Tag: inspiration

How to Become a Male Model After 30

on By

Don’t let all the 18-year-old fresh faces plucked from Eastern European villages fool you: there is a huge market for male models over 30-years-old and beyond.

The first step to starting your male modeling career after age 30 is creating a portfolio. You can begin by using a free website like Model Mayhem to connect with local photographers and build your portolio.

Next, you should showcase your images with high-resolution prints for a physical portfolio to show clients, and also create a website to be hired from. I’d recommend a sleek site like Pixpa to showcase your portfolio beautifully.

The next step is making sure your online presence is up-to-date and showcases your best self. Make sure you have an Instagram and Facebook modeling page at the very least. Post your professional photos, but also post everyday selfies because audiences like to see the “real you,” too.

While there are many ways to find work as a male model over 30 on your own, it can also be helpful to sign up with a modeling agency. Do a quick Google search for modeling agencies in your area and find out if they have an open call, what their submission guidelines are, and any requirements.

If you do get a chance to go meet with a modeling agent, make sure you wear form-fitting, clean clothes free of large prints and logos. Simple well-fitted jeans and a t-shirt work great. Make sure you are groomed according to your look and get a good night’s sleep before.

If you are booked on a modeling job, make sure you arrive on time and bring a book or some form of entertainment because a lot of the day could be a hurry-up-and-wait situation. As a model, you are one part of the creative process, but there are many different people on set doing different jobs to make the images/videos come together perfectly for the client. Be ready and available to shoot when the director/photographer calls you over and listen carefully to their direction.

Preparation is key to becoming a successful male model over 30, so make sure you’re mindful of your diet and are eating whole, nutritious foods and exercising regularly. Stay consistent with a skin care routine, which includes a face wash, moisturizer, eye cream, and any other products you feel called to.

Remember, there are a lot of modeling jobs out there for male models over 30, so stay consistent in your efforts and don’t get discouraged. Modeling careers are sporadic and jobs come and go randomly: some months you may book 5 jobs, and then you won’t work again for 3 months. So, keep your side-hustle or flexible survival job. That way you won’t have desperate energy when you walk into any room because your bills will be paid.

Follow me here or on my Instagram at @myles.ellison to follow my journey as a working male model over 30 in New York City.

Photo credit: Brian Jamie

Don’t Wait ‘til You’re Ready

on By

Right after I graduated college, I didn’t know what the hell I was doing. All I wanted to do was move to New York City and become a model like I’d always dreamed of, but how? It felt like there was so much money, time, and work between my dreams and I.

Now, here I am, with all these experiences that tell me I’ve accomplished some semblance of my dream, and with an equal amount telling me I’ve fallen short and nothing has been good enough.

But if I could go back in time and show my then-self what my present reality looks like, he would be so relieved to know all the hard work was worth something. So, my challenge today is trusting that every tomorrow is leading me to this same experience. If my former self knew the successes he’d experience – would that relieve some anxiety? Can I adopt that same energy into my present-day life, knowing everything is going to work out?

The only problem is, the human mind quickly adapts to new things, and that whole “grass is green on the other side” saying is totally true. So, how can I hold my future dreams at the forefront of my mind, yet allow myself to be deeply connected with My Now today? Because as much hope as tomorrow can provide, it is still not guaranteed, so how can I make My Today the best it can possibly be?

I choose to allow myself to simply Be today. With all the work ahead and all the distance I still have from my new goals, it’s OK to Be. It’s OK to enjoy. It’s OK to take a break. Everything is going to work out, and if it doesn’t, then it doesn’t.

Acceptance is my elixir.

Mean People Suck

on By

Listen, I gotta tell you something right now. If you’re trying to get someone to like you — someone who clearly doesn’t — just stop. Let that shit go. You’re better than that.

Imagine yourself as a child, how innocent you were, how you just wanted to be loved and seen. Would you want to put that lil guy through the trauma of trying to play with a bully who kept pushing him down? Nope.

I’ve got some news for you: hurt people hurt people. It’s not your job to find out why they’re potentially part of the walking wounded. Keep it moving, bro.

When 90% of your world responds to you with simple kindness and respect, why bother with the other 10% who wanna make you feel less than? Release them in whatever way is possible for your specific situation. And if you still have to interact them regularly, keep it cute, or put it on mute.

Their may be layers of self-hate and pain there. Or not. Again, not your job to discover the “why,” you just need to love yourself through the process of accepting the situation exactly as it is. Which may be very uncomfortable. But sometimes as adults, we have to accept uncomfortable situations, and just get through them.

If you’re used to people responding to you in a certain way, I know it can be hard when someone varies in a negative way. What part of your own ego can you let go of? How can you practice self respect? And when the urge to people-please rears it’s ugly head, please take a deep breath and be okay with an awkward silence or two.

It’s not your job to make mean people feel uncomfortable.

5 Simple Tips to Start Working as a Model Today

on By

In the last few months, I’ve been blessed to have some pretty epic bookings: a 4-page Men’s Grooming Editorial in GQ Magazine — which featured a whole-page, full-face shot on pg. 20 of the June 2018 Comedy Issue — and campaigns for Descente, Asics, Lululemon and Kenneth Cole. You won’t see my face in all of them, though, as the majority of my modeling work is as a Parts Model.

