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3 ~The First Milestone: Steps 1-4 1. Research the Best Agencies in Your Area A. Spend the next few days or weeks asking individuals, studying, and researching information on agencies in your area. You are trying to find agencies that have great reviews. Find agencies that get their models a good amount of fitness modeling work and that treat their models well! The more research you do now, the better of an agency you will find yourself in later. Nobody wants to be with a bad agency that treats them poorly and doesn t get them work. 2. Pick 3 Agencies and Contact Them (e-mail, phone, or stop in) A. Simply contact each one and find out what each agency requires. i. Do you need professional photos taken by a professional photographer, or raw photos (completely basic photos of you in raw form to show the agency a natural version of yourself), or both? Do you need head-shots and or body-shots? Find out. ii. Measurements. Find out which measurements each agency requires and provide them. iii. Do you need a Portfolio (a 9 12 casing that holds your collection of photographs, aka your book)?
4 iv. Do you need Composite Cards (a models business card, headshot on front with credible photos and measurements on back)? Perhaps the agency will help you get them? Find out. 3. Get the Photos, Measurements, Portfolio, Comp Cards, etc. A. How to get professional photos? i. If the agency requires professional photos ask them if they have any recommendations (often they will have photographers they work closely with and at discount prices). You may also research the best photographers in your area on your own. The idea is to get incredible shots, for this will only increase your credibility. So try to work with the best you can afford. B. How to get raw photos? i. Raw photos are easy. Grab a camera and a buddy and snap some photos. Get full body, from the waistline up, and head-shots as well. Just simple basic photos. Do not worry here; some agencies require these so they can get a natural look at you. They are not meant to resemble a GQ photo shoot. Keep it simple. C. How to Get Measurements?
5 i. Grab some measuring tape and without too much tension, simply measure the required areas (find out from the agency which ones are required). You want the tape to be tight to the skin, but not excessively tight. D. How to Get a Portfolio? i. Ask the agency. They will likely have portfolio options of their own. If they do not have them or they are too expensive, you may also go online and find great, affordable portfolios on your own. Just make sure they are the right size to hold your photographs (typically 9 x 12). E. How to Get Composite Cards? i. Just as the portfolio, ask the agency if they have any suggestions (in fact, many agencies use online comp cards and portfolios, so little work is necessary on your part). Agencies may have specific types they create for you. If not, there are many printing companies that will help create them for you as well. Remember, they should have a strong headshot and your name on the front, with 3 or 4 photos plus your measurements on the back. This layout works best. See examples at the end of this chapter. 4. Submit Measurements and Photos to Agencies A. Submit measurements and photos to the agencies you chose and wait to hear back. i. They may desire to meet you in person at the agency. This is a good thing.
6 B. If they replied NO, or gave no response at all, get more photos and re-submit. If still NO, try other agencies. C. If YES Congratulations You officially have representation by an agency and are completed with the first milestone; making you one step closer to becoming a fitness model. Getting started is always the hardest part and once you have finished the first milestone you have done just that. You have done your research, gotten a few professional photos, comp cards, a portfolio if necessary, and subsequently, you have landed your first official modeling agency. Once you have an agency you can begin to go on castings, go-sees, and hopefully land your first fitness modeling job. So with that said, we move on to The Second Milestone of The Authentic Step By Step Guide to Becoming a Successful Fitness Model! You are now ready for Phase 2 of 3: landing your first fitness modeling job!
