also the new head judge and mentor for the iconic Finnish Next Top Model TV show.