A Model Was on a Walk When She Spotted a Beautiful Waitress. Now, She's Helping the Woman Launch a New Career
A Model Was on a Walk When She Spotted a Beautiful Waitress. Now, She's Helping the Woman Launch a New Career
Jordan GreeneTue, April 14, 2026 at 5:50 PM UTC
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Kenz Lawren and Achol Aleu (left); Achol AleuCredit: Kenz Lawren;Jonti Wild -
Model Kenz Lawrén was out walking in Sydney, Australia, when she spotted Achol Aleu working at a restaurant
She tells PEOPLE she "stopped dead,” and encouraged Aleu to pursue modeling
Afterward, Lawrén shared the discovery online, and the story went viral, with millions of views and a surge of support helping Aleu quickly grow a following
Kenz Lawrén has an eye for spotting talent, but even she didn’t expect to find it in the middle of a routine errand run.
While walking past a restaurant in Sydney, Australia, the 28-year-old model suddenly stopped in her tracks after noticing a young woman working inside who looked, in her words, like she “came straight off the runway.”
"[Aleu had] a natural presence so striking that I quite literally stopped dead in my tracks,” Lawrén recalls to PEOPLE exclusively.
Though she rarely approaches strangers, Lawrén felt compelled to act. She planned to ask the woman — who she later learned was Achol Aleu — if she was already a model. And if not, she hoped to convince her to become one as part of her “New Face” series, a project she’s been quietly developing for years that aims to reshape how beauty is seen and who gets to define it.
But what followed wasn’t exactly a polished scouting moment.
“Honestly… I totally humiliated myself,” she says. “I never approach strangers, but I really didn’t want to miss the opportunity.”
Instead of confidently pitching the idea, Lawrén froze — grasping for something, anything, to say.
“What came out was: ‘Do you have a menu?’ ” she recalls. “Obviously, duh, we’re at a restaurant.”
The awkward opener didn’t quite land, but she pushed through, eventually saying what she meant to say all along: Aleu should be a model.
They exchanged Instagram handles, a small step that would quickly turn into something much bigger.
For Aleu, the moment was as unexpected as it was memorable.
“When Kenz approached me I was at work, she’s so silly, she asked about the menu,” Aleu tells PEOPLE exclusively. “But in actuality she wanted to ask me if I wanted to model.”
“She gave me her Instagram and told me to DM her and she would try and get me into modeling,” she continues. “I was surprised by the interaction but also excited to have help."
At the time, Aleu, who'd never modeled before, says she had already been curious about getting into the field.
“I wanted to try something new and modeling was something I was interested in,” she says. “It was convenient because she lives close by to me, so I decided I wouldn’t lose anything from trying.”
Looking back, she says, the encounter felt almost serendipitous. “It felt like it was meant to happen,” Aleu adds.
Achol AleuCredit: Jonti Wild
With that, Aleu decided to take the chance.
From there, Lawrén began documenting the journey, sharing each step online without knowing how people would respond. But to both their surprise, the response was immediate, and overwhelming.
Before being discovered, Aleu had fewer than 100 Instagram followers and just two posts. Now, she has amassed more than 13,000 followers on Instagram and over 20,000 on TikTok.
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“I mean that’s just incredible,” Lawrén says. “I’m over the moon really. It just goes to show how much love and loyalty women have for each other.”
“I think the thing I’m most surprised about is how invested people have become in Achol and her story specifically,” she adds.
One video Lawrén posted explaining how she discovered Aleu quickly took off on Instagram and TikTok, racking up more than 3 million views combined and hundreds of comments from viewers eager to follow her journey.
“She’s beautiful — can’t wait to see her career take off!! <33,” one person wrote.
“Loving this journey!!! I have a feeling you both are going to make history in so many cool ways,” another social media user commented. “Ken, you are so deserving of it all.”
Achol Aleu posing for the cameraCredit: Jonti Wild
In other videos, Lawrén offers a behind-the-scenes look at the journey — teaching Aleu how to walk and pose, helping her meet with modeling agencies and refine her style and makeup.
"My favorite part is seeing the end result of my hard work in photo shoots and improvement in my walk," Aleu says. "The most challenging part is putting in all the hard work to get to that point."
But for Lawrén, Aleu's transformation hasn’t just been about the work — it’s been deeply personal.
“When we first started, she was very soft spoken and kept her thoughts to herself,” Lawrén says. “But you should’ve seen her yesterday… she was just beaming with joy.”
Aleu adds that her day-to-day life hasn't changed much. "It’s still pretty similar," she says. "I go about my everyday life as usual, work and school ,but now I have extra things on the side (modeling and interviews)."
She admits there has been one major adjustment she's learning to make. "When I go out in public people recognize me and express how much they love the videos," she says, adding that people share they "have been following the journey." Aleu notes that she also receives "overwhelming support from supporters through social media."
Achol Aleu posing for the cameraCredit: Jonti Wild
That shift is showing up in everyday moments, too.
While working her day job recently, Aleu was approached by a pair of teenage girls who excitedly asked, “Are you Achol?” before requesting a photo — a moment that left her both shocked and flattered.
Still, Lawrén is quick to point out that this is only the beginning.
“The journey of becoming a successful model is a marathon — not a sprint,” she says.
Now, she’s helping guide Aleu through the next phase — working toward getting her signed to her first modeling agency, with early interest already coming in.
“The goal is to prepare Achol for the modeling industry by giving her the necessary tools to take it on with confidence,” Lawrén says.
“This is the kind of content women have been demanding for, for a long time,” she adds. “Beauty comes in many forms.”
"The reason I started this journey with Kenz was to improve self-confidence and anxiety, so even if I don’t get into modeling, I’ve definitely improved in the areas I was hoping to improve in," Aleu adds. "And for those discovered in unexpected ways, if it’s something you want go for it!"
on People
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
