1 00:00:02,400 --> 00:00:07,120 Speaker 1: Campsite Media. 2 00:00:07,240 --> 00:00:09,760 Speaker 2: So we've been telling this story for a while now, 3 00:00:10,160 --> 00:00:13,520 Speaker 2: and you may feel that Paul Fisher has been getting 4 00:00:13,520 --> 00:00:16,680 Speaker 2: off a little light, but that's about to change. 5 00:00:16,840 --> 00:00:18,200 Speaker 3: Got to get out of New York. I'm coming back 6 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:21,239 Speaker 3: to Los Angeles. I literally didn't have suitcases and shit 7 00:00:21,320 --> 00:00:23,000 Speaker 3: like that. I think I had won, and everything else 8 00:00:23,079 --> 00:00:27,040 Speaker 3: was like in a brown paper bag. And I flew 9 00:00:27,080 --> 00:00:30,400 Speaker 3: back to Los Angeles. A friend picked me up at 10 00:00:30,400 --> 00:00:34,320 Speaker 3: the airport on his yellow motorcycle. We're driving down the 11 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:37,760 Speaker 3: one oh one freeway. I'm on the back of his motorcycle, 12 00:00:37,880 --> 00:00:42,760 Speaker 3: no helmet, two freaking brown bags that I'm gripped onto, 13 00:00:44,440 --> 00:00:46,559 Speaker 3: and this asshole He's going in and out of traffic 14 00:00:46,720 --> 00:00:50,519 Speaker 3: on this freaking yellow motorcycle and we take a spill. 15 00:00:51,680 --> 00:00:59,680 Speaker 3: I go sprawling across the Venturo one oh one. Ambulance 16 00:00:59,680 --> 00:01:04,440 Speaker 3: comes takes me to the emergency hospital. I called my 17 00:01:04,480 --> 00:01:07,400 Speaker 3: mom and my dad. I say, you guys got to 18 00:01:07,440 --> 00:01:08,600 Speaker 3: come pick up pick me up. 19 00:01:10,640 --> 00:01:14,240 Speaker 2: So not a great homecoming. And this is after Paul's 20 00:01:14,280 --> 00:01:16,520 Speaker 2: mom had convinced him to give up his dream of 21 00:01:16,560 --> 00:01:19,480 Speaker 2: becoming a model Asian in New York and just moved 22 00:01:19,520 --> 00:01:22,640 Speaker 2: back to La which Paul was also freaked out about 23 00:01:22,680 --> 00:01:25,640 Speaker 2: because it basically meant telling Paul to come home to 24 00:01:25,720 --> 00:01:29,000 Speaker 2: his father, the liquor salesman that he didn't get along with, 25 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:31,120 Speaker 2: and admit that he's a failure. 26 00:01:32,560 --> 00:01:36,240 Speaker 3: They got me in the car, my dad started freaking 27 00:01:36,360 --> 00:01:41,240 Speaker 3: yelling at me. You gave up your college education, you 28 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:46,600 Speaker 3: threw away your degree, and now look at you. And 29 00:01:46,640 --> 00:01:49,000 Speaker 3: he was pissed off and he was screaming at me. 30 00:01:49,120 --> 00:01:50,880 Speaker 3: My mom was trying to tell him the calm is 31 00:01:50,920 --> 00:01:55,360 Speaker 3: ass down. And we stopped at a red light and 32 00:01:55,440 --> 00:01:59,960 Speaker 3: I got out of the car and I just started 33 00:02:00,200 --> 00:02:07,240 Speaker 3: walking and I had nothing I had. That was the 34 00:02:07,280 --> 00:02:11,520 Speaker 3: lowest part. That was the lowest point in my life. 35 00:02:11,680 --> 00:02:13,919 Speaker 3: I had no money, I didn't know who to call. 36 00:02:14,480 --> 00:02:15,960 Speaker 3: I didn't know what the fuck to do. 37 00:02:18,600 --> 00:02:21,120 Speaker 2: But Paul doesn't one to linger on his low moments 38 00:02:21,240 --> 00:02:27,080 Speaker 2: very long. He goes on to possibly new lower moments 39 00:02:28,080 --> 00:02:31,120 Speaker 2: because after the car crash on the yellow motorcycle, a 40 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:33,639 Speaker 2: friend picks him up. She lets him crash at her place, 41 00:02:34,160 --> 00:02:36,920 Speaker 2: she gives some food, helps them care for his wounds. 