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- [00:00]
A
The life put me in a lot of different situations, like being a single mom, like going through divorce, you know, and when there are a lot of people are relying on you and you don't really have anybody to rely on, you have to create the skill of relying on yourself.
- [00:19]
B
Elvira Oppenheim is a resilient, elegant and purpose driven entrepreneur model and the founder of Impress Swim. Drawing from her journey of reinvention through motherhood, career shifts, personal challenges, she empowers women to embrace confidence, rediscover their voice, and step into a life defined by strength and self worth.
- [00:37]
A
What I wanted to do is for all the models that I'm having to fit the majority types of the body, you know, I want them to bring and enjoy and see happy smiles and happy faces. You know, I want them to really, really, really be, feel and be and feel impressive.
- [00:55]
C
How often do you feel like there is a sense of pureness to what you do versus what the Americans perceive a model is?
- [01:02]
A
With everything that I do, I'm not trying to look for somebody else. I'm trying to.
- [01:09]
D
It spans the globe like a super high. It is cold Internet. Elvis Presley for free. Today Apple is going to reinvent the phone. It's not over until I win the living your legacy podcast. Best for those who live to leave a legacy. Oh, that is sensational. Jordan, open Chicago with the lead. You said Paul is the fastest man on the planet. You can live your dream.
- [01:43]
C
Welcome back to another episode of the women in power podcast. For inside success, I'm Ray Gutierrez. Joining me today is Elvira Oppenheim. She is the founder of drum roll.
- [01:55]
A
Impress Swim.
- [01:56]
C
Impress Swim. And I'm sure I'm doing a very unimpressive job being impressive. Elvira, please tell me, what is Impress Swim?
- [02:05]
A
Impress Swim is a brand that combines with it. It's a luxury swimwear brand that combines luxury, affordable prices, style, and that brings women confidence and just feeling impressive.
- [02:24]
C
Fashion is not supposed to be comfortable. It's supposed to be fashion. Are you comfortable?
- [02:28]
A
I am super comfortable. Being honest.
- [02:30]
C
What are you wearing right now? Tell us, tell us what you're wearing.
- [02:33]
A
So I. The, the outfit that I'm wearing is by a very talented designer, LA designer. Her name is Anna Gupta and her brand is Anagupta Couture. And I'm very happy and blessed to be able to wear her brand right here, right now.
- [02:53]
C
That's beautiful. It looks fantastic. Fantastic on you.
- [02:55]
A
Thank you.
- [02:56]
C
Let's talk about the relationship between a designer and a model. It's a very, very vulnerable but very Special relationship. When a designer is creating this piece, it's art. It's not just a shirt and a dress and it's great. It's art. Talk about that philosophy and the culture of fashion.
- [03:14]
A
So actually what is related to the person who has been creating this brand and to me with my brand just in different. In a different way is that we were. We both came from the modeling word work world. We were both were models. So I was a model before. So I was wearing tons of different swimsuits. I'm also in a beauty pageant. In the beauty pageantry. You did Runway, I was. I'm a reigning Miss World America 2024.
- [03:47]
C
Nice.
- [03:49]
A
So yeah, I know how it is because I was there and right now I'm on the other side as a designer and a founder of fashion brand, swimwear brand. So yeah, I were able to try on a lot of different things in order to see that to. To create something that will be different from the all other brands that I was trying.
- [04:17]
C
What, what is your. Why when you said you were. You wanted to try something different from other brands that you were trying, how did you acquire your taste? Like what you like, the reason why someone would hire you to dress them? What. When did you find your taste?
