TYLER RIGGS: the interview

TYLER RIGGS

the TOPMODEL

Tyler Riggs is with Red (NYC), Success (Paris), and Beatrice (Milan).

TYLER RIGGS: I was born in Tampa Florida. I am the descendant of an Irish Mick.

PONY RYDER: How did you start modeling?
TYLER RIGGS: I met a girl in Tampa that was friends with one of my band-mates and she asked if I wanted to do a photoshoot. After I we got the pictures back she told me that I should try and start modeling for real. I never really consider modeling before this point in my life. I always wanted to write music or act or write stories.

PONY RYDER: How where you as a kid?

TYLER RIGGS: I was sort of a Jack of all trades growing up. I was a little geeky when I was younger, I loved comic books and video games and shit like that. When I got in my teens I started getting into punk/hardcore music and I was working out quite a bit because I thought it would make me tougher or some shit. In high school I was big in to skateboarding and I actually played football one year…..so yeah. That was a long answer; I will try and not do that anymore.

PONY RYDER: Pls, do… 🙂

PONY RYDER: Why Starbucks? Why music? Why tattoo of Dali’s painting? Lots of whys here…

TYLER RIGGS: Sheesh. Well…..I have had like 15 jobs….literally. Before Starbucks I was laying brick and before that I was a waiter and before that I toured with a band. Sooo….I chose Starbucks because I tried going back to school, that didn’t work out too well; I tend to have a problem with anyone trying to tell me what to do.

As for music, I have always been in love with music; I am probably one of the biggest snobs when it comes to musical tastes. I just love music, I really like hardcore and metal. I listen to everything from Spitfire to Kings of Leon to Radiohead to Hank Williams.

Oh, and as for Dali, there is a gigantic Dali museum near Tampa I have been in love with Dali ever since I first went there. Besides you can never go wrong with a colorful piece of surreal art.

PONY RYDER: Are tattoos something that is considered a problem or an advantage in the industry?

TYLER RIGGS: To be honest I am not sure. It seems that it is some sort of fad right now, so I guess it is an advantage. But, to be honest, some of these guys have the worst fucking tattoo’s I have ever seen.

PONY RYDER: Your career is obviously a very good one, at the very beginning or even now, did you have to face some obstacles?

TYLER RIGGS: I don’t know, I started modeling under the impression that I wasn’t going to do shit. I thought this whole thing was a joke. I came in to the industry expecting the worst so I was just pretty thankful every time a job came my way.

PONY RYDER: What do you think made you stand out among other male models?

TYLER RIGGS: I don’t know. Don’t take shit from anyone. I think at the end of the people respect you for that. Be nice and don’t try to be anything but yourself, after all, imitation is the sincerest form of battery.

PONY RYDER: Is it hard to be a male model? Do you think that attention that male models have is smaller than female models?

TYLER RIGGS: Is it hard to be a male model..? No, it is most certainly not hard. Sometimes it is hard to put up with everyone’s fake ass bullshit.

And yes, girl models rule the industry and make ten times the amount guys do. It makes sense if you think about it, girls are the ones out there buying all this shit.

PONY RYDER: We hear lots of castings advice for female models, but what about male castings. How can male models present themselves on casting in best light?

TYLER RIGGS: Be yourself and don’t kiss too much ass. Desperation is a sad killer. As for how you should look, thats up to the individual. I would recommend trying to have your own personal style that sets you apart from the others.

PONY RYDER: Did you ever have an “AHA!” moment, where you realized that you are in TOP 50 male models, according to models.com?

TYLER RIGGS: I don’t know if I have had this “AHA” moment yet. I guess I just take all of this with a grain of salt.

PONY RYDER: Is it true that you will be face of Luise Vuitton SS09 ad campaign?

TYLER RIGGS: My mom always says don’t count your chicken before your eggs have hatched.

PONY RYDER: You worked with Steven Meisel on the „Dogging“ editorial. The editorial is quite controversial. What do you think about the controversy surrounding that editorial?

TYLER RIGGS: I think it is a bunch of political bullshit.

PONY RYDER: Did you get cast directly by Meisel for that editorial?

TYLER RIGGS: I think so. You never know. I was probably their last resort. HA

PONY RYDER: You did campaigns for D and G, Diesel, Topman, maybe Vuitton :). Is work and organization of Topman campaign, different than the D&G or Diesel one?

TYLER RIGGS: It’s hard to explain, they are all a little different. Some companies are obviously bigger than others. Shooting for the bigger companies is usually easier than the smaller ones.

PONY RYDER: When you are doing a campaign, is it easier to work alone or with colleague models. What is the difference, is it possible to shine when you are not the only one in the ad?

TYLER RIGGS: It’s definitely easier when there is more people on the shoot because half the time you are just chilling out. It is possible to shine on a shoot, sometimes the photographer or the stylist is really into shooting you and kind of forgets about the others. Doesn’t happen that often ha ha.

PONY RYDER: Do you ever have your say in which photo gets published, or which photo is used as your main photo on the comp card and in your portfolio?

TYLER RIGGS: You most certainly do not get a choice. You are lucky if they even ask your opinion about the images.