SMALL WONDER Our diminutive Miss July dreams big Photography by Stephen Wayda Until now, here was the long and short – mostly short – of Shelby Chesnes’s modeling pursuits. “Because I’m just five-three, it was hard to find modeling jobs,” she explains. “I mean, even my Pilates ins ...tructor calls me Peanut.” And so the 21-year-old Florida native turned her attention elsewhere – namely to earning an associate’s degree in science and running a successful spray-tan business. “I’m very business-minded,” she says. “I love entrepreneurship and building companies from scratch. I’m much more responsible and mature than most people my age.” She also developed a serious interest in fitness. “Growing up in Florida – I was always outdoors – riding horses, surfing and paddleboarding,” says Shelby. “Then I was on an all-star competitive-cheerleading team in high school. After graduation I became obsessed with exercise and nutrition, so now I work out almost every day. It makes me happy and helps me feel good about my body and myself.” Yet despite the charge she receives in the gym and from her business endeavors, she still longs to make it as a model. “Modeling is my passion,” she explains. “I have a blast doing it.” Because good things come in small packages, we were more than happy to ignite her dream career. “I feel as though I’m entering a brand-new chapter in my life,” says our newly minted Miss July. “The Fourth of July has never been a big holiday for me, but from now in it sure will be. Talk about a fireworks celebration!”

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