42 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:41,280 Speaker 2: She acts like a sister to him, really, just like 43 00:02:41,680 --> 00:02:44,639 Speaker 2: Paul helped his sister Deborah, who's still in and out 44 00:02:44,639 --> 00:02:48,679 Speaker 2: of the hospital for her cancer treatment. And into this 45 00:02:48,880 --> 00:02:53,639 Speaker 2: scene of helping and healing comes the guy who's interested 46 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:57,280 Speaker 2: in having Paul find girls to have sex with him. 47 00:02:58,080 --> 00:03:01,680 Speaker 2: I mean, nothing new there, but Paul didn't think he 48 00:03:01,720 --> 00:03:04,200 Speaker 2: was going to have to do this again. After Brazil. 49 00:03:04,520 --> 00:03:07,320 Speaker 3: He says, I'm having a couple parties. I need your 50 00:03:07,360 --> 00:03:08,400 Speaker 3: special skill set. 51 00:03:08,639 --> 00:03:12,280 Speaker 2: And now Paul's approaching rock bottom. 52 00:03:12,480 --> 00:03:15,560 Speaker 3: My job was to go out and find beautiful girls 53 00:03:15,600 --> 00:03:19,160 Speaker 3: at nightclubs in La and they could some sleep within, 54 00:03:19,240 --> 00:03:22,840 Speaker 3: some nod and I remember one day I got a 55 00:03:22,840 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 3: phone call from one of those girls and they said, Paul, 56 00:03:25,760 --> 00:03:29,639 Speaker 3: your friend shit on me. And I know he shits 57 00:03:29,639 --> 00:03:32,720 Speaker 3: on everybody. He's an asshole. She says, no, no, no, no, no, 58 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:35,840 Speaker 3: he shit on me. I said, I know that's who 59 00:03:35,880 --> 00:03:41,240 Speaker 3: he is. She says, sh he actually defecated on me. 60 00:03:41,280 --> 00:03:41,920 Speaker 4: Paul. 61 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:53,360 Speaker 2: Time for Paul to find a new job. From iHeart 62 00:03:53,400 --> 00:03:57,640 Speaker 2: Podcasts in Campside Media, I'm Vanessa Grigoriatis and this is 63 00:03:57,720 --> 00:04:07,400 Speaker 2: Model Wars episode five. Now you might be thinking, oh boohoo, 64 00:04:08,040 --> 00:04:11,600 Speaker 2: Paul has to retreat back to Los Angeles, California, one 65 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:14,160 Speaker 2: of the most famous and wealthy cities in the world. 66 00:04:14,480 --> 00:04:17,320 Speaker 2: Place where you have a lot of fun. Our favorite 67 00:04:17,400 --> 00:04:21,280 Speaker 2: Jeufro pimp, Paul Fisher, is just in so much trouble. 68 00:04:22,160 --> 00:04:24,719 Speaker 2: But at this time in the early eighties, as far 69 00:04:24,800 --> 00:04:28,080 Speaker 2: as the modeling industry is concerned, LA is a backwater. 70 00:04:28,360 --> 00:04:32,840 Speaker 3: There's no modeling done in LA. I mean very little, swimsuits, nothing, nothing, 71 00:04:33,279 --> 00:04:36,480 Speaker 3: stupid shit. That's not where real models go. Real models 72 00:04:36,520 --> 00:04:39,600 Speaker 3: go to Europe, Paris, lond and Milan to become real models. 73 00:04:39,680 --> 00:04:40,480 Speaker 3: That's what I learned. 