Its been a while! This blog post is more of a personal, ‘house-keeping’ one,
so you’ve been warned!
2015 wrapped up with San Diego’s Four EL men’s magazine going on indefinite hiatus, (where I was the
fitness contributor), as well as Greens
Plus+ Energy bars, without warning, cutting their marketing staff, and as a
result, all of us ‘ambassadors’ losing our sponsorship. So no more Greens Plus for myself after 15
years using their products. I can’t be expected
to go back to buying it at this point. I’m
still working an ambassadorship with Core
Energy Fitness resistance bands and suspension straps (my backyard &
traveling fitness arsenal), and BioFreeze
has been contacting me recently for sponsorship, but I have failed to get back
to them in time most likely, which is lame of me, cause their products are ones
I was already using, as well as my wife for her massage practice.
I’m still modeling professionally, booking paid jobs about
twice monthly. (If it’s not paid, it’s
not professional.) Bookings have slowed
down a lot, by choice. For one thing,
working my main career as a Captain for JetBlue,
with two kids & a working spouse, leaves very little time left over for
modeling, writing & Personal Training.
Also, at age 46, I have realized the ideal ‘fitness-model’ in the traditional
sense, is a young-man’s game, so I have switched to mostly apparel clients,
which means catalogs instead of magazines & infomercials. Less exposure & infomercial fame, but the
irony is, apparel pays about 4 times as much, and the shoots are much less
intense. In fact the idea with apparel
most times is to look as natural as possible, not even noticing the photographer,
(unless it is BORING studio!), and there are some instances where you don’t
even know when the photographer has gotten ‘the shot’. He just suddenly out of nowhere says, “Got this, what’s next?” Some of the performance/sports-apparel shoots
are still quite demanding physically to be sure, but even then, the intensity
level is nowhere near that of a standard fitness industry booking, and,
typically I’m wearing physique-covering clothing much of the time, so the
enormous challenge of pre-shoot dieting and dialing (tanning, shaving, carbo-loading),
is all but eliminated.
Going into 2016 my main apparel client is still the relatively new men’s performance brand known as QOR (pronounced “core”- see my earlier blog posts.) They just hit the 1.5 year mark since their official launch and are gaining traction. They are mostly for the urban, corporate-yet-very-active man. Think San Francisco-based CEO or Doctor who commutes to work by bicycle and goes for a jog during lunch. This QOR-man is also eco-minded and a foodie. I just shot for their summer catalog on the North Shore of Oahu. It certainly felt very validating to book a location shoot of that caliber again. A little backstory - the creators of QOR were also the creators of a women’s brand called Athleta, now owned by Gap. Since I have been a model for every QOR shoot since their genesis, sometimes I feel like I’m truly a part of their team.
This probably sounds like a good
thing, but one of the golden rules of a professional model, (according
to Max), is to never forget just that – your place - that you are being paid
for your skills as a model, and nothing more. If your opinion is ever desired, the client
will ask you for it, but most times, the client does not want to know your
opinion. The client is paying you top
dollar to show up and look amazing, and make their product look even more amazing,
and none of that necessarily requires speaking or offering your advice. It also means you shouldn’t upstage the
product or apparel your wearing. So
yeah, while at this point in my career, modeling seems second nature to me – my
craft – I guess it will always be challenging for that reason: Look good, but never outshine the
product. Stand out during the casting
& audition, but know when to be subtle while on set. Once something no longer becomes challenging,
not only does opportunity for personal growth stop, but so does the fun.
I think as a model there are times that call for being a charismatic ‘rock
star’, but at other times you need to be a discrete chameleon – and always a
gentleman. Knowing when to be which,
is instinctive, but two hints are: read the photographer’s every move &
mood, and never lose the big picture of the vibe of the set or location. Have your finger on the pulse of the
production. Never forget that of
everybody on set, as the model – or ‘talent’ – you are usually the lowest
ranking, I don’t care what your day-rate is or what your agent told you. No matter what the dynamic, the photographer
always outranks you, and is your Guru.
I’m not sure where I’m going with this blog post at this
point. I think I must be channeling Derek Zoolander or something, being that
Zoolander 2 is coming out next month. Perhaps watching Zoolander 1 again, has got
me pondering about what it means to be a “ridiculously,
good-looking male model”, and the pressures and expectations that come with
that. Or maybe with aging, along with
family responsibilities growing, I feel I’m at a crossroads on this journey. This post started off as just a very bland
& belated update to the closing out of 2015 and the beginning of 2016 and is
now wandering aimlessly. You were warned
in the opening paragraph.
At age 46 with the wrinkles and wear-n-tear accumulating, (a
rite of passage), every day I question if and when I should retire from this
modeling/fitness hobby. After more than
15 years this is more than a hobby obviously.
Although modeling has never been about the money, it is a significant source
of income, but more importantly, it is good for my character & well-being. Modeling gets me out of my complacent routine
and often moves me out of my comfort zone, into self-fulfilling adventures that
I can feel productive about. I love
dad-life, but there are times when I completely lose myself into the world of
my kids. Leisure trips & vacations typically
leave me feeling guilty in some way, not to mention that means loss of income! Modeling & writing are a creative outlet
and booking jobs provides fitness-accountability. It is not that I desire to avoid new
experiences or traveling, it’s that I already am gone so much with the airline
business, that I hate leaving my family and kids any more than I have to, especially
when by default, I am eldest daughter’s primary ‘coach’ and sports manager,
which takes up quite a bit of my free time in a good way. I wouldn’t trade that. What’s more, is when I look at some of my
early portfolio from 10+ years ago - of course I am not as fit or youthful
looking - but this mostly affects booking the physique and fitness-type shoots. In many ways you get better with age and all
that cumulative experience in front of the camera.
I mean at this point I’ve probably worked with 75
photographers for over 100K shutter flashes.
That experience will always translate into the image, unless you lose
confidence. Every time I get to work
with a photographer who I believe in, and who mutually believes in me, I know
we’re going to get something worthy. Get
a shot that is believable and the client will invite you back. At the surface it may seem like an act of
pure vanity or trivial art, but for me it’s also a personal test that provides
some inner validation and grounding. You
can’t fake a good shot. The camera lens
will reveal it. The client will know
it. The consumer will know it. You have to look into the lens with truth
& sincerity. You have to be comfortable
in your own skin. While some shots are
more light-hearted, in my mind during shoots, I always envision a salt-of-the-Earth vibe. If you can’t be yourself, then the client booked
the wrong model, and you need to meet with your agent, or maybe update your
comp-card and portfolio.
So back to goals for 2016 and to close this belated New Year’s
update. I don’t really do the resolution
thing and never have. Goals are good,
but goal-setting should be part of one’s everyday lifestyle and personal growth
master plan. So should accountability,
whether it comes from a boss, spouse, Trainer, race deadline, or competition –
be sure to build some accountability and bench-markers into your
lifestyle. For me, my fitness goal is
still to be fit as possible, but now
it is more from a longevity and holistic-health perspective. Range-of-motion, mobility, and function have
to come first for me. Physique and
aesthetics are secondary. Actually I
guess this has always described my philosophy.
This means less bodybuilder style workouts and more intense cardio, and playing
the sports I love. Also more therapy
& recovery time and listening to what my body is telling me. Awareness, to get the jump on a potential
problem area, before it evolves into an injury.
And of course the ability to train with and around any injury. I have to devote much of my own workout time,
to train with my daughter, for her sports.
So often times I train with her.
Cheers.
Above: Click for quick training video
 |
| Coaching my daughter Bryce surfing...if you can call it that! |
