Dresses

A Model Canadian


If only everyone's first job involved flying to an exotic location for a photo shoot. For Calgary model Stephen Kroeger, his first modeling gig was just that. The twenty-year-old university student is already signed with four agencies and has lived in New York City and Greece for work. After his gym teacher suggested he go talk to an agency about a future in modeling, Stephen signed with Mode. Kroeger, in Greece working at the moment, was at his construction job last summer when he got a call from his manager. "My first real photo shoot was really exciting...I got a call telling me I had been direct booked to do an editorial for Sir magazine...in the jungle in Columbia." From there, things started picking up. Kroeger spent January in New York, living in Queens. While it seems like a dream, Kroeger says it's frustrating to be living in a different city, or country, and trying to get work. Unlike anything that the hockey player and sports enthusiast had experienced, the lack of work got to be a drag. With not much to do, Kroeger says, "I started to miss home quite a bit; my family friends, and definitely the food."

A cold winter in January was soon replaced by his current stint in Greece, where beach time and site-seeing is on the agenda, along with many a go-see. Group go-sees are tough, says Kroeger, as you try and stand out among several other models and have no chance to talk one-on-one with any of the booking agents. When asked what his favorite go-see was, Kroeger replied, "My favorite go-sees or castings are the ones I'm able to go to by myself and actually have some time to talk with the editor." The personable Canadian is most enthusiastic though about all the different people he's met, with models from the USA, South Africa, South America, and even Israel at the hotel where Kroeger is living. The country with the most model representatives though? Canada of course.

The job has definitely changed his views on the fashion industry. "Before I started modeling, the only things I knew about modeling came from the movie Zoolander and tabloid magazines." Now, Kroeger has come to see he's among equals, with most of the models he's met being either university students or graduates. Warned that editors, photographers, and booking agents were rude, Kroeger says he's never had a bad experience with anyone and has met incredibly nice people. As for his plans for the future, Kroeger thinks he'll model while he finishes university, and maybe for a few years after, but can't see himself getting into it as a career. "I don't want to end up like Johnny Drama, from Entourage, going to castings and fighting for jobs."

Thanks Stephen!

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