PART 1 — How I started my career as a Model Scout and Agent.
The true story of dreams coming true.
I was just a 16-year-old boy from Estonia when I knew fashion was my future! With no fashion background, I had no idea how to make my dream of becoming a model agent come true.
People doubt the law of attraction, but today I thank the universe for helping me.
Of course, I also had to persevere in chasing a job in such a glamorous yet cut-throat industry. Luckily, I kept pushing through struggle after struggle, and now I can say I made it to the words best agency! Here you will read my self-reflective story on how I got there.
As Steve Jobs said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect the dots looking backwards.”
Join me on a journey of connecting dots that make dreams come true.
I can’t tell you how to live your life, but I can try to encourage and inspire you to trust your gut and set bigger goals until your dreams become reality.
Where I am today
For the last two years, Elite Model Management in Paris has been my home. I ended up there after leaving behind an agency I built from scratch over five years. I now work as an international scout and new face development agent at this prestigious agency.
Sun Tzu, in his book The Art of War wrote, “Throw your soldiers into positions from whence there is no escape and they will prefer death to flight. If they will face death, there is nothing they may not achieve.”
Sun Tzu’s philosophy can be found in various modern business books too and it describes my situation perfectly — cut off all possibilities of retreat, and with a clear goal in mind, the rest will fall into place.
I knew New York was my goal, so I packed my bags and got on a plane. Out of the two meetings I had, I got two offers. Things are about to get exciting! Next thing you know, I got an invitation to go work in Paris for Elite.
But first, how did I even got there?
A transformational moment in my life.
When I was a teenager, a flashy book caught my eye. At first, I thought it was a fiction book. I never liked fiction books and wasn’t even going to open it. But, I did, and it blew me away!
The Secret, written by Rhonda Byrne, was the first book I ever bought, and to me the concept of achieving anything you want through the law of attraction was groundbreaking! I believe it is this mindset that has opened door after door for me on my journey in the fashion industry.
But let’s go back to when my love for fashion first started. I am sharing a big part of my youth here because you should never forget where you came from on your way to getting where you are going.
Youth
I lived for the summer time! My days were spent with friends riding our bikes through the streets with the sun beating down on our backs. And when we had enough of pedaling through the town, we would break a sweat building our very own treehouse.
The day always ended with us gathering at one of our favorite places to discuss the activities of the day and, at times, the ups and downs of life. They were all older than me, so I learned a lot from them.
I remember lying in bed, replaying each day over and over like a movie. Those were the best days of my life!
Then came the troubled teenage years.
I tell you, living on your own terms is not easy. I managed to get myself into quite a bit of trouble. At some point, my parents received a phone call from the police — I was caught smoking!
As you can probably imagine, my grades were not great. I never saw the point of most of the subjects at school and instead of studying, I played computer games. But I don’t regret being a bad student. If I am honest, I am quite upset that so much of my time was wasted on boring, useless things.
You can find most of the things online nowadays anyway, so why sweat it?
I am, however, grateful that my parents forced me to study and do good in English. It was quite a struggle, but English has now become the main language I use to communicate.
One subject I wish they would teach you at school is how to use your brain efficiently. Now, that is a subject I find important. But, one thing is for sure, with enough hard work, any skill can be learned.
Take me for example, technology is my thing. It is an interest I inherited from my grandfather, yet somehow, I ended up going into fashion!
It all started with my love for a specific clothing brand. The shopping options in Estonia are quite limited and very few places ship to my country. That means, if you want something cool, you must travel to Finland or Sweden. Luckily for me, my girlfriend moved to Finland. With her logistical help, I was able to take my first entrepreneurial steps and started drop shipping.
But adding items to a shopping cart became boring very quickly and I quit.
Getting into photography
I started taking pictures of my friends for fun but soon realized I enjoyed being behind a camera. The results, however, left me cold and I decided to enroll in a photography course. There I learned about all the technical aspects like aperture and shutter speed but nothing about fashion photography. It became clear I was wasting my time — I did not want to take photos of waterfalls, I wanted to take beautiful photos of models. I swapped going to the course by going to the library.
I remained curious and read a book where photographers shared their stories. Several of them mentioned the secret to their success was first becoming an assistant to a photographer, who could train you on the job. I then made it my mission to find a mentor!
At the time I was still at school part-time and working at a telephone survey company. Some of the scrips were so boring and basic that I had time to browse through magazines. My favorite was Avenuu, the only real fashion magazine in Estonia.
I loved the work of a photographer who went by the name, Woland. When I first saw his work in Avenuu, I knew I wanted to be his assistant. Thank the universe for Google! I found his information on his website and Skype and contacted him, asking if it would be able for me to assist him. I was so excited when he said yes and invited me to meet with him. That day, I remember like it was yesterday.
It was a dark winter day and freaking cold outside. I arrived outside an old factory, which is now revamped into the studio. No one was there — Woland was already 15 minutes late. I waited and waited. I couldn’t feel my feet so cold was it outside.
“Another five minutes,” I said to myself. “Then I am leaving.”
A small car with an Italian number plate came driving up, and in my nervousness, I completely forgot about the freezing weather.
“Ciao!” Woland said and invited me inside.
His studio was on the 4th floor. A magical place with rock music playing through speakers and lights so cozily set, you can’t help but fall in love with the atmosphere of the space. It wasn’t just a workplace, it was a place where you could come search for inspiration. I just wanted to be there all the time.
