From stripper to plumber: her unexpected career change

By Aldin Avdic

She was a stripper, a nude model and soon she'll be a plumber.

But despite it all, she powers through life ready for whatever may come her way.

Aedyn Kirinic said, "Six years ago, I was working weird jobs, working in kitchens. And I didn’t have a direction. Then one day my dad said, pick a trade or move out.”

Before her six years of doing odd jobs here and there, Kirinic studied international relations, but stopped her schooling after not feeling it was the right fit for her.

In that time of wandering around jobs, she took a short stint at a strip club. For three days, she went around selling a different version of herself.

“I don’t really like it feeling too transactional,” said Kirinic

Kirinic said she was just 18 when she became a stripper.

She felt at odds with the place, having to sell herself. She wished there could have been more of a personal connection with customers instead of the mindset of “look at me, you want to buy this?”

On the third night of her job, Kirinic’s boss said, “You've got to go out there and sell some dances.”

Wearing eight-inch-high heels, looking down on her boss, she left her job after he said that to her.

For TKTK, she worked as a nude model for magazines.

She mostly enjoyed doing it, but experienced difficult moments. While working with her first photographer, he t.

“He kissed me, and then I got really weird, and I ran out.”

After the wake-up call from her father, Kirinic applied for jobs.

Plumbing wasn’t on top of her list, saying she didn’t want to touch human waste. But after going to a SAIT trade show, Kirinic was told she wouldn't have to do that by some plumbing workers present.

“On Monday, I put together my resumé, on Wednesday, I handed out three of them, by Thursday, I had three interviews and by Friday, I had a job,” said Kirinic.

But despite her wild ride of a life, Kirinic didn’t feel she would change a moment in her life.

Kirinic said, “You learn a little bit of something through everything.”

Especially her job being a nude model, which taught her something to think about.

“It was good in that part of my life where I needed a little bit extra confidence, I was able to look through the lens of someone else's eyes.”

Throughout Kirinic different works, one thing is clear. Her job didn’t just give her a boost to her confidence.

It was an eye-opener into growing into herself and choosing who she wanted to be.

“I’ve done a little bit of everything, and I think that’s kind of important. I like the person that I am because of it.”