Sammy Levin is a Rhode Island–born creative based in New York City. Her work encompasses modeling, production design, and storytelling. She is the founder of Zaidi’s, a vintage store rooted in family history. Her work explores resilience, femininity, and reinvention. As an aspiring director, she is drawn to the sculptural, strange, and soulful.

LM: What are you most grateful for today?

SL: Waking up in my new apartment with someone I love. It’s warm out, and I can put tables outside my store again for the community after battling with the DOT.

LM: How were you discovered as a model?

SL: I was a big basketball player in high school, and I was in the local Rhode Island newspaper. The owner of Models Inc. in Boston saw me and asked me to come in. Later, when I signed on for my college basketball scholarship, I couldn’t have a job, so I had to stop modeling… but I was still modeling.

LM: How did your modeling career evolve?

SL: At 19, I dropped out of college, stopped playing basketball, and had no idea who I was or what I wanted to do. After signing with my mother agent, Kelly Thomas, and being over modeling in the Midwest, I got in my little orange Jeep and drove up to New York. I signed with Jag in less than 24 hours. They had me stand in their office in lingerie in front of a room full of people. I was so uncomfortable—in my body, and in lingerie. I introduced myself, “Hi, I’m Sammy.” They cut me off: “No, you’re not going to go by Sammy. You’re Samantha.”
I said, “No, this isn’t gonna work,” and I walked out the door and called my agent crying. She said, “Well, don’t worry because IMG called back this morning!” I went into IMG and I remember sitting back on the couch, super calm. I looked them in the eye and said, “I’m Sammy, and I’m a brand.” They signed me within fifteen minutes. With IMG, I always felt like me. I’ve been there ever since.

LM: What happened next?

SL: After about seven months of signing with IMG, they pushed me and I was working for several big clients and on the runway. I had never acknowledged my body in any feminine way until then. I was an athlete and a size 10/12 with two different boobs—a size A and a size B. Once I started wearing lingerie and embracing my body, I felt a really big disconnect. My mom had surgery in her 20s to fix the same issue, so I decided I would do it too. It was the most painful experience I’ve ever had, but it made me the most money in my career. Now, I want to take them out. I’ve lost 60 pounds, and they feel heavy to me—physically and psychologically.

LM: What prompted you to lose so much weight?

SL: Modeling triggered me to stay at a weight that I had never been. When I signed with IMG, I worked out two hours a day and binged in between from the stress of loneliness and trying to pay rent in New York City. My single mother was going through a deep depression. I was also abusing Adderall—it was the only way to keep the money coming in. I got too overwhelmed and went up to a size 16. Ironically, that’s when work really took off. I couldn’t look at the monitor when I was that big; I didn’t want to see the pictures. I justified my situation because I was making a lot of money and I was on billboards.
It was when I canceled my wedding and ended a six-year engagement that I decided I wanted to live for myself. I didn’t want to keep up this destructive cycle. I got a nutritionist, a trainer, went on Ozempic, and lost 40 pounds. I stopped the Ozempic after a few months. It changed my dynamic with food and helped stop the bingeing.

LM: What happened with your clients who were hiring you at size 16 after you lost weight?

SL: I lost them all. Lane Bryant was my best client, and when they were clipping the jeans on set to make them fit, I knew it was my last shoot with them. They were like family to me, but I knew something had changed and I was fucking scared. I lost what I depended on most financially and what kept the store afloat. I had to completely pivot and lean into being a creative in any aspect that I could.

LM: How did you get the idea to open your store?