7 Example Composite Card: Headshot on front with name, 3-4 strong photos on back with measurements. The Second Milestone Most people only dream of becoming a Fitness Model, but never go through with the steps necessary to become one. You are now ready to attack the second milestone. As noted earlier, each milestone has a focus and the first milestone focused on preparation and landing your very first agency. The second milestone focuses on gaining experience and landing your
8 first fitness modeling job! This is the most exciting part; the culmination of your initial hard work and sweat, finally leading to your very first modeling job. In this phase you will learn to prepare for work (poses and body angles), attend your first casting, learn to deal with rejection, and learn what to expect while on your first job. So let s get started. This is phase 2 of 3 in the Authentic Step By Step Guide to Becoming a Successful Fitness Model. The Second Milestone: The next 5 steps (Follow these steps in order) 1. Prepare for Work: Poses and Body/Facial Angles A. Next time you are out, grab a couple of fitness magazines and study the poses most commonly used in them. You can also search the web for Fitness Modeling Poses to gain a better understanding. The idea is to practice these poses until you are completely confident in them. One of the nice things about Fitness Modeling is that a lot of the poses are often quite easy. Just flex a little and look natural. Then again, some shoots require an in depth knowledge of the mechanics of body movements. This is because you may be demonstrating many of these exercise patterns for others and proper mechanics are essential. So learn how to squat, dead lift, lunge, etc., properly or you may be missing out on some opportunities. B. Also, find your most photogenic facial and body angles by studying yourself in the mirror. Every successful model knows exactly which angles make them look their best. These are the angles they jump to whenever they have their picture taken. You should find your angles.
9 C. If you haven t already, get your portfolio and composite cards if your agency requires them. 2. First Casting! A. The agency will inform you of the who, what, when, why, and where of the casting. They will explain what to bring and who to see. B. Arrive early. Plan for traffic or any other setbacks. Give yourself more time than needed. C. Bring portfolio and composite cards if necessary. You may have the agency help you organize these. 3. Dealing with Rejection A. It is incredibly important for you to realize that you are not somehow flawed if they do not choose you. There may be 100 models at a casting where they only need one. That means 99 models will not get the job. It also depends on exactly what the client wants and needs. You may be the most chiseled guy at the audition, but if they are looking for a young, Hispanic girl, your odds are slim. Keep casting and practicing. Your time will certainly come (castings are great ways to connect with other models, clients, photographers, etc., so they are never a waste). 4. Your First Job! A. Plan just like a casting. i. The agency will inform you of what to bring, where to go, and when to be there. This is easy, just follow their directions and arrive early. B. Bring extra wardrobe if necessary.
10 i. Though you will likely be showing off skin, bring a good amount of whatever else they ask for (i.e. shorts, shoes). This only makes you look better to the client. C. Always be polite and courteous. i. You may receive future jobs from them. D. Get waiver signed. i. The agency may likely have you get a waiver signed by the client at the end of a job. The agency will provide you with these. This is standard for many jobs. It is like a contract between the agency and client establishing hours worked, overtime, and other stipulations. 5. Get Photos or Finished Product. A. Once the job is done, your next challenge becomes getting the finished photographs. Whatever job it is, try to get the tear sheets (examples of actual work, typically from magazines) or final photographs because they will go into your portfolio, featuring your hard work and hopefully helping you land other, bigger jobs. This is critical; better pictures help you land better jobs. B. Payment will usually take between 1-3 months. This is standard. Work hard to complete these five steps and you will have successfully completed your Second Milestone Getting your first job! If completed, you are now one milestone away from becoming a Professional Fitness Model. You have successfully learned how to prepare for work, i.e. poses and angles. You also gained experience in attending your first casting, learning to deal with rejection, and what to expect while on your first job. All of this only adds to your overall
11 experience and professionalism. Now that we have established ourselves as actual working Fitness Models, let s move on to the next milestone where we will learn how to establish ourselves as successful, high-profile Fitness Models. Milestone 3 gives us all the tools needed to make it as big as we want to be. The honest question is how far do you want to go? Phase 3 will give you all that you want and more. With that said, let s move on to The Third Milestone of The Authentic Step By Step Guide to Becoming a Successful Fitness Model! Faith is taking the first step even when you don't see the whole staircase. Martin Luther King, Jr. The Third Milestone This third and final milestone is going to take you from a beginner fitness model to an experienced, established and professional fitness model. This milestone focuses on how to land more modeling jobs so that you can push the limits of your success. Some individuals may wish to pursue their dreams on the side and treat Fitness Modeling as more of a hobby, while others may want to shoot for the moon and try to make it their full time job. This milestone has something for everyone you can stop whenever you desire, or see the entire process through. This entire outline was designed to help models make it to the top. If you have made it this far, you have achieved what few others have. This is Milestone 3 of 3 in the Authentic Step By Step Guide to Becoming a Successful Fitness Model.