 

 

Asics Gel Kayano 25

 

In any case, you’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg of hard work I’ve put in for almost half of my lifetime (I began my Modeling Journey at 16 and am now 30).

A lot of people ask me the same question: “How do I become a model?” or “What advice do you have for getting into modeling?”

My first answer is almost always the same, which is “don’t get into it for the money.” Making money as a model sounds great, but there’s a lotttt of behind-the-scenes work that goes into a successful — or moderately successful (or even minimally successful, for that matter) — modeling career. Let’s dive in with my 5 Simple Tips to Start Working as a Model Today:

  1. Determine your Market.

Modeling isn’t all 6-foot + fashion Glamazons. There are other thriving markets, too, like Parts Modeling, Fit and Showroom Modeling, Lifestyle and Commercial Modeling, Fitness Modeling, Promotional Modeling, etc. Research some of these terms to find where you fit, so you can save yourself time and potential heartache by starting in the right sect of the industry. Also, determine if your main goal is to achieve recognizable exposure, or make money as a model, because they don’t always go hand-in-hand.

  1. Create a Model Mayhem profile.

Model Mayhem is where I began building my professional modeling portfolio when I was 18. You can create a profile, upload images, connect with photographers, and even book small jobs to acquire those golden tear sheets.

  1. Take some Polaroids.

If you are totally new to modeling and have never done a professional photo shoot before, take some simple Polaroids like the ones below to market yourself to photographers, agents, and potential clients. Another option is to simply pay a photographer, whose work you like, to do a professional photo shoot, but in my experience, I know that can be a pretty big financial commitment for beginning models. Use these photos below from professional model comp cards to guide you:

 

 

  1. Set up a Photoshoot with a Local Photographer.

Like I mentioned above, you can either pay a photographer of your choosing, or set up a Time for Print (TFP) shoot, which is an exchange shoot for portfolio images, which benefit both you and the photographer in getting future work. Model Mayhem is a great resource for that.

  1. Contact a Local Modeling Agency and see if you can come in for an Open Call.

Local Modeling Agencies can help you get paying work as a model. If they don’t like your look, however, don’t be discouraged, because the majority of working models today have heard tons of “no’s” to get to a “yes.”

“Every model has a different story. Some traveled the world and worked tons in their teen years, plateaued in their mid-20s, then started working up a storm again in their 30s. Others didn’t get big jobs until they were 45. And others hit it big as a child model and kept on going until they were 20, then moved out of the industry. Everyone’s career will look different, but you’ll never know unless you get started today with one small step today.”

 

Celestial Bodies

on By

Open your Eyes and Truly See
My Inner Flame
My Sunrise
Once Extinguished by Shattered Expectations
My Soul
On the Mend
Craving to be Ignited
If I Let you in
Never Cease
To Obliterate my Walls
Until there’s nothing left but You
Me
And our Celestial Bodies

Stand | Believe | ​Nourish

on By

Stand for yourself, and if some days you forget who you are, that’s ok … just keep standing.

Believe in yourself, even after you’ve failed an uncomfortable amount of times.

Nurture yourself, for everything planted is in a state of fruition.

 

Photo credit: @ricokinnard

 

 

5 Reasons To Put Your Ass Out There, Create Bold Content and Not Care What People Think About It

on By 7 Comments

My Mom used to call herself the “Pioneer Woman,” wear too-high-cut-off Wrangler jean shorts on her 5’ 2” frame, drink Popov Vodka all day everyday and pick my brother and I up in a riding lawn mower from the bus stop. Do you think she cared what others thought? Pretty sure she didn’t. I remember my face getting hot when I’d see her there waiting for us – so embarrassing for an 8-year-old living in a town of 400 people (who talked, btw). I mean, was it street-legal? For-sure NO. Was it practical? Actually it was, I mean, we lived on a dirt road in rural Vermont and it was only 7/8th’s of a mile home, so why not attach the trailer hitch to the John Deere, put it in high-speed and go?

For all her craziness, my Mom taught me an important lesson, and it’s taken me almost 30 years to truly live it, and that is: do not care what people think of you. Ok, well, you’re probably still going to care, but don’t let it dictate your actions. Don’t let others’ potentially negative judgements of you prevent you from shining your own brand of light into the world. So, if you’ve been holding back for fear of judgement and have an amazing idea that you want to put out there, you should probably git ta readin’ below.

Continue reading “5 Reasons To Put Your Ass Out There, Create Bold Content and Not Care What People Think About It”

5 Reasons to Tell Your Negative Inner Voice to Go Fuck Itself

on By

When did you start listening to that motherfucker upstairs? That negative, inner voice that holds you back from being your effusive, buoyant and down-right magical self? Mine says stuff like this every time I start writing: “Ugh, you’re sooo full of yourself and pretty annoying, dude. On the real tho… no one gives a fuck what you write; you literally have zero authority or expertise and should probably just go back to hating your life and working 24/7 as a Brooklyn real estate agent because that’s the only thing you’re half-way decent at. You think you’re so fucking perfect and know everything, right? You’re a fuckin’ phony, bro.” What if I actually listened to that bullshit – that negative self-talk coming in to crush any sort of positive imprint I could have on the world and on my own own life? Read below for my 5 Reasons to Tell Your Negative Inner Voice to Go Fuck Itself.

Continue reading “5 Reasons to Tell Your Negative Inner Voice to Go Fuck Itself”