SOCIAL Q'S

Model Ali Michael Has One Instagram for Her “Commercially Desirable” Self, Another So She Can Get Weird

Her mom, who’s also her best friend, follows both of them.

Oct. 26, 2017

Courtesy of @ali_michael

Bloody legs, bruises, selfies with a beard: These are just some of the things you’ll find on @ffrankcadillac, the model Ali Michael’s lesser known Instagram. Michael started the account when her main one was starting to get just a little too popular, causing the model to have yet another moment nearly 10 years after the Texan burst onto the scene with eyebrows maybe even more enviable than Cara Delevingne’s.

These days, Michael, who’s signed to Next, is still as candid as ever, but for the sake of her 240,000 followers, she’s decided to shift her masterfully unflattering selfies and other cursed images away from the main screen. (Not that she doesn’t still publicly put her eccentricities on display: Michael still posts photos of herself with bleached eyebrows and in various states of undress on her main account, and gladly traipsed around the city sneaking up on New Yorkers for some early Halloween fright this October in a new video for W.) She talks about that time her account got deactivated, where she got the idea for Frank, and her favorite Shia LaBeouf account, here.

Do you remember the first Instagram you ever posted?

I think it was a selfie on my way to an acupuncturist appointment in Williamsburg around 2011.

Have you ever had any Instagrams taken down?

My whole account got deactivated once. I remember that it was on the day that the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show was taking place and I couldn’t believe that I was missing out on my whole timeline being full of hot girls in underwear. Horrible timing! It was because of a story I posted that I shot with my friend Chadwick Tyler. I was pretty surprised because I had censored everything but I guess it was still too much. But someone at my agency had the contact info for a person at Instagram who dealt with those kinds of issues, so I got it reinstated.

You’re very close with your mom, but did it bother you at all when she started following you?

Not at all! I don’t even know when she started following me. My mom is honestly my best friend, so even though sometimes the things I post freak her out, she’s pretty well aware of my eccentricities.

What’s the strangest thing you think you’ve ever posted? Do you ever hesitate before posting the more out-there ones?

I don’t know—probably something on @ffrankcadillac. Sadly, I don’t hesitate much.

When and why did you start @ffrankcadillac?

When I first got into Instagram years ago, my posts were pretty weird, which I think some clients liked and some others were probably kind of freaked out by. I decided to start @ffrankcadillac about two years ago to post things that had nothing to do with appearing commercially desirable for work.

Is the name an homage to the actor?

I didn’t even know there was an actor named Frank Cadillac, but I feel bad for him if he’s being associated with my horrible account. The name came about because I was watching this really bad movie called Next with Nicolas Cage, and his alter-ego is named Frank Cadillac because his two favorite things are Frankenstein and Cadillacs. I liked that.

How do you decide which account to post on?

My main account is kind of more me balancing being myself with marketing myself as a model. @ffrankcadillac is me not being mindful of the latter at all.

How many unread DMs do you have?

I have a lot, but I rarely respond to them unless I know the person sending it. One of my friends and I have actually been texting each other screenshots of the most bizarre/horrible ones that we get. They’re unspeakable.

Do you ever slide into people’s DMs?

Yes.

Do you ever block people, or block/unfollow exes?

I block and report people who leave inappropriate or sexually explicit comments. And I have unfollowed exes before just because it sometimes makes it easier to have some space for a while. I follow them all now, though!

Do you read your comments?

Once I post something I tend to not check it much. I have responded a couple of times, but mostly to make fun of someone who’s being mean.

What are your favorite accounts to follow?

@jv8inc, @traincreep/@ssarabin, @chinatown_streetstyle, @semperfifund, @shiasoutfits, @goonie_cat, @devonaoki, and @makeawishamerica.

What was the last thing you googled?

“Tom Hardy Headband.”

How do you unplug?

I don’t get to do it much, but riding horses is one of my favorite things in the world. It is one of the few activities I’ve found that gets me out of my head. I also love doing yoga.

What are your three most used emojis?

♥️??

How would you describe yourself using three emojis?

???