Meet the Instafamous Law third year who’s a fitness sensation

Last week, Legal Cheek ran a profile on one Saffron Shirreffss, Lancaster Law undergrad and Instagram fitness sensation.

Saffron expects to have 25,000 Insta followers by the time this interview is published (Insta: @saffronsheriff), and receives over 100 new follows daily. But just what is the secret to her meteoric rise to power?

The Lonsdale third year described the Legal Cheek article as “interesting”, albeit “an exaggeration”, and said she didn’t even know it’d been written until we got in touch with her to ask about it.

It claimed that she could be making £31,200 a year in exchange for two sponsored pics per week, with that rate increasing to £750 per post, or £78,000 a year once she reaches 50,000 followers. Saffron said: “I wish someone told me I made so much”.

She explained that the usual going rate for a sponsored post was around £1 an hour. That is, for every hour you have the post up, you get a quid. At the very top of the spectrum, up in the heady reaches of 100,000+ followers, she said you’d be looking at £50 an hour for each post- a far cry from the claims of £1,500 per post and £156,000 a year from the article. “Most companies just pay with free stuff anyway”.

She spent a few years at York (boo hiss) and a German university studying Political Science

When asked if she did any sponsored work, or if she steadfastly refused to sell out to The Man.

She said: “I guess if you can’t tell I’m doing it, I’m doing it right”.

Saffron explained what she would and wouldn’t consider a sponsorship from: anything she actually uses, e.g. protein powers, sports supplements, gym clothes (“I tend to need a new set every couple weeks”) are in, anything she doesn’t, e.g. weight loss tea, is out.

She also refuses any offers that require her to “exclusively feature one brand or product”. Her weirdest job offer? “A guy offered to pay me money for a photo of my foot. I just ignored that. It was weird”.

I said I’d happily take a picture of my foot for money, but Saffron said: “I think it’s a girl thing”.

Saffron also models (photo credit: John Aldred)

The Lawyer said: “When I first started, I had no idea what I was doing. I didn’t understand you could train your upper body, so just ended up with these huge legs and tiny little T-Rex arms. My thighs were bigger than some of the guys in the gym.

She also has some harsh words for all those crossfit enthusiasts out there. “Crossfit is like Reebok got circuit training, got drunk people to do it and then made an Olympic sport out of it. Everyone’s technique is awful and it looks ridiculous. The women look amazing though, I’ll grant them that.

“It’s really intense and kind of bullshit”.

The article also put her apparent passion for cosplay in the spotlight. Saffron described the events around the photo of her dressed as Ms. Marvel. “I got back from work at 2am, was making the costume until about 7ish, put a picture up on the internet and went to Manchester Comic-Con about 8am. By the time I’d arrived, it had gone viral and was on the front page of Imgur”.

Ms. Marvellous

She added: “Cosplay’s not really a hobby for me though. There are people that dress up and take pictures all the time, but I only do it for cons”.

Saffron is a fan of Manchester’s Comic-Con, having been introduced via a Couchsurfer who travels to conventions to sell “nerdy jewellery”, but not so much of London’s. “It’s just too busy, too much of a crush”.

Despite no longer being the “full nerd, with thick glasses and braces and a comic collection” of yesteryear, who “regularly played MMOs like World of Warcraft and Guild Wars”, Saffron has not forgotten her heritage. She’s been to Comic-Con three times now, once as Ms. Marvel, once as Samus from the Metroid games and once as Rikku from Final Fantasy X. She’s not been to the original San Diego Comic-Con yet though as “getting to America costs an arm and a leg”.

“I reckon my boyfriend could batter me if he wanted to” – fuck me he must be stacked to the rafters

As far as socialising, Saffron admits that she does most of hers in the gym, or with the Couchsurfers who she invites to stay with her every weekend. She also enjoys motorbiking at weekends with her boyfriend Anthony, who “likes martial arts and MMA”.

Of course I asked her who would win in a fight. “We’ve actually tried this before. We scrap occasionally, but the best time was when he accidentally backhanded me and I flew into the oven. It didn’t hurt, but it make such a loud bang. You should have seen his face, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a man so petrified.”

Saffron admitted to be a “huge lightweight”. She “had her first drink at 18, and it just didn’t appeal to me”. Luckily for Anthony, “one shot leaves me laughing for the next half hour. I must be the cheapest date ever”.