SL: I had a bad shoot week. I didn’t even want to look at the camera. I hated the way everything fit. I started hysterically crying in the car home and couldn’t stop, and I couldn’t understand why. I called my grandfather—my Zaidie—who the store is now named after. He told me it was going to be okay and that I always figure everything out.
Next, I called my sister, the closest person to me. She told me to go on the roof, put on headphones, and play “Vienna” by Billy Joel—and just cry. I was up there for hours.
The next day, I sat up in bed and said to my ex, “I’m gonna open a store.” The next week, I hung out with my grandfather in Rhode Island. Then it came to me: I’m going to open an antique store with vintage smoking pieces. I’ll teach myself how to fix everything because antiques always need to be fixed. I wanted something of my own. Everything in my life seemed out of control—my agents, my money, my family situation… In the store, I could put anything anywhere I wanted and do whatever I wanted to do.
I found the space and an investor. I found every single piece that’s in the shop. I had two months to renovate and spent my 25th birthday exposing the brick walls, ripping down everything. It became my reality, my lifeline, and it brought me every opportunity I have now.

LM: How did your fascination with vintage come about?

SL: My grandfather, who helped raise me, is basically my father. His house, from the 1700s, is filled with deco pieces. He also has antique cars and would pick me up from school. His fascination with preserving parts of history became mine. Being in the store feels more like my home than any apartment I’ve ever had. Generations of people used to make things with their hands, and that’s why I love restoring things. Whatever I’m doing, I use the past as inspiration.

LM: What are the biggest challenges with your business?

SL: I would say bills—and there are days I struggle with manic depression and getting out of bed. With my store, it’s completely on me, holding myself accountable and being responsible. I have to show up, and I can’t be miserable because I’m a part of people’s days. That’s also saved my life—the stability, structure, and community. I’ve met the best people of my life having this store, and people feel safe coming here. It’s a community that reminds me of growing up in a small town.

LM: How big a role does traveling play in your inspiration?

SL: I love traveling and finding pieces—it’s my favorite thing to do. This winter I was in China, Vietnam, and Milan. I brought back about a hundred pieces altogether. I know the business is more successful when I’m there and can tell the story about every piece—it’s my passion. I want to find a balance to do that and keep the store going. I don’t have employees. I’m very lucky my boyfriend, my best friend Soup, and my sister are people who care to be here and keep the shop open for me. I love them, and I’m very lucky.

LM: What’s your dream road trip?

SL: Going across America. In August, I really want to go through Kansas all the way to Wyoming in one of those little RV trucks—driving from New York, picking up pieces, and talking to people along the way. I love talking to old people in little towns and hearing the stories about their stuff.
I think it’s funny when they tell me about a piece and it’s not actually the truth. It happens a lot. They’ll tell me about the brand of a lighter—and my autism is lighters. I know the history of the manufacturing of most major brands. I still like hearing them because they’re so theatrical about it. My own salesmanship is also about being theatrical. I love that.
The store made me love people in ways I didn’t like people for a very long time. In the store, I want people to come in—it takes me out of the really bad days I have. There are caring people, and they want to talk to you, and they want to listen.

LM: What are some other creative endeavors that you’re getting into right now?

SL: I have art direction jobs with a few brands—I work on advertising, campaigns, and events. I’ve also gotten into video directing, which I love. I’ve done some interior design, but I love set design more—I love redoing a space. Creative design for film and advertising is what I want to do.
Recently, I was asked to be the production designer for a movie called New York Mouse. I have no idea what the fuck I’m doing, but I’m ready to learn, and I’m okay with making mistakes. I’ve been very candid with them about that. I’m acting in it as well. I get to design a monster! That was my dream when I was a kid. I’ve always sculpted monsters. When I told my family about this, my mom cried because she knows it’s been my dream growing up.
Today, I’m sketching creepy mouse masks that we’ll be making out of papier-mâché. It feels… it feels so surreal.

LM: What is your definition of success?

SL: I can pay all of my bills—that would be financial success to me. Right now, success is that I’m able to do creative things that sustain my life. Being able to do that is such a blessing, and not many people get that opportunity in life, even with one thing.

LM: What do you see for the future?

SL: I want to write a script, and I want to direct movies. That’s definitely what I want to be doing.