12 The Third Milestone: The Last 5 Steps. 1. Keep Shooting. A. Get more and more photos. Keep adding to your portfolio. This will also help you gain experience. The bigger and better your portfolio is, and the more experience you have, the more sought after you will be. Make fitness clients wish they could hire you. 2. Establish Yourself in Your Market. A. Establishing yourself takes time because there are likely a few Fitness Models and clients in your town, whether big or small. It will take a while to meet and build relationships with them all. So hang in there and keep making connections with all the clients you can. Once you have proven yourself a trustworthy Fitness Model, word will spread and clients will begin to use you more routinely. 3. Now is the Time to Sincerely Ask Yourself, Is it time to go bigger? A. Are their better agencies for you? i. Not all agencies work for everyone and just because one is the closest or the biggest doesn t necessarily mean they will be the best fit for you. If things seem like they could be better, perhaps it is time to find another agency and try your hand with them. B. Is there anything I can do better or improve? i. Is your portfolio getting full? Is your comp card strong? Do you have all of your poses and movement patterns down? Find your weak areas and
13 turn them into strengths. If you have done all these things and feel like there is nothing left to do in your current market, perhaps it is time to make a change. C. Do you need a bigger market? i. Ask yourself, Is this market too small or have I reached my potential here? It might be time to look at bigger cities with bigger markets. Some of the larger Fitness Modeling markets include: NY, Miami, LA, and Chicago. 4. Transitioning Into A Larger Market. A. Would you rather be a big fish in a small pond, or a small fish in a big pond? Option A (big fish, small pond) is to continue to connect, market, establish, freelance, use multiple agencies, whatever it takes to become a staple in the market you are in until every major fitness client knows your name and uses you regularly, or B. Option B (small fish, big pond); start submitting your stuff to larger markets. Depending on how close you are to these cities, if they accept you, you may just have to drive a bit farther for jobs and castings (you should ask about direct bookings jobs awarded to you without a casting). Otherwise, depending on how big you really want to go, and whether or not there is interest, you may contemplate moving near the larger city and market and begin establishing yourself there. This can be exciting and a lot of fun, but requires passion and determination. (If option B is your choice, repeat steps 2-5 of the first series to help obtain the best agency.)
14 i. Most models end up living with option A. But every now and then, a few brave ones take the plunge and challenge themselves by choosing option B. Regardless, take as much time as needed to make the right decision. 5. Make Fitness Modeling Your Job! A. Work your tail off and build strong relationships. This will bring continuity to your workload. After a while, major clients in your market will know and rebook you more frequently (this can take years, but can lead to a consistent and lucrative income). Once you have strong, established trust, as well as continuity with most of the major fitness clients, you will notice that jobs come to you. You no longer have so many castings or go-sees, as you are directly booked for jobs. They already know you are worth the price and will pay top dollar to get you. i. If you have achieved this step Congratulations you are now a Professional Fitness Model! Now if you have gotten this far, Heaven is the limit for you. You are currently living a life others dream of night after night. You have made it where most have failed. Only a handful of fitness models that I know have made it this far, and most models following this Layout, literally scripted for success, will quit before they reach this point. This is the layout that I use, as well as others who have come to me hoping for a method that will finally help them get started and allowing them to do what they have only previously dreamt of doing. You have now done it all: gotten yourself an agency, attended your first casting, landed your first fitness modeling job, and have seen what it is like to earn a solid income from living out your dream!
15 Most great people have attained their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure. Napoleon Hill