A common photo of a ‘small town girl’ enjoying a night out at a club in far north Queensland has Australians across the country claiming the teenager should be a model.
Murri woman Ryli Johnson traveled to Townsville for a weekend getaway with her boyfriend Tyreice Baira Gela and a few friends.
The group were enjoying a night out at The Bank Nightclub on Saturday when the club’s photographer casually snapped a photo of the 19-year-old and her boyfriend.
Ryli said she didn’t think much of the photo of the smiling couple, which was shared on the club’s Facebook page.
Some social media users said her boyfriend Tyreice shared a resemblance to Melbourne Storm NRL winger Xavier Coates.
However, the photo sparked a slew of comments from Aussies who were taken aback by Ryli’s ‘natural’ beauty, with many claiming she should pursue a career in modeling.
Murri woman Ryli Johnson was pictured with her boyfriend Tyreice Baira Gela at The Bank nightclub in Townsville
“Send her to a modeling agency, she is naturally beautiful,” one person commented.
‘She is the definition of beauty. Someone signed her up,” a second person wrote.
“Tell me this girl is modeling professionally. She’s beautiful,” said a third.
A fourth added: “So she should pursue a modeling career, so naturally beautiful inside and out.”
Ryli, who is from the rural town of Moree in north-west NSW, told Daily Mail Australia the response to her photo came as a shock.
“I don’t really wear makeup, but that night I didn’t put any makeup on at all and the guy asked if he could take a picture of us, not thinking it would be posted,” Ryli said.
‘It just started blowing up and my mum showed me all the reactions and I thought ‘what the heck’.
“Like I’m just a little black girl from Moree and all these people from the big city telling me to be a model was something I didn’t expect at all. It’s just crazy.’
Social media users were stunned by the 19-year-old’s ‘natural’ beauty, with many claiming she should pursue a career in modeling
Ryli, from the small rural area of Moree in north-west NSW, said the response had been ‘overwhelming’.
Ryli currently lives with her father in Port Macquarie and is considering a move to Brisbane if her application to Qantas as a customer service representative is successful.
Growing up, Ryli said a few people had mentioned that she was considering modeling, but the comments were made in passing and she dismissed them as if they were a joke.
However, the teen said the reaction to her photo has given her the “drive” and confidence to possibly pursue a career in modeling.
“It’s given me a lot to think about and I feel like I might do some modeling,” Ryli said.
‘The reactions have given me a bit of drive and maybe I’ll enjoy it, or maybe it’ll even be a career change for me.’
Ryli said her father even drew comparisons to Victoria’s Secret model Miranda Kerr, who grew up in the rural NSW town of Gunnedah, just a two-hour drive from Moree.
If given the chance, Ryli said she would “take the chance” and “definitely give it a try.”
She added that one of her motivations if she were to work as a model would be to inspire other young First Nations and Indigenous girls to achieve their dreams.
“I would definitely shout out to people in my home community that there are definitely opportunities for us black girls,” Ryli said.
‘Anyone can do it. It’s possible, you know what I mean? For example, don’t stop dreaming; you will make it if you leave your small town life behind and go big.
“I’ve always wanted to make a difference in my home community because there’s a lot of violence, everyone is under the influence of drugs and alcohol and the crime rate is just ridiculous.”
Ryli said she would ‘definitely’ consider a modeling career if offered the opportunity and would use the platform to inspire other young Indigenous and First Nations girls
The teen explained that she was grateful for all the kind comments and was shocked because she was just a small-town girl
The extent of Ryli’s modeling career to date occurred when she was 12 years old and her mother entered her into an Aboriginal model search competition – which her cousin won.
She explained that her cousin was able to collaborate with indigenous fashion designer Gomeroi woman Auntie Colleen Tighe Johnson and even attended New York Fashion Week.
Last year, Ryli and her brother Bayli traveled to Ireland for the ITF Tag World Cup in Ireland.
The pair both won a bronze medal, Ryli as part of the Australian Indigenous Oztag women’s under-21 team and Bayli as part of the Alliance Rest of the World men’s under-21 team.