74 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:43,800 Speaker 2: So, of course Paul is going to try to get 75 00:04:43,839 --> 00:04:47,520 Speaker 2: back into the modeling business here and dominate. But if 76 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:51,440 Speaker 2: he's going to start another modeling business, he has two choices. 77 00:04:51,920 --> 00:04:55,040 Speaker 2: He can return to New York, where he's already blacklisted 78 00:04:55,120 --> 00:04:59,599 Speaker 2: at every agency or often true, he can try to 79 00:04:59,720 --> 00:05:03,520 Speaker 2: change which the power structure of the industry, and Paul 80 00:05:03,560 --> 00:05:08,400 Speaker 2: being Paul, he's inclined towards the more outrageous option. So 81 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:11,400 Speaker 2: one of the few modeling agencies making a GOVID in 82 00:05:11,600 --> 00:05:15,800 Speaker 2: LA at that time is East West. That's quite a name. 83 00:05:16,520 --> 00:05:19,040 Speaker 2: It's hard not to notice that even the big LA 84 00:05:19,200 --> 00:05:21,800 Speaker 2: agency feels like it has to reference the East coast. 85 00:05:22,360 --> 00:05:25,040 Speaker 2: East West is run by a South African immigrant named 86 00:05:25,080 --> 00:05:25,880 Speaker 2: David Altman. 87 00:05:26,400 --> 00:05:31,560 Speaker 4: Here's David la In the eighties was you know, glam 88 00:05:31,600 --> 00:05:35,440 Speaker 4: metal bands, Motley Crue, Poison, Guns n' Roses. 89 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:40,000 Speaker 1: You know, we're talking the Sunset Strip, people with big hair. 90 00:05:41,120 --> 00:05:43,640 Speaker 4: You'd walk down Sunset Boulevard, You'd come out of a 91 00:05:43,680 --> 00:05:45,480 Speaker 4: restaurant in the middle of the night and then oh, 92 00:05:45,520 --> 00:05:49,239 Speaker 4: my god, that's boy George, that's Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince. 93 00:05:49,920 --> 00:05:52,640 Speaker 2: Allman actually got his start in the industry in New York, 94 00:05:53,200 --> 00:05:55,800 Speaker 2: especially when he was dating a model, a fellow South 95 00:05:55,839 --> 00:06:00,760 Speaker 2: African named Alexi Singer. She's got big, bright eyes, strikingly 96 00:06:00,839 --> 00:06:03,919 Speaker 2: precise features, and don't forget her ears. 97 00:06:04,160 --> 00:06:05,920 Speaker 1: Clients would say to me, oh my god, have you 98 00:06:06,000 --> 00:06:06,680 Speaker 1: seen that ears? 99 00:06:06,680 --> 00:06:11,680 Speaker 2: And it was like, yeah, great ears, you know, amazing 100 00:06:11,760 --> 00:06:17,400 Speaker 2: ears for looking at and presumably for hearing. So Alexa 101 00:06:17,520 --> 00:06:20,480 Speaker 2: was on the cover of many magazines in the eighties 102 00:06:20,520 --> 00:06:21,320 Speaker 2: and the nineties. 103 00:06:21,680 --> 00:06:23,880 Speaker 4: It was weird for me, you know, as the boyfriend, 104 00:06:23,960 --> 00:06:27,360 Speaker 4: because she would sometimes be on the cover of Vogue, Self, 105 00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:31,560 Speaker 4: Mademoiselle Glamor. And in those days in New York, he 106 00:06:31,640 --> 00:06:34,800 Speaker 4: had the newsstand, which was this wooden structure on the 107 00:06:34,880 --> 00:06:38,000 Speaker 4: sidewalk and you'd walk past the newsstand. It would be 108 00:06:38,120 --> 00:06:41,680 Speaker 4: like embarrassing that she would have. You know, she would 109 00:06:41,680 --> 00:06:43,560 Speaker 4: be on the cover of five or six magazines all 110 00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:44,280 Speaker 4: at the same time. 111 00:06:44,320 --> 00:06:45,400 Speaker 1: It was almost unfair. 