12:00a.m. 22nd August 2008

| By Amy Remeikis

Sunshine Coast model Ema Masters. Photo: contributed

She has rubbed shoulders with some of the most glamorous people in the world and is being touted as the next Elle by Francis Grill, the woman who made the Body a star.

She is just 18 and already she has the world at her feet.

Since she exploded on the international scene about three years ago, Ema Masters’ modelling career has gone from strength to strength but she said the Sunshine Coast still holds claim to her “heart and soul” and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

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Her Mooloolaba family home may be a world away from her current address in New York, where she is represented by agency Click Model Management, but Ema said she hasn’t forgotten where she came from – and why she loves to return.

“I wouldn’t call anywhere else home,” she said.

“The thing I enjoy most about coming home is getting off the plane and running into my mum and dad’s arms. And then breathing in the fresh air. Coming home is everything to me. To know that I’ll be arriving home soon, awakening in my own bed and to be able to see my mum and dad and my boyfriend Shaun every day, they are the kind of things I miss most and love to come home to.”

However, her planned return next month will only be a short one.

The former Mountain Creek High school student is in high demand for work in the US.

Next year, her celebrity visa will be finalised opening up even more opportunities for work in a market which is notoriously difficult to break into.

But with her fresh faced looks, long limbs and healthy glow, Ema has made it look easy. Her return home has been delayed several times because she has been offered so much work, but when she does touch down on the Sunshine Coast, she doesn’t plan on just relaxing.

She has arranged to host several workshops with Sunshine Coast agency Serena’s Image, paying homage to the woman who saw something special in a gangly 13-year-old as well as giving something back to those just starting out.

Ema said she has learnt some invaluable lessons during the past three years and she is eager to share her knowledge.

“The most important thing I will pass on to my fellow models is that you are your own persona and no one can take that away from you,” she said.

“This industry is tough and people are harsh and as a model you have to love yourself, you have to be open to constructive criticism and learn not to take it personally.

“You have to know that this industry is one of the hardest you could ever enter into and you have to be ready for it.”