hey what's up guys so the journey to being a model is completely different
for everyone right some people are literally discovered
right off the street some people have to go into cast an open-call tops of
different agencies and some people they just network and then they find their
way into being a model but today I want to tell you guys about my story and how
I got started as a model okay so I got started as a model when I was 16 years
old and at the time when I was 16 years old I had no idea that guys actually did
model I was under the impression that modeling was something that was
exclusively for women but it wasn't until my mom heard something on the
radio and then she brought it to my attention like hey you know there's a
talent scout convention coming into town why don't you check it out try it out
maybe you might get signed by an agency and start modeling and you know show up
on billboards and TV and all that kind of stuff and I was very curious about it
because you know from my from my perception I thought modeling was just
something for women so I was almost kind of reluctant to do it but my mom
persuaded me to do it and took me there as a matter of fact so when I got there
was a talent convention it was a three-day type of convention there's a
lot of top models that came to speak to the guests
there was agencies from all over the country you know TV shows and producers
and things like that were there to scalp talents so I actually got to agencies
that really wanted to sign me and work with me however those two agents what
was in New York and the other ones in Miami and they both wanted me to move
out and at the time I was actually living in Chicago so what ended up
happening is that I stayed in contact with these agencies you know I sent them
updated pictures I wrote to them often you know and you know we called and all
that kind of stuff but I was never actually able to work with them because
I never moved to Miami I never went to New York at such a young age
so by the time I turned 17 what I actually decided to do was to walk into
an agency in Chicago but you know I actually caught some luck because when I
went into that agency literally the very moment I walked into the agency with my
pictures in hand as soon as I walked in they looked at me they're like yo you're
perfect can you make an audition right now and I was like
sure I guess and they're like yeah just go just go don't worry about the people
will sign you when you get back just make this audition you have five minutes
to get there and thankfully the casting was literally taking place down the
street and it was a Catholic for a Pepsi commercial so I went in there my first
audition ever my first professional anything ever and I walked into the
casting agency with a lot of enthusiasm a lot of I was very excited to be there
and I was like wow this is amazing this is awesome is this how everything goes
down behind the scenes you know if I walked in identity's I read my side you
know I drank the Pepsi in from the client they loved my energy they love my
smile they loved my enthusiasm and you know I said I walked out feeling good
you know but of course they saw a lot of people a lot of talents a lot of models
well factors so you know I was kind of wondering like if they'll end up
choosing me or what would happen but I just know I was just glad to be there
and having this first-time experience of auditioning for a real commercial so I
actually got back to the agency I signed the paperwork and it went home a couple
of days later they actually called me they said hey guess what you booked the
commercial I was like no way there's no way I just walked into an audition for
the first time in my life and actually booked it so anyway so I posted and it
turned out to be a Pepsi commercial with Bernie Mac God rest his soul you know so
when I got there and said you know the other models and said and other talents
and it was just amazing to be there and to see how everything is done behind the
scenes how many how many people it takes on crew to get a 30 second or 60-second
commercial produced I was just amazed and awed at the experience so in this
commercial I was actually paid as a principal talent and a principal means
that you're actually featured in the commercial for longer than five seconds
or you're recognizable in the commercial and in an extra challenge or just people
in the background that are not really featured but they're just dared to fill
up the scene so I've actually paid for this commercial as a principal talents
so it actually turned out that in the thirty second commercial which made the
cut in the United States you can only see my hands spitting in the vinyl
records and that's it so there's no way to
recognize it just actually mean so anyway there was actually a 60-second
version of the commercial that aired in Canada and I actually made the cut in
that version I noticed because one of my homeboys who I grew up with in Nigeria
he lives in Canada now he saw the commercial and he called me and he's
like hey did I just see you in a commercial I'm like yeah he liked that
see a fun yeah I just did the commercial so the pretty cool experience you know
to get that kind of exposure I only just wished that I was featured
in the American version but that's another story so anyway so I worked with
this agency for some years I did a lot of commercials with them and did some
commercials for value city did some print shoots for value sitting in
Chicago solvent just tons of commercials because at the time
Chicago was kind of the hub for producing national and regional
commercials so I worked with this agency for some years and then unfortunately
after the recession so things started to get a little bit slower so that's why I
decided to switch agencies so one of my cousins in Chicago who's actually signed
with Elite Models he actually brought me into the agency and then I'll be able to
get represented and from there I did a lot of fashion shows this imprint as I
did a lot of work for them so that's kind of how I got my start as a model
alright guys so that's my story that's how I got started as a model I like to
hear from you guys as well what is your story how did you get started or how are
you planning on starting your modeling career if you like this video give me a
thumbs up and don't forget to subscribe I'll see you next time