- [04:31]
A
When I was a little girl, I would love to be. I love to dress up. I was just like take grab every morning before going to school, I would just grab all. Sure. Open up the closet and grab all the stuff and just see which one is matching. And when I was growing up, my family did not have so much money, you know, so I had to be creative. And When I was 16 years old, my mom brought me to the beauty. My first beauty pageant. She introduced me to it and she introduced me to the model and she also brought me to the model agency. And from that she literally opened up the world for sure for me. And that's where the actual vision of style and what I like and what I prefer, you know, and I'm a very detail oriented person and people who are ordering my brand, they can see it because it comes in a special packaging. It comes with a special gift. It comes with in a special like actual mail packaging, like bubble mail. I pay a lot of attention to details and to me it's important to do and create things and the product for women and for this product, this pieces to have quality, impressive style. Impressive. Yeah. To have style and to also. And so they didn't have to break the bank in order to sure. To buy it for sure.
- [06:09]
C
It's. That's One thing that I always like to talk about, you don't need to be a rich person to be a fashionista. You can be a poor person and still be very fashionable. It's really takes about. It's really about creativity, being clever, and finding your own sense of self. And then that transcends to your clothes, which is why I'm quite curious as to what inspired you to choose this piece. What do you feel like when you wear this? Who are you? Who do you become?
- [06:33]
A
I'm a classy girl, I would say. I love elegance. I like something that, yes, it would be not like, even sexual, sensual, but with a piece of elegance. And people who are going, even on my website. That's how it is. That's what it shows. Elegance. That's the first thing that comes to their mind.
- [06:54]
C
Sure.
- [06:54]
A
And the word impress came from. I was thinking, how should I name my brand? And it just combines everything that I'm trying to showcase through my brand, because to me, it's important for a woman to feel stylish, confident, and to literally turn heads.
- [07:19]
C
You've left quite an impression on us here. Jason is our connoisseur when it comes to telling stories and being a great videographer. He hosted your session today, filming your episode for Women in Power. Talk about your experience telling your story as a woman in power.
- [07:34]
A
Throughout my life, I was going through many challenges. It took me a lot of the life put me in a lot of different situations from being an immigrant and moving from my comfort zone where, like, in my country I had old friends, family, to the country where I didn't really know the language. I mean, I could speak, but I couldn't hold a conversation like that. Sure. And start everything from zero without having friends or family around me. And also, like, by going through the stuff, like being a single mom, like going through divorce, you know, and helping my family to move them out of country. I'm originally from Ukraine, so all of these things have been happening, like with the divorce and me becoming a single mom while I was helping my family to relocate so they can be safe.
- [08:35]
C
Right on.
- [08:36]
A
So, you know, when you have. When you. When there are a lot of people are relying on you and you don't really have anybody to relying on. You have to create this skill of relying on yourself. I was telling on my. On the interview for my episode that if you want somebody to save you, you have to save yourself first.
- [09:03]
C
Absolutely. Yeah. I completely, completely agree. I almost feel like your dress is almost a badge of honor representing the goddess that you're transforming to, into, or have become, because you've had your share of warrior scars. You've, you, you've fought these battles and now you're here, you've achieved, you've become more powerful. So I always like to ask, the moment you got out and stopped, the moment you finished your interview, did you feel a little different? Did you have that moment of, hey, I did all these things. I really belong in this chair. Did you have that moment?
- [09:34]
A
Well, I don't really have this kind of thing of ego. You know, I was working throughout my life in order to like, be more humble and grateful and like, presence and landed versus thinking about, like, oh, what's what I have achieved. I'm still on my way, you know, in achieving things every single day. I'm just trying to be better and all kind of things that have been yesterday, you know, so I'm constantly trying to improve myself in the different areas. So to me, you know, it's something that I can share with others and, and people can learn from because everybody's thinking a certain picture of success, but they don't really know about the story behind that. And most of the times this story is going through a lot of heartbreaks, a lot of challenges and a lot of falls and a lot of ups and downs. Oh, yeah, you know, that people are just not becoming victims and trying to blame everything and everybody else. So everything that, for everything that have, is happening to them or have been happening to them, but taking, you know, responsibility for choices that they were making. And they are trying to learn from their mistakes and they're trying to overcome those challenges by just becoming better every single day. And, you know, and just try not to make the same mistakes in the future.
