Answering a Reader Question #430

Anonymous Wrote:


Hi Dania!!

I've wanted to be a male model for quite sometime and now that I will be moving to Chicago for college, I think its a great time to start. I'm 17 but I don't plan on starting until I'm 18 which will be this November. I'm 6'3 and while I don't have the best body in terms of washboard abs, I will working on my body between now and the time I start going to open calls. I really want to do high fashion modeling and runway. I've been doing tons of research in the Chicago area and I've come across agencies like Ford and BMG, but I know I should look at more agencies than those and so my first question is: Do know of any other respectable agencies in the area that I should think about looking into for the type of modeling I want to do? My main goal is to model full time and move to New York and so my second question is: How does one make that transition to moving into the New York market? Is it the models decision, or the agencies? Do they provide you a place to live if you are instantly sprung into New York? Thank you for your time (: P.S. I absolutely love your blog and its nice to hear info from someone that has been in the business and not just from some website that claims they know haha.

Hey there, Anonymous!

Thanks for the kind words and being a reader, I'm happy to be able to help! Aside from BMG and Ford, there was only one other agency in the area that has a runway/high fashion division and didn't raise my red flags:

Agency Galatea Model & Artist Management
http://www.agencygalatea.com

Making the move from Chicago to NY can be determined by either the model or the agency. In most cases, the model makes the decision and simply leaves one agency for another. However, in the instance of working with a "mother agency," the agency itself is the one to initiate the move. Mother agencies specialize in promoting its models so they can be placed in larger markets. To learn more about mother agencies, click on the link to my blog post below:

Understanding the Role of Mother Agencies in Modeling

In the event that your current agent doesn't have experience with placing models in other markets via the mother agency role, then it is entirely your decision to leave. Of course it is best to first wait until you have actually secured representation from an agency in NY before terminating your contract with your Chicago agent. When you do this (should you find yourself in this situation) just make sure to follow whatever instructions are listed in your contract for how to properly terminate your modeling contract. You aren't obligated to tell your agent your reasons for leaving or the name of the new agency in New York you're going to.

To answer your next question, there is model housing offered by some NY agencies but not all so it's important to find out when you submit yourself or attend open castings which ones have this option for its newly signed models. Hope that helps!

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