Time to Choose.

I came across this today as I was perusing my Facebook. It was written by my friend Paul Fisher. Paul is a model agent in Los Angeles and is the host of the reality show about model agencies called  "Remodeled". It is a good read. Enjoy.

Time to Choose: Social Responsibility and the Modeling Industry

We see it happening all over the world: huge multi-national corporations changing their practices – and their public image – in response to the pressure to become socially responsible. In the past decade, as environmental awareness has increased exponentially and anxiety about global warming has grown, major industrial companies have realized they have a choice: change their practices in response to the growing outcry, or cling to an outdated and destructive model. Airlines like Virgin Atlantic, energy companies like BP, auto manufacturers like Ford: all have chosen to make major changes in how they do business. They have chosen the path of responsibility, and are discovering that being good corporate citizens doesn’t mean forgoing profits or their responsibility to their shareholders.

The modeling industry, however, remains stuck in the past. Though some old agencies have folded and new players have emerged, the essential dynamic remains unchanged: beautiful, young – very young – girls are brought into a world which has little regard for their vulnerability, and little regard for the colossal impact that the images they produce have on women across the globe. Once considered an isolated and rare phenomenon, eating disorders and body dysmorphia (distorted self-image) are now a genuinely universal phenomenon, affecting girls as young as six and seven and causing incalculable social harm. For too long, the modeling and fashion industries have either ignored the problem, or paid lip service to “being part of the solution” without making any enduring and substantive effort to bring a sense of social responsibility to the business of beauty.

It’s time to choose. The choice is not between doing the right thing and making money. As other good corporate citizens have shown, a willingness to undergo an ethical makeover can enhance rather than diminish profits. The choice is between remaining stuck in a business model that is unsustainable and destructive or embracing a new and responsible way of discerning, cultivating, and marketing beauty to the world. The Network has the vision, the program, and the tools to help modeling agencies and those whom they serve to transform an industry, to transform lives, and to transform our world.

It’s time to choose.

Model Scout

I was born and raised in Canada, lived overseas since the age of 17, living in Paris, New York and Rio de Janeiro, and wound up back in Canada in my hometown of Calgary. My adventures living overseas being a model would fill a book, but does the world really need another tell all book from the trenches of the modeling world?

I miss the life I had as a model and I would be a liar if I were to say I didn't. Granted, there are some elements of the biz that I could do without, but in general, I enjoyed it immensely. The traveling, the financial side, working and learning with some of the best and creative minds in photography, fashion marketing and advertising was more valuable than going to any university. Do I regret not attending university? Sometimes....

I am using my experience as a model to inform and mentor young girls that have the 'it' factor to be the next supermodel. I have an eye for beauty that comes from working in the trenches of the fashion world. When I offered my services to the local agencies here in Calgary, I was basically laughed at. "We already have scouts and mentors for our girls, what can you offer that we don't already have?.", they said. Really? Who? Does your mentor know what its like to be a 17 year old girl thrown into the lion's den of modeling in Paris? Does your mentor actually prepare young prospects to the real reality (not the America's Next Top Model reality) of the fashion business? Can your mentor truly say they have been there done that? Do you really care about your prospects' health and wellness both physically, emotionally and psychologically now and throughout their career?.......Didn't think so.

Conclusion? I have gone out on my own and am scouting and mentoring the next generation of models.  

The difference between me and my competition is that I scout for the whole package. I look for girls (and boys) that have that special something that Eileen Ford calls the 'X' factor. But I go one step further. I also scout for role models. Young people that have beauty, brains and a good heart.

As a model, your image in the magazines and online becomes who you are. Young girls and boys look up to you. What you do in your off time is also important. In this day and age, anyone can be photographed any where any time. My models are expected to be role models 24 hours a day. It doesn't mean they can't have fun and party, but they have to be conscious of their image and not be put in a compromising position. When I modeled, I made sure that when people took photos of me at a party, I didn't have a drink in my hand. And this was in the pre internet days!

I want my models to give back. Help those whose voices are not heard. Giving back by supporting those less fortunate, whether it be through donation or by volunteering or through awareness campaigns. Keeping it real.