​​​​​​​Cervena Fox

Cervena Fox has been setting the tattoo world alight for many years now. She is a well-known tattoo model, appearing on numerous magazine covers and boasting a seven-figure social medial following, and she is also a founder member of Pyrohex, the famous all-girl pyromania show that regularly performs at tattoo conventions (including our very own Big North Tattoo Show). Cervena is now a tattooist herself, and with her recent marriage to American tattoo legend Durb Morrison her stratospheric career shows no sign whatsoever of slowing down!

What first attracted you to collecting tattoos?

I was into art from a really young age, but it was the music scene that really got me into collecting ink – seeing all those rock and metal band members with their tattoos! I knew from the age of 16 that I would be covered, and I'm still working on that ten years later...

Your tattoos obviously opened the doors to a highly successful career as a tattooed model. Was that something you planned?

I wanted to make sure my arms were tattooed by a quality artist that I could trust completely, so I went to Bez from Triplesix Studios in Sunderland. If it wasn't for him I don't think I would have got the magazine covers that I'd always wanted. The magazines loved my arms, and it was plus that I was already a model. But I didn't just get the tattoos for my career. I wanted great tattoos for myself too!

And what advice would you give to anyone aspiring to be a model now?

My advice to younger models is Be Yourself. Work on your portfolio and constantly build your social media presence on every platform there is! I'm constantly doing photoshoots and thinking about how to better myself – not only on the outside, but on the inside too.

How important has social media been to the development of your career?

Social media has completely and utterly exploded since I started out. I remember the days when it was all MSN and Myspace. It's super important for any business nowadays. Models are chosen on the basis of their social media reach. I've had people say they are picking someone else over me because their social media following is bigger than mine, even though I've been modelling for longer and would fit the job better. That bothers me, because having more followers doesn't mean you have more talent. But this is how the industry now works.