112 00:06:46,000 --> 00:06:49,320 Speaker 2: When David and Alexa moved to la they started East West. 113 00:06:49,839 --> 00:06:52,680 Speaker 2: They set up shop on Hollywood Boulevard, across from the 114 00:06:52,720 --> 00:06:56,440 Speaker 2: Stars on the Walk of Fame. Their office was designed 115 00:06:56,480 --> 00:06:59,080 Speaker 2: to look a lot like the interiors that models would 116 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:02,080 Speaker 2: see when they arrived Elite or Ford in New York City. 117 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:06,640 Speaker 2: In other words, East West is basically tailor made for 118 00:07:06,839 --> 00:07:08,720 Speaker 2: Paul Fisher's West Coast comeback. 119 00:07:09,279 --> 00:07:10,000 Speaker 1: Middle of the day. 120 00:07:10,160 --> 00:07:14,840 Speaker 4: He has five portfolios under each arm, and he walks 121 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:17,480 Speaker 4: in and he says to me, I heard about you. 122 00:07:17,760 --> 00:07:20,280 Speaker 4: I love the name East West, and that can help 123 00:07:20,320 --> 00:07:21,320 Speaker 4: you grow your business. 124 00:07:21,800 --> 00:07:25,720 Speaker 2: David notices that Paul seems to be wearing his interview best. 125 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:29,400 Speaker 4: He was wearing one of those vests, those tank top vests, 126 00:07:29,880 --> 00:07:30,480 Speaker 4: but those. 127 00:07:30,360 --> 00:07:31,880 Speaker 1: Ones that you see in New York. 128 00:07:31,920 --> 00:07:33,960 Speaker 4: They wear them in the summertime with holes in it, 129 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:36,160 Speaker 4: you know, those ventilated holes. 130 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:39,960 Speaker 2: Yep, Paul is in a mesh vest. But he feels 131 00:07:40,000 --> 00:07:41,640 Speaker 2: like the interview is going pretty well. 132 00:07:42,360 --> 00:07:43,600 Speaker 1: I loved him immediately. 133 00:07:43,800 --> 00:07:48,640 Speaker 4: His energy you know, he's a compulsive, hard worker. He's 134 00:07:48,760 --> 00:07:52,400 Speaker 4: like the Jurisale battery. My brother, who was my partner, 135 00:07:52,520 --> 00:07:54,040 Speaker 4: loved him immediately. 136 00:07:53,800 --> 00:07:58,560 Speaker 2: But David Altman has a harder time convincing his staff 137 00:07:58,720 --> 00:07:59,440 Speaker 2: to love Paul. 138 00:08:00,080 --> 00:08:03,000 Speaker 4: Other agents in the office basically took one look at 139 00:08:03,080 --> 00:08:05,720 Speaker 4: him and said, look, if you hire this maniac, weati here. 140 00:08:06,840 --> 00:08:09,000 Speaker 2: It takes a special kind of guide to create a 141 00:08:09,040 --> 00:08:11,680 Speaker 2: staff revolt after one interview. 142 00:08:12,120 --> 00:08:15,640 Speaker 4: His energy, I think, in that kind of work environment 143 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:19,960 Speaker 4: was perceived by other people as potentially threatening, and they 144 00:08:20,080 --> 00:08:24,560 Speaker 4: understood that with that energy, it wouldn't take very long 145 00:08:24,640 --> 00:08:26,160 Speaker 4: for him to be in charge. 146 00:08:27,080 --> 00:08:30,240 Speaker 2: So David starts working to win over his staff. But 147 00:08:30,360 --> 00:08:33,840 Speaker 2: Paul is getting desperate. He's out of his friend's place. 148 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:37,240 Speaker 2: He's living on borrowed time in a studio apartment. 