Music, Movies and Modeling: the Talented Tinashe Spriggs

Tinashe Spriggs has big dreams.

The 23-year-old recently graduated with a B.A. in psychology from Holy Names University in Oakland, CA, where she attended school on a volleyball scholarship, but she has no plans to use that degree anytime soon.

The athlete and scholar is also an aspiring actress, TV show host and model.           

The R&B and hip-hop music video show Kickn' It, which Spriggs hosts, is televised every Friday evening from 11 to midnight on Channel 23.

"It kind of helped launch my career," Spriggs said.

Work is scheduled to begin at the start of 2012 on Spriggs' first film, she said, which is about an actor "in a kind of Charlie Sheen situation" who has fallen from the limelight and is trying to improve as a person. Spriggs' character and others will have alter egos and will play two different characters in the movie. The film is being directed by the Blinding Films company.

As a model she has done work for corporate clients and is currently speaking with some local artists and businesses about being their brand's face in advertisements.

Born in Zimbabwe, her journey around the world began at the age of 2 when her father, City Councilman Edward Spriggs, worked for the State Department and with USAID.

“When I was 7, we moved to many different countries in Southern Africa, like Namibia, Botswana, and Swaziland, because of my dad’s job.”

It was not until the age of 13 that her family decided to settle in Imperial Beach, where she spent her teenage years and attended Marian Catholic High School.

Spriggs said people have always told her she has a unique look and she should try to be a model. Only natural, she said, since it seems to be in her blood.

“I come from a big family of models. My cousin was Miss Universe Zimbabwe, another cousin was named the Face of South Africa, and I have a cousin in New York who is a well-known model.” Spriggs said. “There’s a little pressure, but I have always wanted to do it.”

“I have really fallen in love with the industry, modeling industry, film industry and fashion,” Spriggs said. “When I am in front of the camera I love getting hints from the photographer and using my own creativity to make a perfect photo. I just love seeing the end results.”

Thus far, Spriggs has done modeling work for Pop Tarts, Women’s Degree deodorant and Victoria Beer. She has also done show modeling, which means modeling products to persuade people to buy them. It’s something Spriggs isn’t fond of, but said she knows it pays bills and can be an opportunity.

“It’s not the glamorous side of modeling because you’re basically using your looks to push people to buy certain things,” she said. “It’s OK to do that because it teaches me how to talk to people and that’s important in the industry.”

Even if Spriggs does find success as a model, she plans to continue her education and eventually become a psychologist for athletes.

“In terms of wanting to be a sports psychologist, I basically want to put my years as an athlete to use as well as my psychology degree I've already achieved,” she said. “I know I can relate well to athletes of all different levels to an extent and would love to help them cope with the pressures and difficulties athletes go through.

"The industry can be extremely fickle and one day you could have fans and the next, everyone can forget about you but you will always have that higher education that you pursued,” she said. “I will always make time for education even when my career takes off.”

Spriggs wants to get rid of some of the typical misconceptions people have about models.

“Education is not rare in the modeling industry. Take Tyra Banks, for instance. I know there is a stereotype that comes with the territory, like an airhead who does not know how to speak very well and not very educated but there is a lot more to it,” she said.

“You cannot be very uneducated, especially in front of the camera. What people do not understand about models is that you have know how to speak a certain way when you’re hosting or just being in front of the camera.”