Anastasia Pagonis on Social Media and Beauty Faves

Paralympic swimmer Anastasia Pagonis’ upbeat personality, sincerity, humor, and infectious laugh make it clear why she’s made waves as a professional swimmer and on social media. “I started social media as an outlet to share my feelings and my life, and then it kind of caught fire,” she tells Byrdie via Zoom. “I was able to break down the stereotypes of people with a disability and show the world that this is what blindness is and this is what someone with a disability looks like.” Pagonis, who began gradually losing her vision due to a degenerative autoimmune disease, eventually becoming blind at 14, has since amassed a TikTok following of over 2.6 million. She shares videos about everything from how she trains as a competitive swimmer and applies makeup to how she uses the TikTok app. 

Ahead, Pagonis tells Byrdie about the beauty products with a permanent spot in her swim bag, what she hopes people take away from her TikTok, how she prepares for race day, and more.

What She Has to Do Before Race Day

“I have a shaving party the night before and make sure I’m all smooth and feeling super confident and ready. Shaving is crucial for a swimmer. It shaves milliseconds. Milliseconds to a swimmer are huge: They’re the difference between gold, silver, and bronze. It makes you feel super smooth and powerful through the water. It takes away drag. Not only does [shaving] remove hair, but it removes dead skin. When you dive into the pool, you feel electric.

I always have cereal. That’s my thing. Then I’ll put waterproof makeup on and make myself feel beautiful, even though I’ll be wearing a cap and goggles and no one [will] see my makeup. But it makes me feel confident, and that’s what matters.”

The One Trick That Saves Her Hair in the Pool

“People think [a swim] cap protects your hair, but it really doesn’t. My trick is, I’ll put mask in my hair—just on the ends—wrap it in a bun, and put the cap on. I use the OUAI treatment; it’s a mask and it’s really good. But I go back and forth and bounce around between multiple brands and different treatments.”

The Most Exciting Thing About Her Partnership With Venus

“Oh my gosh, making me pick one thing! I’m so excited for the partnership. I feel like Venus is truly so empowering to women and that’s so important to me. I’m a super strong believer in feeling powerful, and something that makes you feel confident [will help you] compete at your best. I’m so excited to feel confident, beautiful, powerful, and to compete like a champ.”

The Four Things That Are Always In Her Swim Bag

“I always keep a group of four: an eyelash curler, some sort of moisturizer, mascara, and a lip oil or a lip stain. I love to have just a little pop on my eyes and lips.”

The One Thing She Loves About Being a Paralympian

“There’s so much that I love about it. I’m just so grateful that I get to show people that this is what a disability looks like and instead of people putting me in this box of having to look a certain way and act a certain way and be a certain way, I can show the world that no, I can be a professional athlete. I can dress cute, I can wear makeup—and prove people wrong and break down the stereotypes.”

The One Thing She Hopes to Achieve on Social Media

“I hope I affect everyone who sees my videos. Maybe they don’t accept it and maybe they don’t put [what they learn] into action. But deep down I hope they’re like ‘Oh wait, remember that blind girl that I saw on TikTok?’ And maybe they know how to approach someone [with] a disability better than they would have before.”

The Two Things She Always Travels With

“I always travel with my guide dog, Radar, and my Venus Mini because I’m a hairy girl. I take [it] everywhere.”