He put his stuff down, introduced me to his studio partners and got straight to business.
“Alex, take some books, look at the editorials there and tell me the story,” Woland said.
I was confused. No one at the photography course asked me to analyze or think of the story behind a photo. Long story short, I failed completely. I could not describe anything about the picture and the little bit I could explain, I was too shy to say out loud. I thought that was the end of my career as Woland’s assistant.
But being a true mentor, he suggested I browse through various photography books and said he would get in touch with me when he has a photoshoot.
Weeks went by, and nothing. I was really close to sending him a letter but didn’t. I did, however, stalk him on his social media and discovered that he actually had a photoshoot and didn’t invite me! I was so upset. The next day, I got my act together and reminded him of my existence. And a week later, I was at a test shoot with him, an Italian model agent and his models. This meeting and similar future meetings always left me ecstatic. I felt like I was meeting such important people.
After a few weeks of observing, carrying bags, and meeting people, I could use the studio space for free. Oh, I was so excited. I organized a photoshoot of a clothing collection that my friend made at school. I was very proud of the photos, of course, when I look at them today, I cringe at how bad they are.
But good or bad, that sealed the deal, and I knew that was what I wanted to do. I started to learn photoshop and took as many photos as I could . . . until the studio partners decided that assistants are not allowed to use the studio for free anymore.
Photography wasn’t bringing in any money at that time. What else did I expect? I was 17-years-old, working part-time at a telephone survey company, with only limited time to take photos. Anyway, it was almost Summer time and I did not want to be stuck inside, repeating boring scrips, so I quit. I could help my father at the construction site for money — I didn’t mind manual labor, it was like getting paid to go to the gym.
SIDE NOTE: The studio is now closed.
One day, I got a call from a stranger.
“Hey, Alex, you shot a clothing collection of a friend of mine. Do you have time to shoot in a club this Friday?”
The fact that I was 17 and I’ve never taken a photo in a club did not stop me from saying yes. And I am I glad I did, it was a game changer for me. They liked my work and I was invited on constant basis.
The nights in the club were insane. The camera was a complete girl magnet and I obviously enjoyed all the attention. I was getting free drinks and to a barely legal person, this was a new world. I became my friends’ key to fun and excitement. Of course, being the savvy businessman that I am, I saw an opportunity; I charged them. I was making more money from adding my friends to the VIP list and selling them drinks, than from photography.
People were taking advantage of me, or should I say, I let them, but I turned it into my favor. Money was anyway secondary to me. I was meeting so many people and many of them remain good friends to this day.
Funny to look back at all. We were doing some insane things.
A meeting that determined my career.
Woland later invited me to another of his photoshoots. It was another test shoot. I could not pass the chance of learning something new. At the shoot I met a lovely, humble couple, an Estonian fashion designer and Italian architect. We connected immediately and they and their project would soon become a very important part of my life.
They were starting an agency called STARSYSTEM in Estonia. It was founded in collaboration of Jeremie Roux and John Casablancas who was the founder Elite Model Agency.
I was excited to meet them. I always wanted to shoot real models but never had access to them. The models Woland shot always took my breath away and scouting these beautiful women seemed amazing. Anyway, I love fashion so much, whatever opportunity I had to participate in the industry always give me chills.
Slapped by reality
The only understanding of the model agency business I had was from the things I saw on the Internet and TV. At that time, there wasn’t much information on the subject, just a few articles, documentaries and of course the famous TV show — America’s Next Top Model.
It came as a surprise that being a scout in Estonia meant that you had to chase after girls and convince them of giving modelling a try.
I thought every girl’s dream was to become a model and they would chase me for this opportunity!
But that didn’t stop me. It was a Summer school break and I was spending my time at Kay’s Clothing Studio, scouting models. She shared some tips and tricks and valuable knowledge with me, and I hit the streets looking for the next Estonian top model. To be honest, I didn’t really have a clue how a good model should look.
Instead of just scouting the streets, I decided to turn to my circle of friends. Thanks to working in the nightclub and having a very social life, I knew a lot of good-looking people.
Signing my first models
Josephine, one of my friends who wanted to be a model, took the bait and I was thrilled. I really liked her look, but more importantly, so did the people in Paris.
Another friend of mine, Viktoria, also decided to sign with me after nothing was happening in her career at the agency she was at.
School break was over
But going to school, working on my fashion photography, as well as working nights at the club, didn’t leave me much time to scout. I needed to meet Jeremie and John, who was still alive back then, to find purpose and motivation.
Skype that changed to course of my life.
“Nice to meet you, Aleks. Can you tell us more about yourself?” asked Jeremie, who was the President of STARSYSTEM. It was once again a scary moment. This time, I was more prepared and left a made a first impression.
During the call, Kai announced that she was moving to China. They suggested that I take over scouting.
“Me?” I thought. I was just a few months away from turning 18, and their confidence in me was a monumental boost to my self-esteem. Without having to be asked twice, I said yes. Even though I had no idea how, I just knew it was the opportunity of a lifetime.
And that is the beginning of a very long but interesting story. In the second part, I will talk about the 5-year-long journey of building the agency into a Top 3 agency in Tallinn and finding models who worked in all the major fashion capitals of the world.