- [11:04]
C
Absolutely. Talk about the cultural differences between Eastern European models versus American models. I live in Switzerland for a year and I was taken aback of how beautiful everyone is, but no one seems to brag about it, which is what I was just asking you. Here in America, everyone's trying so hard to be so beautiful. Look how beautiful. And they try everything and anything from my experience, and I'm sure you can relate from your culture. It's just a simple beauty where everyone doesn't need to brag about it.
- [11:34]
A
It.
- [11:35]
C
That to me is what being a fashion icon is. It's. It's like your soul really should exude through what you wear. And your journey is essentially your badge of modern, like what you're wearing now. How often do you feel like there is a sense of pureness to what you do versus what The Americans perceive
- [11:52]
A
a model is, you know, with everything that I do, I'm not trying to look for somebody else. I'm trying to be myself. And I'm trying. And in order to, like, do this, you have to understand yourself. So it took a lot of. A lot of time. And especially this push with the divorce and, you know, like, single mom and doing all of this thing, it actually helped me to realize who I am. And the moment I did that, that just. It's just like the magic started happening. It's just like opportunities start coming up. And the moment I made a decision to represent California at Miss World Americ, you know, it's like all these choices and all of these decisions. So I'm not trying to look for somebody else or, like, being comparison for somebody else or, like, looking, hey, you did this mistake, or, like, hey, in my country, this is like that. In your country, this is like that. Everybody has. I mean, to me, it's important to be your authentic self. And it doesn't matter how you're trying to show other people, like, who you are or. Or, like, if you're trying to show it, or, like, play a game or wear a mask or if you know who you are and just, you know, let the world to see this. That's a huge difference with that. I'm not trying to play games. I'm being myself.
- [13:13]
C
I guess that's what I'm trying to. What I'm trying to say is there's a authenticity about you. And it just so happens the authenticity is very beautiful. And here, my culture, it just from here in the United States, I feel like there's always this kind of, like, combativeness. There's this cattiness of, like, someone copying someone else, someone trying. And then you start to lose that authenticity. You start to lose that spirit. And then after a while, folks forget what it is to be a Runway waddle, what it is to be a really pageant model. That these stoic images of what beauty is now has been disdained by these other unnecessary pieces of energy. So let's talk about pageantry. You know, a boxer has a coach. An athlete needs to coach, needs to train. Pageantry isn't just walking on a stage and kind of waving goodbye. No, it takes a lot more than that, doesn't it?
- [13:58]
A
Yes. It's not as easy as it may seem, because it's a long time of preparation. And it's also the energy that you're bringing to the stage is the. You need to know how to present yourself. Present yourself through Your world. Present yourself through your energy, Present yourself through your to. Through the way you talk to people. Because this is all about what kind of energy you're showing to people. Because there's a lot of. Even with swimsuit brands, right? There are a lot of different swimsuit brand. I mean like it's a very competitive business. What makes my brand different? Well, because my, what makes my, my brand different is the fact that I'm like, I'm a beauty pageant queen. Like, you know, I'm a reigning queen. So I went through this route and I know the like little details that other brand are not, I don't know, they're not like focusing on. And plus what helped me is the way I got to this. So I'm. My brand right now is partnering up with Ms. Swim Studio SA. I was participating last year and my brand has been showcased literally after it launched at the Miss at Miami Swim Week and thanks to the person who has been my mentor, you know. So it's all about like I would say that everything that I've been doing over the past year is actually helping me right now to bring my brand, you know, and expose it to as many people as possible, you know.
- [15:40]
C
Absolutely. So what is the name of your brand? And talk about your business model. What, what services do you provide?
- [15:45]
A
So it's a swimsuit, It's a luxury swimsuits. I recently added sunglasses and hats and like cover ups. So I'm trying to expand it and make it bigger because especially so what I wanted to do is for is for all the models that I'm having to fit the majority types of the body and also women who can wear it right or can be interested in it. It's any age like from like 18, the age of 18 till like I don't know, 70. My mom is 67. She's wearing my bread. She looks amazing.