149 00:08:37,679 --> 00:08:39,760 Speaker 3: I had been evicted out of that studio apartment for 150 00:08:39,800 --> 00:08:42,640 Speaker 3: not paying rent for two months. I had to be 151 00:08:42,679 --> 00:08:45,440 Speaker 3: out that morning. I had a white Berlinetta, a white 152 00:08:45,440 --> 00:08:49,800 Speaker 3: Berlinetta Camaro, no gas, no money to my freaking name, 153 00:08:49,840 --> 00:08:52,280 Speaker 3: I'm going back for my fourth interview. I wake up 154 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:54,320 Speaker 3: in the morning, I know I can't go back to 155 00:08:54,360 --> 00:08:56,640 Speaker 3: the place because now I'm a Victag's why the night 156 00:08:56,640 --> 00:08:59,440 Speaker 3: before I take all my belongings, which is like a 157 00:08:59,520 --> 00:09:02,000 Speaker 3: stereo and a couple of paying I like nothing. 158 00:09:02,440 --> 00:09:06,680 Speaker 2: But that night Paul's last Romanian crap gets stolen out 159 00:09:06,679 --> 00:09:07,360 Speaker 2: of his car. 160 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:09,760 Speaker 3: Now I go over to David Allman for my fourth 161 00:09:09,800 --> 00:09:12,160 Speaker 3: and freaking final interview. Don't have a place to live now, 162 00:09:12,480 --> 00:09:15,320 Speaker 3: don't have any clothes, not one piece of clothing left 163 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:18,360 Speaker 3: on my freaking name. The car is like running on 164 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:21,240 Speaker 3: freaking fumes. I walk in to meet David Allman and 165 00:09:21,559 --> 00:09:24,120 Speaker 3: after fifteen minutes he goes, you know what we decided Paul, 166 00:09:24,880 --> 00:09:26,920 Speaker 3: one of my bookers. She thinks you're too intense and 167 00:09:26,960 --> 00:09:29,360 Speaker 3: too aggressive. We just don't think we have a home 168 00:09:29,400 --> 00:09:36,520 Speaker 3: for you. And I went, whoa, David. I got no money, bro, 169 00:09:37,920 --> 00:09:41,160 Speaker 3: Everything was just taken out of my car. I said, 170 00:09:41,200 --> 00:09:42,400 Speaker 3: by the way, if you don't want to hire me, 171 00:09:42,440 --> 00:09:44,520 Speaker 3: I don't want to work for you. If you think 172 00:09:44,559 --> 00:09:46,960 Speaker 3: that woman that used to work at Wilhelmina is going 173 00:09:47,000 --> 00:09:49,600 Speaker 3: to take you to the fucking Promised Land, then you 174 00:09:49,679 --> 00:09:52,880 Speaker 3: deserve her. I could take this place and put it 175 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:55,080 Speaker 3: on the freaking map, bro. With everything I just learned 176 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:57,880 Speaker 3: in New York, I could run this place, not her. 177 00:09:59,120 --> 00:10:02,520 Speaker 2: The staff is West had read the situation perfectly. 178 00:10:02,840 --> 00:10:05,520 Speaker 3: In other words, he went into another room. He spoke 179 00:10:05,520 --> 00:10:07,800 Speaker 3: to his brother Michael. He came back, he said, he said, 180 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:12,559 Speaker 3: come with me, and he moved me into his home, 181 00:10:13,880 --> 00:10:17,760 Speaker 3: and he bought me clothes and he took care of me. 182 00:10:19,440 --> 00:10:25,000 Speaker 4: He was sleeping in his car. Okay, he lived in 183 00:10:25,040 --> 00:10:30,520 Speaker 4: my house for a while. It's called identifying potential and 184 00:10:30,559 --> 00:10:36,040 Speaker 4: then resourcing the potential, and then empowering the potential so 185 00:10:36,120 --> 00:10:37,440 Speaker 4: that they can be the best that. 186 00:10:37,360 --> 00:10:37,800 Speaker 1: They can be. 187 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:41,800 Speaker 2: So now that Paul has a job, he makes it 188 00:10:41,880 --> 00:10:45,520 Speaker 2: his mission to put Los Angeles on the modeling map. 189 00:10:45,800 --> 00:10:51,439 Speaker 3: Bro people laughed at LA. If there's one hundred modeling 190 00:10:51,559 --> 00:10:54,320 Speaker 3: jobs a day done in New York, there's three TV 191 00:10:54,400 --> 00:10:58,080 Speaker 3: commercials done in New York. In LA, there's one hundred 192 00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:01,320 Speaker 3: TV commercials done in LA. Three modeling jobs. 193 00:11:02,559 --> 00:11:05,680 Speaker 2: Remember, it's the magazines in New York that are running 194 00:11:05,720 --> 00:11:09,959 Speaker 2: the fashion industry. So that's where Paul is setting his sights. 195 00:11:10,559 --> 00:11:12,560 Speaker 3: How do I take girls that live in LA and 196 00:11:12,600 --> 00:11:15,040 Speaker 3: book them directly into New York, bypass the New York 197 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:18,040 Speaker 3: modeling agencies and go directly to Vogue. I knew them. 198 00:11:18,160 --> 00:11:19,920 Speaker 3: I knew the editors. I had met them when I 199 00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:22,480 Speaker 3: was in New York. I met mister Avadat, I met 200 00:11:22,520 --> 00:11:24,680 Speaker 3: mister School, I met them all. I hung out with 201 00:11:24,720 --> 00:11:26,920 Speaker 3: all these people for minutes here in minutes there. I 202 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:30,200 Speaker 3: knew them, I knew of them. And so what I 203 00:11:30,200 --> 00:11:32,400 Speaker 3: did is I said, you know what, fucking fucking le 204 00:11:32,559 --> 00:11:35,800 Speaker 3: fuck Fords and Gwillian Klick. I'm going directly to the 205 00:11:35,800 --> 00:11:37,000 Speaker 3: New York clients. 206 00:11:39,160 --> 00:11:42,520 Speaker 2: Yeah, Paul's ready to run another model war. He's talking 207 00:11:42,520 --> 00:11:46,520 Speaker 2: about Wilhelmina and Click. Those are two other major modeling 208 00:11:46,600 --> 00:11:48,800 Speaker 2: agencies which are both based in New York. 209 00:11:49,040 --> 00:11:50,800 Speaker 3: I would wake up at five o'clock in the morning. 210 00:11:51,320 --> 00:11:53,839 Speaker 3: David would be freaking sleeping his ass off with his brother. 211 00:11:54,160 --> 00:11:57,760 Speaker 3: I'd be inside the agency, literally sleeping in the office. 212 00:11:57,840 --> 00:11:59,960 Speaker 4: I would walk into the office at seven thirty eight 213 00:12:00,040 --> 00:12:02,440 Speaker 4: o'clock in the morning and it would walk in and 214 00:12:02,559 --> 00:12:05,160 Speaker 4: he was like sleeping. He was sleeping in the office. 215 00:12:06,120 --> 00:12:09,920 Speaker 4: I was like, dude, what's up. And he would go 216 00:12:09,960 --> 00:12:13,480 Speaker 4: to the restroom and he'd splash water on his face, 217 00:12:14,040 --> 00:12:18,120 Speaker 4: run water through his hair, brush his teeth with his finger, 218 00:12:18,960 --> 00:12:21,160 Speaker 4: and then looking good. 219 00:12:22,320 --> 00:12:23,760 Speaker 3: I want to get up at five o'clock by the 220 00:12:23,800 --> 00:12:25,960 Speaker 3: time New York opened up. I'm an animal. I'm directly 221 00:12:25,960 --> 00:12:28,600 Speaker 3: booking into New York. So I'm taking girls that live 222 00:12:28,720 --> 00:12:33,319 Speaker 3: in LA and I'm booking them directly into New York. 223 00:12:33,720 --> 00:12:37,040 Speaker 3: And my reputation spread like freaking wildfire, and they hated me. 224 00:12:37,280 --> 00:12:41,040 Speaker 3: The New York agency's freaking hated me. I'm becoming John Casablancas. 