Shandi Sullivan likes her popcorn freshly popped.
"Woohoo!" she geekily exclaims while sitting on a comfy couch in Pianos' upstairs lounge before clawing away at a bowl placed in front of her. "Want some popcorn? Just popped -- so awesome." The sight is surreal.
With a shoulder-length red mop, striped leggings, scarlet skirt, sable military-grade collared shirt, and wide frame spectacles, the initial image of the 5' 10" beauty pulling drags from her cigs was darn intimidating. But with a mere woohoo and popcorn crunch, the intimidation abates. Besides, have you seen this girl walk in heels?
Shandi Sullivan -- the Missouri misfit turned (almost!) America's Next Top Model turned LES scene queen -- is currently enjoying a pregame snack before it's time to begin work. For in a few minutes, Walgreens' most famous former clerk, who inexplicably finished third on the second season of America's Next Top Model in 2004, is gonna bust out some Huey Lewis, Corey Hart, Howard Jones, and Duran Duran. That is, as soon as she finishes eating this popcorn.
Meet Shandi Sullivan: professional DJ.
Although she's graced the likes of Suede ("too shady for me"), Sullivan calls Pianos home. Every Monday night, from 7 p.m. onward, the former wannabe model takes to the turntables in Pianos' upstairs lounge -- a gig she hopes to parlay into a career.
"I have a manager now," says the 23 year-old. "We're trying to get a DJ tour in the works."
Given how easily she can raise a riot among Midwestern high school girls by just stepping foot near Times Square, it's a rare twist to see someone like Sullivan attempt to make a career out of party-starting. It may seem like a tall order, but then again this is a gal who's risen and fallen before a national TV audience.
For those that don't immediately remember (shame!), Shandi was the ugly duckling of ANTM's second season. Gawkily tall, painfully uncomfortable in her own skin, and possessing a criminal record to boot, Sullivan came to embody the happy potential extreme makeover reality TV shows can have, but so rarely realize.
"After the series, I'd look in the mirror and feel really good inside," she says. "Funny. It just took a hair cut and contacts. But really it was not just that. When I got on that show I didn't think much of myself. Yeah, I had a boyfriend, but so what? He thinks I'm cute but no one else does."
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