- [16:22]
C
Good for you. Isn't that crazy? That's amazing. What a beautiful legacy story there. What are you doing now in the future? Like what is the next step? How are you helping evolve swimwear modeling, pageantry
- [16:35]
A
at the moment? Again, I'm partnering up with Ms. Swim Studio. Say last week the girl have been chosen to represent impress women at the Miss Swimsuit USA International World Finals in Cancun. And after that, at the moment I'm trying to find a way to expand it like to other countries. Sure, sure. So the main thing that I'm working on right now is actually finding the company that can help me with shipping for not like such an expensive price. Pretty Much because I want women, like, all over the world to enjoy it. You know, I want them to bring and enjoy and see happy smiles and happy faces and beautiful locations. You know, I want them to really, really, really be, feel, and be and feel impressive.
- [17:34]
C
I hope this interview is impressing you so far and I can recover from the faulty intro because I'm all about presentation. I'm energy. I want to make sure that you feel comfortable and confident that we're all under control.
- [17:44]
A
You're doing a great job.
- [17:45]
C
Oh, thank you. I appreciate the affirmation as a good old Leo needs the affirmation. Good old job Leo. Now, when I look at you, I, I see. I, I come from the modeling as world as well. I, I worked with Amber Bucci, worked for Victoria Secret models. I was not a bikini model. No. I've always had a really nerdy body. I, I, I know if I actually went to the gym and cared, I, I'd probably maybe book a couple of commercials, but I'm too, too nerdy and enjoy like, organizing cables to care if you know, if you know what I mean. When I look at you, I look at a superhero. What. How much of this is really you and how much of it is you sitting at home in PJs, eating Cheerios? Like, are you always this stoic? And if you are, is it, does it get tiresome? Like, like when I know for myself, when I'm always on and I'm, like, always great after a while, I'm an introvert. I need to go back to my cocoon and no longer be, you know, Batman. Are you always this, or do you have a moment to just shut down and be a mom and put your hair up?
- [18:49]
A
Like, most of the time, I am a mom because with everything that I'm trying to do, my main, the main thing in my life is my daughter, and, and I'm trying to be present in her life, and I'm trying to go through all these stages and see how she grows and be with her, like, in the most important moments, you know? So I'm trying to. Balancing it all out.
- [19:09]
C
Sure.
- [19:10]
A
Balancing it all up. And it's not easy sometimes. And like, even now, being here for, like, almost one week, I will be here. I miss her. I miss her a lot. And sometimes where I can, when I can, I'm bringing her with me, even though it's not easy for me, because I don't really have time to research anything. But, I mean, I'm sure that when she's gonna grow up, she'll be grateful, and she'll know that her mom is her best friend, her mom is always there for her. Amazing. You know, and that she has a person to rely on. Like, I have a person. Like, for me is my mom, who I can always rely on and I can trust.
- [19:52]
C
That's such a beautiful generational legacy there. The reason why I brought up the models and dropped the Victoria's Secret stuff is because we would do print ads and commercials and castings, and there'd be the directors with the big books, and, you know, somebody would order lunch and it would be late, but the models would show up with their families, their kids, and, oh, sava to Vienne and talk and like. And here you have a printed Victoria's Secret model that is quite a mom. Very real, very approachable.
- [20:17]
A
Yeah.
- [20:17]
C
How much of the reality is a facade and really, you.
- [20:22]
A
Well, that's the thing. I can be different, but it doesn't mean it doesn't change who I am. You know, I like to be comfortable. Of course, like, back in California, I'm, like, wearing sneaker sneakers and just, like, some yoga ISA outfit, because why would I need to, like, dress up the heels, like, put on, like, whole makeup, you know, and just who am I trying to impress? Like, in this case, I'm not. I'm not trying to. I just. I'm being a mom.
- [20:51]
C
But that's the thing. When you do turn on the character, who are you trying to impress? Who is out there that you're trying to impress? Is it a customer, a client? Who do you want to influence when you're modeling?
