So a few weeks ago, I received a call from a random number, but I picked up because the call came from my state. It was the assistant of a talent scout from Barbizon wanting to arrange a meeting and interview with me. At the time, I knew nothing about them and only saw them advertised in the back of Seventeen magazines.
I was extremely confused because I'd never applied to the agency or had any sort of contact with them before, but the girl had told me that somebody had personally recommended me to them and given my phone number. They didn't know who had called for me because he or she didn't give their name, but apparently they thought I was worthy to try to be apart of the agency.
My mom arranged a time to meet with her at a Holiday Inn 45 minutes away from where I live. She said the interview would only take about half an hour where she would just take the time to get to know me/assess my personality and looks.
I thought we'd go in, talk with the assistant, then leave. But when I went, I sat through a meeting consisting of a roomful of other guys/girls for over an hour and listened to a speaker tell us about Barbizon and the different brands we would have the opportunity to work for, if we were selected to be in the agency.
There were 3 groups of potentials, myself being in the 2nd group I believe, and only 15 people would be selected to move onto training and then become a part of the agency full time.
There were 3 talent scouts doing the interviews, and since they were about half an hour long with a roomful of other people, you can imagine it took quite awhile to get to everybody. I had to wait a considerable time, but my interview was very short and to the point. I was asked about my grades in school, extracurriculars, hobbies, talents, interests, and of course, my info about height, weight, and so on. The scout was immediately attracted to my hair, it being 2 feet long, and said if I was chosen to go into training, I could have a future career in hair modeling and hair shows. She also asked me to walk down the room and back to see how I walk, and also concluded I had potential in runway, modeling, and possible acting opportunities.
She said she would call my mom the very next day telling her whether I was selected or not, and told us the fees for training if I did get a yes. It ended up being $2100, and that made us skeptical about the whole thing. After my mom and I left, we decided that even if I got a yes, we would pass because I couldn't see myself being in the agency for over a year. The training lasts 6 months, so after I graduated from that, it would be the start of my senior year in high school. I would do and look for work during that year, but I wouldn't want to do it while in college. It's strenuous enough attending university, so I didn't want to add a modeling/acting career to that as well. I wouldn't have the time or energy to devote to constantly looking for bookings and work.
I actually ended up getting selected as one of the 15, and after listening to the scout talk about everything again, my mom did a 180 and changed her mind. She wanted me to do it, was completely willing to pay for it, and thought it'd be a good opportunity. She checked with the scout about my college concerns, and she said that they book a lot of work in the city where I plan to attend school. At that point, I didn't care anymore about it and told my mom that if my dad said it was alright to do it, I would, but if he wasn't, oh well. He said no, because he thought the whole thing was a huge scam. and after I thought about it, so did I. Ford Modeling Agency, for instance, has walk in assessments and will take you on as a model for FREE if they think you're qualified.
So in the end, I'm glad I decided not to go through with it/my dad decided against it. I would like to model at least once in my lifetime, but if I do, I won't need to pay for a thing.
I don't recommend that anybody try to be a part of this agency. If you really want to model, look for agencies like Ford who do open casting calls and will sign you for free!
Thanks for reading, feel free to comment or suggest any ideas for posts you'd like to see from me!
XO, Blue
