Time for a change.

I gave IMG two years of my career and they led me down the wrong business path by not leading me at all.  I had no direction and felt that I had no relationships with any of my bookers except for one.  I knew it was time so I told them I was leaving.  They wished me all the best in the future and sent me off with their blessings.  What now?  I was homeless again and had no money in my checking account.  I called my two friends who lived on the upper east side and asked if I could crash on their couch for a month if I gave them some money.  That worked and I started working catering jobs as much as possible.  I saved up 300 dollars and paid to Clarissa at the end of the month and I was back on the street with no agency and no place to lay my head.  When things couldn't seem any more doomed I got a call from my buddy Bekim (which means blessing in Albanian) and he asked how I was doing and offered his crib for free.  That's some Phileos love for me.  Preesh. 

Viva Italia!!!

Italy is all about enjoying life and the different tastes of it.  Buffala Mozzarella that melts in your mouth, beef carpacio that does the same and mosquitos to carry you off in your sleep.  I was put with an agency in Milano called Attraction models my first show season as a favor for my NY agent.  He had a friend who was a booker at a small agency that was just starting and didn't have a good reputation.  They put me in a two star hotel which also served as a brothel and that was that.  I was quizzed by casting directors for shows as to why I was with trashcan models, which I guess rhymed with Attraction when I was with IMG in NYC??  Dunno, wasted my time modeling in Italy the first couple of seasons.  I did travel while I was there and made good friends which both have value in other ways.   Oh yeah, Italy won the World Cup while I was at the beach!  ONWARD!

Roughness

Wow, what a battle it has been.  I have crawled through the mud for sure.  NYC NYC!!!  Signed with IMG and thought that I would be set.... wrong.  Reality bites sometimes and this time it took quite the chunk out of my leg and truthfully it was hard to stand, much less walk.  I got sent to Italy and tried to forget my failing existence as an IMG model.

Next stop...

After going back to Georgia with no money in my pocket and no place to stay, so I started working for my dad's construction business.  Twas a big change working 12 hour days, but I did what I could to stay sane (read my bible) and survived with some money.  I had a dream about a city with lights everywhere, and a woman there to love and enjoy it with.  It was awesome and I knew it was NYC.  But... I knew this wasn't the time.  I had been told I would have to travel around Europe first to build my book before going to NY.  Called my agent, told him I wanted to go to Europe, he said NYC, we agreed.  Two weeks later I arrived.

Anarchy in the Deutschland...

Talk about not being in Kansas no mo' though!  This was the beginning of the expansion of my horizons in the "what is acceptable" realm.  Traveling really opens up a person's eyes to new things... good and bad.  Anarchy doesn't really rein in Hamburg but the people are very liberal, especially the young folk.  Hamburg reminded me of a big German speaking Alphabet City... or if you reside in ATL, a big 5 Points.

Model Apartments...uhhh or ahhhh!

The first model apartment I stayed in was in Hamburg Germany and it was ahhh..uh.  Mostly ahhh and a little uh.  I got there and it was cool. I had packed my two gigantic suitcases full of things I did not need, each weighing over 45 lbs and walked in the door.  No elevator... what!?  5th floor walkup!? uh.  The view on the back porch was cool though... ahhhhh, notice the Nazi Germany bunker in the background?  Nice touch...