- [21:03]
A
So it's not even about, like, who am I trying to impress? It's about, well, if I would show up here in the sneakers and yoga pants, I mean, I don't think that would be very. It's like, in every single situation, you have to, you know, I would say dress up properly. If you're like, a real estate agent and you show up with a client just by wearing your swimsuit, I mean, it's not appropriate. Right. And nobody would ever understand that if you were just, like, coming to, I don't know, the red carpet and you decided to, like, put, I don't know, some sandals or, like, and. Well, it depends on which red carpet. I mean, I saw so many and people just wearing whatever they want. Some people are not wearing anything thing, literally. So, yeah, that's probably that example. But what I'm trying to say is that, like, whatever you're doing, there are always things that are appropriate. Right. So I prefer to Bring the energy of elegance. I prefer to bring the energy of style and I prefer to bring the energy of presentable energy.
- [22:20]
C
Presentable energy. Leading to my next question. What do judges look for when you are in a pageantry? Give us a little bit of an insight. What do you train for? Is it the walk, the way you speak and give your answers? What are the judges looking for and why do you think you won?
- [22:36]
A
This is such an interesting question. You know, why? So this year I'm going to be a judge for the first time at my Swimsuit usa.
- [22:46]
C
What do you even start looking for?
- [22:51]
A
Yeah, I'm still, you know, figuring it out, being honest. But I think to me it's important to have for a girl to not just to have like external beauty. Right. But to also be confident. And the moment this girl shows up on the stage, you can see it. It's impossible not to notice this and this confidence, internal confidence, like is this kind of energy where you own the room, all eyes are staring at you. And this is what I'm going to be looking for for the person for, for a girl who can bring that.
- [23:30]
C
As a judge, do you really feel like you have the ability to look beyond just a pretty face and pretty outfit and see what's truly represented inside 100%.
- [23:38]
A
Because that's what in all beauty pageant, they have the interview questions to see what kind of person you are, you know, and when you do what your interests are and.
- [23:51]
C
But anyone can say, I want to save the world, but I can see more about who you really are by the way you walk and by what you wear.
- [23:57]
A
No. Okay, you want to save the world. What do you do?
- [24:01]
C
Okay.
- [24:01]
A
What do you do to save? Okay. I am, I don't know, taking care of the environment. Right? I am, I don't know, I am helping people in shelters. I am doing this and that. You are volunteering or doing some stuff. How are you helping the world or. I am helping the world by, I don't know, writing books. So it's not like I want to save the world. It's about, okay, what actions are you making in order to actually make this world better? Just a little bit.
- [24:34]
C
So the award, the crown goes to not just beauty, but philanthropy. Giving back.
- [24:39]
A
Yes.
- [24:40]
C
Mentorship.
- [24:40]
A
And that's why even at Miss Universe, the, the girls who are going there, they're doing some. They're doing, they're involved in the volunteer charity organization. If I wouldn't be a single mom, I would definitely do that. But even with my brand, I was looking to work with a charity organization and in order to, you know, help out those who unfortunately cannot help themselves. And yeah, I'm, like, still in. In the process of talking to this organization, but again, it is. My brand is growing because I just launched it recently. I mean, I don't expect to, you know, grow, like, huge sales. It's gonna happen, like, over some time. I treat business like a baby. So the first kind of year, so you have to just constantly, like, invest and grow it, and then it's going to start.
- [25:39]
C
The first baby, because the first baby was like, oh, it fell. Oh, okay. But then you get that first, second, second baby, I fell. Third baby, get yourself back up, and by that time, you're already 10 times X your. Your first million.
- [25:51]
A
Yeah. Then with the. With the time, you can, like, delegate certain things to ostriches. You can, you know, you can. It start. Operates without your, like, full attention. But as in the moment, it has my full attention. Like my daughter had, you know, the first couple of years.
