Ava Fitzgerald grew up just ten minutes from the beach in South Florida, where the rhythms of nature were part of everyday life. From a young age, she was immersed in Florida’s rich ecosystems. “I’ve probably watched turtles hatch a hundred times,” she laughs. “We’d go to the beach at sunset, looking for tiny little tracks leading back to the nest, and then suddenly, it was like a zombie apocalypse. Dozens of tiny baby turtles crawling out of the sand.”
Those early moments left a deep mark on her. Her dad was a habitat conservationist, and he passed down a fierce respect for the environment. “He really hammered it into me how important it is to protect what we have,” Ava remembers. “Even on days when we didn’t catch any fish, it was never about the fish. It was about being outside and paying attention to the world.”
Ava always thought she’d follow in her dad’s footsteps and become a scientist. She started studying environmental science at Florida Atlantic University. But at nineteen, something unexpected happened—she was scouted for modeling, and suddenly, her life took a very different turn.
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“It’s such a different world from what I expected. But I’ve found moments that feel real, and those are the ones I hold on to.”
One of the things she loves most about modeling is the travel. “I’ve always been curious about the world,” Ava says. “Growing up, I was outside all the time, chasing bugs and frogs and critters, bringing home whatever I could find. I wanted to see everything, so being able to travel with modeling really sparks that curiosity. It’s given me a chance to see places I always wondered about.”
Modeling for Filson has been an unexpected bridge between her two worlds. “They’ve given me some of the biggest advertisements of my career,” she says. “I also feel really good about the work and how they care about a lot of the same things I do.” Her first shoot with Filson was in a studio in Seattle. “What struck me was how kind everyone was. No divas, no coldness—just funny, outdoorsy folks. It felt so genuine.”
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She also keeps in close touch with her friends in Florida. When she visits, they pick up right where they left off—fishing, scuba diving, and spending the day on the water. “That’s what fun is to us,” she says.
While Ava enjoys modeling, she sees it as a chapter that will eventually close. “Maybe five more years,” she says. After that, she hopes to move home, go back to school, and pursue her dream job in environmental science. She wants to start a family and build a life rooted in the things she’s always been passionate about.
Though modeling has taken her around the world, no place compares to South Florida. “I’m so protective of where I grew up,” Ava says. “I hold it so dear to my heart.”
