They call me superman

Don't be deceived... she is like my little sister.

Pic from Thai Catwalk

Another hectic week has come and gone. A fashion show for Superdry wrapped up the week of work. Have you noticed the trend in my work? Supersports, supermax and now superdry, all these brands are making me feel super. 

Thailand has continued to treat me well work wise. I had a complaint yesterday that I only attended one casting this past week.  The reason however is that I have spent so much time working. Short and sweet for this posting here are some pics:

I also had the opportunity shoot with Vogue Thailand and for a Thai men's bag company called Bagspace. Where were they when I needed to buy a bag. We shot at a very cool location "The Iron Fairies". I went there last year for a cocktail although I was less than impressed by their mixology.

Time is on my side

 The other day I read about a study about the most stressed people are the ones in the years following university. That 22-30 age group, is not entirely sure where they are, challenging themselves to discover this.  Situated dead smack in the middle of this group, I fortunately am not succumbing to the pressure anymore. These tendencies do pop into my head when I think about after modelling (which I am sure is coming soon). For the moment, the time being, time is on my side.

I am fortunate not to have the big financial burdens of student loans (very fortunate) and do not have a car loan or mortgage right now. The car loan lesson I learned early, with little repercussions (long story short, just because you can afford the payments, doesn’t mean you can afford the car or anything for that matter). Time can be on my side to allow me to travel and enjoy life.

There is a modeling community where people frequently ask questions, not being afraid to pipe in about nutrition related stuff I have found myself a resource for many people lately. I thought lets give some insight on what I got up to today (and ate). 

Except I must be on Canada Time

Last night I had a terrible time falling asleep. Second time in the past week. 

Wake up: 9 am and chatted with a lovely girl in my life back in Canada

Morning exercise: 10-12 I was only planning on 1 hr on the treadmill doing intervals but got sucked into the latest season of top gear. Immediately following I did round of cold plunge and steam for 10 minutes.  Immediately after I had box of Green Tea soymilk.

Breakfast/Lunch: 12:30 2 cups of mixed rice, 3 eggs, 1 tbsp PB, 1 apple, ¼ cup of soymilk (all mixed together into a porridge with cinnamon and some brown sugar) 

Snack on the run: Casting started at 2:30 for FCUK so en route I had an apple and a birdseed bar (sesame seed and sunflower seeds held together by a bit of honey)

After casting:  Around 4 pm I was hungry on my way home so bought some fresh mango from street vendor (this is like candy for me)  When I arrived at home I had some rice crackers with 2 tbsp peanut butter (I can’t get enough of it)

Dinner: 6:30 hunger started to creep in. I cooked close to 4 cups of mushrooms, kale, onion, garlic, carrot with dried thai chili powder and lime. With the meal I had 2 chicken breasts cooked with Montreal steak spice and sirachi (maybe a little too much).  

Before bed: Its now 10 pm and I am starting to get hungry again. Will have to check the fridge but I think there are some strawberries and maybe some almonds. 

This is an example of my day. An average day? Likely not the case. This is just an example of what today looked like. When I do strength training my appetite is significantly larger.

And we danced! Big thanks, 15 000 views was cracked!

My entire body is pumped up right now. Always deciding to vary workouts I opted for a 1000 rep challenge to myself. Who doesn’t like a challenge, one that pushes the floor farther and then leaves a pile of your bodies tears to be mopped up. These tears of course are sweat. Tears of joy. Here is what today’s lactic acid adrenaline  rush of a workout entailed. 

1. Bench Press (60 kg) – 100 reps
2. Inverted Row (BW) – 100 reps
3. Air Squiat (BW) – 100 reps
4. Full Sit-up – 100 reps
5. Standing Shoulder Press (30 kg) – 100 reps
6. Ab Rollout – 100 reps
7. Deadlift (60 kg) – 100 reps
8. Pushups (BW) – 100 reps
9. Barbell Curl (20 kg) – 100 reps
10.  Barbell Extension (20 kg) – 100 reps

                                                = 1000 Reps of mayhem 

Instructions are to complete 100 reps of each exercise. Must finish 100 reps before moving to the next exercise. Do this all for time.  My time: 36 minutes

Onto something less serious, work. Every day I am thankful for the opportunity to do what I am doing. As the less than 0.01% of the world population to work the way I do. Sometimes it can be shitty, like a look book I had the other day with an asshole photographer/stylist. Fortunately those are few and far between.  This week I managed to work 4 jobs; a lookbook, a Burberry Event, L’Officiel Magazine shoot, and an incredibly fun Supersports shoot (remember Golferman?).

The casting for L’Officiel was a few weeks ago. This is a high end fashion magazine that seldom uses men. Written off I was shocked when I received a message from my booker at 12:30 am. The client had just contacted her (no rest for the wicked).  2pm the next day I was to shoot in the Penthouse of Sofitel Luxury Hotel.  3 shots and 45 minutes of shooting and I was done.  Great styling and an awesome photographer (good communication) make a big difference. There is a really cool shot of me checking my beard in the mirror after a shower.

I must say I quite like Supersports and they like me too. My build very much fits the athlete specs.  Golf, tennis, and football (no longer in north America so can’t call it soccer, were my sports of the day). Also it was great to work with other models. On set I can be a bit of a goofball and like to have fun, including dancing. Here are a few shots. 

Oh yeah and this is how I felt walking down sukhumvit the other morning: 

A Full Circle

 It’s been almost a year since I first set foot in Thailand.  In my previous experience I was put up in the model apartment, and set up with roommates who quickly became friends.  With new sets of friends, I am constantly meeting people through castings and an amazing Expat community called Internations. 

A city that was once completely foreign and strange has quickly settled to become my home for the next few months. The other day I picked up the keys to my new studio apartment, and look forward to a nights sleep in my new bed.

Big thanks to Jan, my rental agent for driving me around and helping me through the entire process of choosing my place. Here are a few pictures of Chateau Zach:

Modeling is an industry that like all others grows as you gain experience.  Coming to a new country can always present challenges. In my previous experience  I built networks and became a familiar face with clients. This is something that will always aid in booking jobs. At this point, I have worked 2 and have another shoot in the morning. No TVC have been booked yet, but I am optimistic that they are coming.