- [26:07]
C
Where would you. Okay, where would you say in the lifeline of the brand? Is it. Is it very early in the middle? Are you just about to seek a partner? Where are you in the timeline of the story?
- [26:18]
A
In the timeline, I would say that unexpectedly, even for me, it took off so fast. So thanks to all these incredible partnerships that, like, that we are having. And when I speak, we. I mean, not just like me and my brand. I mean, it's all people who are behind this team, who helped me to build this brand. It's my mentor, it's the photographers, it's the models, it's the people who are involved in Swimsuit usa, you know, and I'm very grateful for that because I wouldn't be able to do it on my own ever. It's always not just me, like, and myself and I, you know, it's a team of people, and I'm always appreciating the team that I'm having. And without them, neither me, like, sitting here or being here or my brand would ever exist.
- [27:13]
C
Well, before we wrap up, I gotta ask you, why do you believe you were chosen to be a woman of power or a woman in power for our episode.
- [27:21]
A
That's a great question. And, you know, when it comes to answering the questions like this, it always makes me very uncomfortable because I don't like to speak how amazing I am and things like that. I'm like, a very humble person. Yes. I mean, I do. We all have, like, sho. But again, I'm like, I'm not that kind of person. So I'm getting, like, a little, you know, ashamed or embarrassed to speak, things like that.
- [27:44]
C
It's a little weird. It's like, I feel great. How am I not supposed to be shameful for being so happy while others don't get to experience this? I feel it all the time.
- [27:52]
A
I think that's. See, the thing is that I'm surrounded, and I've been working on it a lot to surround myself with so many incredible people. Women who are the big CEOs, you know, who have their own, like, beauty pageants, right? Who are like, it's crazy. I used to patch it.
- [28:16]
C
That's awful.
- [28:17]
A
Who are the greatest leaders, who are the owners of their own brands, who are. Who are just, like, doing amazing things, and it's not. And they were doing it for such a long time, to the point where I'm like, well, they probably should be sitting here. So sometimes I'm asking myself this question as well. I don't know. Well, I'm like, well, how out of, like, all people that have been casted, I was the one who had been selected. And literally, I will be and I will be in the same kind of show, like, next to the people, like Carmen Electra or, like, this, like, sharting people or. I mean, it's crazy. It's crazy. I still kind of believe in it.
- [29:06]
C
I've worked with two of the sharks through the sharks, and sometimes I'll look at Damon. I'm like, I think. I think he's more afraid of me than I am of him. Because once you remove that, like, imposter syndrome, I have it all the time. And for folks that are watching this, the visual podcast version, it's crazy to me that you. You have imposter syndrome. But that's part of the beauty of being an actual, you know, sacred soul, as opposed to someone that's in this reality looking to be vicious.
- [29:31]
A
But I mean, the fact that it's. Was Brian Tracy, you know, and, like, I'm. I'm here, you know, podcast and, like, doing it. I was like, I can't believe in it.
- [29:43]
C
No, dude, you got to start somewhere. And that's what I feel like. It's. It's. It's the growth of an entrepreneur where we're all very childlike, and then we get to the top, and you're like, I'm still very much a child. I'm having fun doing what I do. And I've come to learn that the more I have fun and the happier I am, the more people eat and more jobs are being created and all I have to do is be fun and happy and take care of myself and wear amazing clothes.
- [30:06]
A
Well, thank you Olivira.
- [30:09]
C
Thank you Anna thank you Anna Olivira, it was such an amazing honor and pleasure to speaking to you. I hope you were impressed with your podcast. Elvira. Any closing comments? Where can people find you?
- [30:22]
A
People can find me on my Instagram. It's Elvira Underscore Oppenheim and also my brand is Impress Underscore Swim and same with Facebook.
- [30:37]
C
Right on.
- [30:38]
A
Elvira Oppenheim and Impress one Beautiful.
- [30:41]
C
Thanks again for such an amazing podcast. Thus concludes yet another amazing episode of the Women in Power podcast for Inside Success. I am Ray Gutierrez SA.