Elle Magazine – May 2024 – Print Edition
Excitement levels are huge! I have my first Editorial Feature Interview in Elle Bulgaria… and my name even made it onto the front cover!
The title translates as: “The Breathtaking History of Annabel Kiki.” Not bad for a 15-year-old!
I’m sure, like me, you can’t nip down to your local Bulgarian corner shop and read the Bulgarian interview… I am pretty big in Bulgaria though – I think it was because I did so much for their ski tourism last year š
So here’s the translation:
Hi Annabel! Where did you grow up, what is your family like?
Hello! I grew up in Staffordshire, right next to Cannock Chase. Itās the prettiest area of natural beauty, full of walking trails, mountain bike courses and treetop adventures. My family are really sporty so it suits us perfectly, weāre forever outside finding fun.
What kind of childhood did you have? What did you dream of becoming as a child?
It sounds really clichĆ©d but I did have the perfect childhood. My brother is exactly one year older than me, so weāve never really known life without each other. Our friendship circles have formed one big group and we go out together all the time. My family love to travel and by the time I was 13 Iād already visited twenty different countries. I felt blessed. I was happy. I felt content and carefree, as any child should feel. I had dreams of becoming a world-class athlete, or model, or just doing well in school and experiencing life to the max.
Two years ago, they diagnosed you with a bone tumor – osteosarcoma. Scientists say it occurs when a “mistake” occurs in one of the cells responsible for making new bone tissue, but they still don’t know what causes this “mistake.” Please tell us how your leg came to be amputated.
Well, what a shock that was! I just had a sore knee. I thought it was a sports injury, but it wasnāt getting better. I started to limp, so my mum took me for an x-ray. I remember laughing and joking in the hospital waiting room, wondering if I might need a cast or crutches. The idea Iād need a year of chemotherapy, lose my hair, almost die from sepsis, and then get my leg chopped off, was so far outside any reality that I still struggle to comprehend exactly what happened! Why it happened, weāll also never know. They do think it affects tall children more, whose bones are growing too quickly, but only 30 children a year in the UK are diagnosed with an osteosarcoma, so I guess it was just the challenge that life decided to set for me.
You were still a child… What and who helped you overcome this shock and continue playing sports actively?
My mum Sal never left my side. Her and I have always been a team, and we knew we had to face this head on. In life you canāt change what happens to you, but you can change how you respond to what happens to you, itās essentially the only real control you have in your lifeā¦ how you react. As a child Iād reacted to my idyllic upbringing with gratitude and now I knew I had to react to this horror with humility. Iāve never felt angry, and Iāve never cried with self-pity. It is what it is. Itās happened. I canāt change it, but I can learn from it. I used to ski, I now ski with my prosthetic leg. I used to play football, I now play amputee football with crutches. I used to play dress-up and pretend to model, now I actually model.
How did you get into football, how long have you been training, where?
Iāve played football to a high level since I was 7 for Burntwood Phoenix FC. Because Archie, my brother played, it was inevitable that I was going to play too. Honestly weāre so similar, and he could definitely be a model as well, he just struggles to pose without laughing. At one point we were both playing in our separate football teams on a Saturday and then we played together in a mixed team on a Sunday. When I lost my leg I researched amputee football teams and the UK didnāt have any, but Poland did, so I travelled over there in March 2023 to train with their national squad. Since then Iāve helped England set up our own womenās national amputee team.
You’re only 15 and already you’re part of England’s first women’s national football team for amputees. Does that scare you about how you’re going to present yourself, or does it inspire you to keep proving yourself?
When youāve survived something like osteosarcoma nothing scares you anymore. Honestly I just feel so blessed to be here and honored that I get a second chance at life. It might be harder now in some respects, but it feels fuller, if that makes sense? Itās like Iāve earned it more. And I canāt wait to be singing the national anthem in November at the World Cup in Colombia, and I promise you now, Iām going to score the winning goal in the final.
Every teenager has their worries and difficult moments. What are yours now?
When I was 11, I went to Jamaica and visited Bob Marleyās house in Nine Mile. I can play the piano and I remember sitting down at Bobās actual piano ā everyone there is so laid back and chilled out so they encourage you to have a go ā I tried to play āNo Worriesā ā¦ I was 11 and had only just taken my Grade 2 so it was probably a bit rubbish, but I love the lyrics: āDon’t worry ’bout a thing, ‘Cause every little thing gonna be all right.ā I remember feeling at peace then. It might have had something to do with everyone on the tour smoking something suspicious, but I felt at peace; and now, even after all of the horror, I still feel at peace. Anything can happen in life, but thatās part of lifeās beauty.
Tell us about the motivating events in your life.
I still have to finish my GCSEs so Iām working hard in school. My perfect brother is predicted 9 grade 9sā¦ thatās the highest you can possibly get, so the challenge is on to match that. Iām training for the Paralympics in swimming and World Cup in Football. Plus Iām loving life as a model.
Who are the people who support you the most?
Ā My family. My friends. That amazing network of women online who genuinely cheer on other women. Thereās so much support out there, you just have to be open to receive it.
Colombia is hosting the first World Cup for Women Amputees and you will be representing England with the English Amputee Football Association. How is your training day before the championship?
The day before the World Cup starts I think Iāll probably just be relaxing. If we put the work in now then it should all come together for November.
Is football your cause? I ask because when you’re not playing sports, you’re modeling. In 10 years, where will you be – on the football field or on the catwalk?
Catwalk for sure. Sports is great fun and I love it all and it keeps me fit, but you canāt match the feeling of arriving on set for a photoshoot. Itās magical and inspirational in a way thatās different every time. Goals are goals in football whether youāve got one leg or two, but in modeling each assignment is so different, each photographer is different, each stylist is different and the people you meet on set are all different, and life should be about stepping out of your āecho chamber,ā pushing the boundaries and having new experiences time and time again.
Nothing is impossible – you learned that the hard way, but you clearly have a very strong character to overcome obstacles. What inspires you to keep performing?
I live by the motto: āItās not what happened to me, itās what I choose to become.ā Thatās all that keeps me going, the knowledge that no matter what life throws at me, I am ultimately in control.
