Michelle Tomniczak - Fearless

It's a quarter past 7 p.m. and what little sunlight is left glowing on the horizon is quickly melting into a murky violet hue. Sunsets are beautiful . . . in the right setting. Today's would not be the case. I'm underneath an old bridge in a seedy part of downtown L.A., where what few dilapidated warehouses are still in operation, clear out by dusk. And judging by the surroundings, I can see why. Whereas most of the area has seen a huge resurgence of late, what with the housing bubble and all, the word "gentrification" has yet to make it out this far east. No hipsters walking their designer puggles or labradoodles here, only a pack of transients screaming the random, incoherent expletive and feline-sized rodents scurrying about in a graffiti'd, trash-abound setting (including a discarded toilet-WTF?). The air reeks of stale ketchup with a hint of feces. Yum.

On a normal day, I would drive through areas like this windows up, doors locked, with hopes that I'm not low on gas-yet here I am with my crew, consisting of two females and one other male, standing in this mess, unarmed, toting expensive camera equipment, including flashing strobes that damn-near advertise: "Hey! Look! Rob me!" But none of this fazes me. Well, sort of . . . It's searing a hole in the back of my mind, but the forefront is completely occupied, thankfully, by the subject in front of me: Michelle Tomniczak. A newcomer to our scene, her beauty is mesmerizing.

Of half Mexican heritage with the other half the human equivalent of a Euro note, Michelle leans back against the shattered pillar she's sitting on. Five minutes earlier, Randy, the videographer (and other male), hesitated to sit on the same concrete slab for fear of infection by rat or rubbish. The discovery of a broken syringe didn't help, either. Val, the makeup artist, won't even leave the safety of my car. But Michelle shows no inkling of fear-she works through her poses and even laughs, finding humor in our situation between shots. From her confidence, you couldn't tell that she's been modeling for less than two years, with only the past two months of it involving cars.

And in such a short time, Michelle joined the ranks of PM Girls and was just announced as one of Hankook Tire's spokesmodels touring the national FD circuit. Hell, if Michelle can brave the worst of L.A., the rest of the country-and soon-to-be ensuing throngs of fans-should be a snap.

So what did you think of the location?
The location of the shoot was a little sketch, but I had a lot of fun. I wasn't sure if I was going to get attacked by a rat, or kidnapped by all the homeless people. Luckily, we all survived. [laughter]

Being a "Valley Girl" do you get out to L.A. much?
I just turned 21, so I started spending a lot more time in Hollywood with my girlfriends.

Like you never used a fake ID . . .
[laughter] I used to use my sister's I.D. all the time, but it's nice being able to use my own. It's weird-I still feel like they're going to reject my license. [laughs] It hasn't hit me that I'm actually 21.

Do you party with your man or are you single?
Actually, I just recently got out of an eight-year relationship, but we never partied together anyway. I prefer going out with my girlfriends. It's much more fun!

Eight years? Wow, that's like, common-law status. What happened?
[laughs] Aging from 13 to 21, a lot of changing goes on. We just became different people.

How awkward was it going through puberty together?
[laughs] That would probably explain a lot of the arguing.

Now that you're single and ready to mingle, what are three things you look for in a guy?
Intelligence, a good sense of humor-I love sarcasm-and self confidence.

Three turn-offs?
Cockiness, a man who's needy, and lack of self-confidence.

Let's say there's a guy at a club who meets your criteria, what's his best method to, like, "holla at ya"?
Crack a joke and be himself. I hate stupid pick-up lines-they just make you seem fake.