225 00:12:41,080 --> 00:12:43,520 Speaker 3: But in LA, I'm the man for sure. 226 00:12:48,920 --> 00:12:52,000 Speaker 2: Okay, So that's what's going on in LA. But Omar 227 00:12:52,160 --> 00:12:55,560 Speaker 2: still in New York. He's landed a job actually with 228 00:12:55,920 --> 00:13:01,440 Speaker 2: John Casablancas's agency Elite. But now Paul convinces Omar to 229 00:13:01,679 --> 00:13:06,280 Speaker 2: move to LA and to build East West's men's division, and. 230 00:13:06,240 --> 00:13:08,719 Speaker 5: We want to show him how this shit is done. 231 00:13:10,120 --> 00:13:13,280 Speaker 2: The band is back together and Paul has all the 232 00:13:13,320 --> 00:13:18,480 Speaker 2: success that he ever wanted, so now it's time for 233 00:13:18,600 --> 00:13:30,319 Speaker 2: him to throw it all away. As Paul and Omar 234 00:13:30,480 --> 00:13:35,680 Speaker 2: are scheming to revitalize LA's modeling scene, David Altman made 235 00:13:35,720 --> 00:13:39,120 Speaker 2: sure he was smack in the middle of Hollywood's A list. 236 00:13:40,040 --> 00:13:45,160 Speaker 2: There was no shortage of egos, and unfortunately, Paul's continued 237 00:13:45,200 --> 00:13:46,640 Speaker 2: to be his worst enemy. 238 00:13:47,520 --> 00:13:50,880 Speaker 4: There was a woman who opened a restaurant in a 239 00:13:50,960 --> 00:13:57,040 Speaker 4: nightclub on Beverly Boulevard called Helena's Invitation, Only she had 240 00:13:57,080 --> 00:14:00,440 Speaker 4: to invite you, so you couldn't apply to be a member. 241 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:03,040 Speaker 4: She would have to look at you and go, do 242 00:14:03,080 --> 00:14:04,960 Speaker 4: you want to be a member, And then she'd write 243 00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:08,000 Speaker 4: her home number down on a napkin. You could pay 244 00:14:08,040 --> 00:14:11,000 Speaker 4: her a lot of money which would allow you to 245 00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:14,600 Speaker 4: come to Helena's and bring one person. The next table 246 00:14:14,679 --> 00:14:17,880 Speaker 4: next to you was that was Sean, and that was Madonna, 247 00:14:18,559 --> 00:14:20,320 Speaker 4: and then over there was Jack Nicholson. 248 00:14:20,320 --> 00:14:21,720 Speaker 1: And what was Jack Nicholson doing? 249 00:14:21,800 --> 00:14:26,040 Speaker 4: He was doing in real life, like with his eyebrows 250 00:14:26,040 --> 00:14:27,080 Speaker 4: what he did in the movies. 251 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:30,800 Speaker 1: And there was Warren Bay. Anyway, it was a fantastic SCE. 252 00:14:32,480 --> 00:14:37,200 Speaker 2: In this intimate, shoulder to shoulder celebrity setting. It sometimes 253 00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:41,480 Speaker 2: mixed in interesting ways with all that eighties macho bullshit 254 00:14:41,640 --> 00:14:43,120 Speaker 2: that was wafting through the air. 255 00:14:43,600 --> 00:14:46,880 Speaker 4: If you went to Helena's, which I did, and you 256 00:14:47,000 --> 00:14:52,840 Speaker 4: sat next to Madonna and Sean Penn, and you looked 257 00:14:52,920 --> 00:14:58,600 Speaker 4: at Madonna in a way that Sean thought was inappropriate, 258 00:14:59,480 --> 00:15:03,800 Speaker 4: maybe three seconds longer than Sean thought it should be. 259 00:15:04,840 --> 00:15:06,040 Speaker 4: Anything could happen. 