Adriana Lima’s Body-Positive Message to Young Girls: ‘You Have to Be Yourself’

As one of Victoria’s Secret’s veteran angels, Adriana Lima is well aware of the annual Fashion Show’s cult status.

The yearly event rakes in a record-number of viewers every year thanks to its glitzy ambience, slew of musical performance and, of course, standout lingerie. And Lima — who tells PEOPLE her day-to-day workout and diet regimen are the same as when she is gearing up to strut down the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show’s glittery runway — reveals the show is just as “fun and unique” as it appears on screen, due in part to the range of models who participate.

“[The show] is all about embracing women from all over the world,” she said while attending the Sword & Sound event, presented by Corkcicle (which also happens to be her go-to hostess gift!). “The girls are from all over the world and different ages, and they all show their different personalities.”

It’s that diversity, she believes, that should serve as an inspiration for young women struggling with self-acceptance.

“You have to be yourself,” Lima says of the advice she’d give anyone who compares themselves to the models on the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show runway. “Each one of us has our own thing going on that we bring to the runway, and we show it.”

“Just embrace yourself,” she continues, “because the minute you try to be something you’re not, you lose your identity.”

This article originally appeared on People.com