A turning point came when Peru’s friend signed them up to walk in the annual Ilkley Macmillan Fashion Show, which was something out of her comfort zone.
“After several gin and tonics, I went on stage and I absolutely loved it,” Peru admits.
“I used to do drama when I was younger and I had that same buzz waiting to go on stage that I used to have and love.
“It just lit something up in me and I came off walking taller and I felt so much better about myself.”
For the next six years, Peru continued to volunteer at the show until she decided to take it a step further.
“There was actually a couple of professional models involved in that show and they were the ones that said to me, I really think that you’ve taken to this, you should try it,” Peru recalls.
“I thought, if I give it a go and I get something local to Leeds, it’d be a nice hobby.
“So I sent off really basic images across the country and I got signed with a London agency straight away.”
Peru expected to get a couple of lifestyle jobs through her agency but was terrified to learn she was wanted for swimwear and lingerie campaigns.
“My first big job in my first year of modelling, I ended up in the Bahamas for a week alongside Ashley Graham and Lizzo,” she says.
“That was a life-turning point for me because being surrounded by women that are naturally so self-confident in their body and so self-assured had a knock-on effect and it made a big impact on my mental well-being.”
That feeling and the response from other women set Peru down a different path of “body acceptance”.
“I am happy enough because I know it’s an amazing vessel to make sure that I can do all the things that I’m doing and I’m loving life, so I’m grateful for it and I don’t pick fault with it,” she says.
To tackle the lack of representation in the fashion industry, Peru teamed up with her friend Tina Boden to do workshops with women.