Model scout Kirk Blake on why the Gold Coast is one of the best places to find new talent

World-renowned model scout Kirk Blake reveals why this city is king for fresh male talent … but he has a blunt message for our girls. READ WHAT HE SAID

World-renowned model scout Kirk Blake.

He’s the man with the golden eye … and he has his sights set on the Gold Coast.

Kirk Blake, the scout who discovered male supermodel Jordan Barrett from Tweed Heads, is back in the land of milk and honey – or ‘blue steel’ and cheekbones.

Considered one of the world’s top model scouts, Mr Blake, who works for Hamburg-based model agency Kult, has long considered southeast Queensland prime territory for fresh talent.

And these school holidays, he’s back on our streets again.

With three locally-sourced talents currently carving up the catwalks in Europe, any males under the age of 25 who measure up to a very specific 186cm to 190cm, with a waist size between 80cm and 92cm, should come to the Coast to put their best foot forward.

But the news is not quite so great for our Gold Coast girls, with Mr Blake begging them to leave their faces alone.

“This has become the worst place in Australia for cosmetic surgery. Girls feel they need to have their lips done, their boobs done, their nose, everything. But that’s the last thing we want,” he said.

“However, the Gold Coast is still such a great place for scouting – there are always so many people coming in and out of the city, and it’s a younger demographic.

“It’s especially great for male models, it’s such a healthy lifestyle. The Sunshine Coast is growing and Byron Bay is good too, but you get the most traffic here.

“There was one guy I discovered here, he’s actually Italian but was on an exchange program, and I literally chased him down while he was getting on a bus. After so long in this industry, I know talent when I see it and you have to go after it. It takes a special look to be scouted, if I’m lucky I find 10 new faces a year.

“Women still make a lot more than men when it comes to modelling, but it’s getting harder to find fresh faces, especially on the Gold Coast. If I could send a message out to the girls, it’s to please leave themselves alone. Just moisturise and keep it natural.

“I had the most incredible girl, she had what we call a prolific nose, a bump on her nose, but it made her so memorable and unique – and gorgeous. Then she got a nose job and we couldn’t book her. There was nothing that set her apart anymore.”

While height is non-negotiable for models, between 175cm and 180cm for girls, Mr Blake said it took much more than just a pretty face.

He said impact, memorability and even personality were critical requirements.

However, he said developing an eye for true talent took time, followed by an investment in development.

“Our clients are trying to sell products, so the key is that this model has to sell a look or an image that people want … and they’ll buy the products to get that,” he said.

“When I first started scouting, I would submit new faces and there was a lot of rejection, but then one day it just clicked. Now, it’s second nature.

“The truth is that anyone can model … but few can actually make money doing it.

“I get people sending me submissions all the time but if it’s a guy who is 5ft10, it’s just never going to work. Try acting. And if I hear one more person say they could do face modelling, I’ll scream. There’s no such thing.

“Clients want models with versatility, and that’s more than skin deep.

“You can be as good looking as you want but you need to be able to back it up with personality, because brands now are looking for a complete package … are you intelligent? Can you be a spokesperson? Are you going to be able to communicate effectively and represent their brand?

“Especially with social media, people view you 24/7 so you need to be on your game.”

Mr Blake said while he could “tell in 10 seconds” whether someone had the right look to model, it was still a long road to the top of the catwalk.

He said one of the biggest names he’d ever scouted, Jordan Barrett, now the highest paid male model in the world, had taught him the importance of meeting with families to ensure there was a solid support system.

Australian model Jordan Barrett. Photo: Tom Parrish

Barrett’s parents, Allison Cale and Adrian Barrett, were sentenced to jail in 2013 for their involvement in a $12 million drug ring.

“I spotted Jordan in the Pines Shopping Centre when he was 13, he didn’t start modelling until later but we signed him up because you could just see his impact. But Jordan had a pretty rough upbringing,” he said.

“I have a lot of empathy for him really, because he never had that kind of moral grounding.

“He was thrust into the limelight and people love to build you up and then knock you down, but he was carrying a lot of baggage. Until you walk in somebody else’s shoes, you don’t know what they’re doing to survive.

“But that experience taught me a lot, too, now I have a kind of sixth sense of whether a kid and their family can handle the ups and downs of the industry.”

Mr Blake said while agencies invested a lot of money in potential talent, they also expected a strong work ethic.

He said ensuring models had family support was important not just for them, but for the agencies as well.

“You do have to protect the brand but the wellbeing of the models is first, and that’s why the first question we ask is how old someone is – if they’re under 18 then I give them my card and tell them to get their parents to call me. We don’t have business conversations with minors,” he said.

“This industry has changed a lot in recent years but there are still some dubious characters out there.

“No matter their age, these are all young people so we meet with their families and explain the process to them. Then there’s a test shoot with a photographer to see how they take to film.

“We advance a lot of the funds for them, but we have to make them aware that this is essentially accruing debt. That’s why we won’t advance everything, they need to have a vested interest so that they take it seriously and so that we know they will take it seriously.

“We’re dealing with 18-year-olds and they get to New York and think, ‘oh my God, free entry to the nightclubs and partying and alcohol’, and they forget the agency has them there to work. It’s not a game. This is not a fraternity or a sorority.”

Born in Canada, Mr Blake said it was his ability to spot talent that first brought him to Australia and later the Gold Coast.

It was a chance meeting first with one of the directors from the legendary Elite Modelling Agency that introduced him to his career and then a fellow ferry passenger that introduced him to his soon-to-be new home.

“I’m originally from Calgary, Canada and in the late 1980s I was at a nightclub when I met this modelling director and I made him laugh so he was like, come work for me,” he said.

“So I started as an intern and ended up moving to Vancouver when I met this guy on a ferry who was saying how he wished he could move to Australia. That had never been on my radar but then I looked into it and thought, that place sounds great – so I bought a one-way ticket and have been here since.

“I had been in conversations with Peter Chadwick, from Chadwick Models, who was just an incredible man, and I was sort of freelance scouting for them. I didn’t really take it that seriously but then one of the directors from IMG in New York asked one of the agents where he was getting all of this incredible talent, and they said ‘it’s this guy Kirk Blake’.

“So then they contacted me directly and said they wanted me to scout for them and it just took off.”

Mr Blake said while working with models might seem glamorous, it was a lot of hard work.

He said he was often exhausted from hitting every concert, sports show and Schoolies, always trying to find the next big thing.

But he said he loved seeing his ‘kids’ find success on the international stage.

“I often tell people I’m in recruiting because if I say I’m a model scout, I’ll never get out of the conversation,” he laughed.

“But I actually appreciate how often people are trying to build up their child or friend, and I will look at every submission sent to me.

“I always remember that I’m dealing with real people, and often really young people, and I am sensitive to their feelings. It takes courage to put yourself forward and I don’t want to put out that spark.

“Unfortunately, rejection is part of this industry, but you can do it in a kinder way. Some people take years to get the confidence to submit their photo, so I don’t want that effort to go unanswered.”

Besides, you never know when or where that next million-dollar face might show up.

Originally published as Model scout Kirk Blake on why the Gold Coast is one of the best places to find new talent