I remember one of the first things Helmut Newton on one of his last shoots, in 2004, said was that he couldn't believe how thin I was. He was like, "Whatever happened to women?" He also made me wear rubber nipples. It was amazing to be in a situation where you have to create but you don't feel any pressure. He had such confidence that it made things really easy. There's a natural sort of process of something coming to life, which I really liked. It was like, "We're here, and let's make you lay on a bed of nails." But it didn't seem contrived or overly thought-out. It was easy.

Words are difficult and photography takes the words away from things. It's difficult to talk about something that seems to come very naturally to you, to explain a process. A moment is really difficult to put on paper.

I grew up in a sailing family. My dad lived for sailing, and when we moved to Canada when I was a child, he really wanted us to learn.

Sailing is the closest I can get to nature - it's adrenaline, fear, a constant challenge and learning experience, an adventure into the unknown. And of course there is nothing better than wearing the same T-shirt for days and not brushing my hair for weeks.

Sometimes I am still surprised that I'm a model and that people think I'm good-looking.

Sometimes I am still surprised that I'm a model and that people think I'm good-looking. I've gone through a lot of different phases on what I do and why I do it - morally and ethically. I've tortured myself about it, especially in dealing with success and money. I just had to learn to look at it as a job, as opposed to identifying myself as a model and thinking of myself as a part of this industry. I just thought, Okay, this is an opportunity to learn and see and meet people. Still, I am a Scorpio and I'm quite competitive.

When I was a kid, I was always around boys. I was always trying to keep up with boys - skateboarding and snowboarding. If my brother was mowing the lawn, I had to mow the lawn. If my brother was using a hammer, I needed to use a hammer. I've always been a little bit of a feminist.