260 00:15:07,080 --> 00:15:10,520 Speaker 2: In this telling. The eighties were all about guys putting 261 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:13,640 Speaker 2: a lot of product in their hair and going out 262 00:15:13,640 --> 00:15:17,600 Speaker 2: with their girlfriends, often models, and then fighting people. 263 00:15:17,880 --> 00:15:18,080 Speaker 1: You know. 264 00:15:18,240 --> 00:15:22,000 Speaker 4: Axel Rose had a reputation for being very aggressive. 265 00:15:22,880 --> 00:15:23,600 Speaker 1: Mickey Rourke. 266 00:15:24,400 --> 00:15:26,880 Speaker 4: You know, Mickey would walk out a restaurants and got 267 00:15:26,960 --> 00:15:29,080 Speaker 4: pissed off that the paparazzi. 268 00:15:28,440 --> 00:15:30,920 Speaker 1: Were there, and he took a swing at them. It 269 00:15:31,120 --> 00:15:31,560 Speaker 1: was normal. 270 00:15:31,600 --> 00:15:36,440 Speaker 2: Introduce So Paul says, he's not at Helenez on the 271 00:15:36,440 --> 00:15:40,040 Speaker 2: particular night we're going to describe. He's actually at another 272 00:15:40,200 --> 00:15:45,479 Speaker 2: exclusive club that's called Flaming Colossus that was once described 273 00:15:45,640 --> 00:15:48,800 Speaker 2: by the La Times as a place for black clad 274 00:15:48,920 --> 00:15:53,520 Speaker 2: fashion models and the sort of expatriate continentals who designed 275 00:15:53,520 --> 00:16:00,240 Speaker 2: sportswear or do a little cinematography on the side. 276 00:16:00,800 --> 00:16:03,000 Speaker 3: I had a girlfriend at the time, beautiful black girl 277 00:16:03,280 --> 00:16:07,280 Speaker 3: named Katrina. I was in love, two years in love, 278 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:10,960 Speaker 3: and then one day we broke up and I walked 279 00:16:10,960 --> 00:16:13,960 Speaker 3: into the nightclub and there was Katrina was some freaking 280 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:15,720 Speaker 3: big old dude with his arm around her. 281 00:16:16,080 --> 00:16:19,720 Speaker 2: In the paleolithic era known as the nineteen eighties, this 282 00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:20,760 Speaker 2: is an act of war. 283 00:16:21,680 --> 00:16:24,000 Speaker 3: I beat him to a pope, dragged him through the 284 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:27,280 Speaker 3: fucking club. He ended up in the hospital. I went 285 00:16:27,280 --> 00:16:29,440 Speaker 3: to work Monday morning, and David Alman looked at me 286 00:16:29,480 --> 00:16:32,040 Speaker 3: and he said, hey, hey, hey, hey, that boy you 287 00:16:32,080 --> 00:16:38,680 Speaker 3: put in the hospital. That's Pam Piper's brother. Pam Piper 288 00:16:38,760 --> 00:16:40,720 Speaker 3: was one of our most famous models at the time. 289 00:16:41,600 --> 00:16:43,480 Speaker 3: I said, see, well, so what is that I have 290 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:45,960 Speaker 3: to do with anything. You're gonna have to apologize to 291 00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:48,200 Speaker 3: Pam and to the boy. Go to the hospital and apologize. 292 00:16:48,560 --> 00:16:51,800 Speaker 3: Fuck you go apologize, or I have to fire. You said, 293 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:54,880 Speaker 3: you're gonna fire me. I run this place. I run la. 294 00:16:56,320 --> 00:16:58,520 Speaker 3: You can't fire my ass. I'll take the whole fucking 295 00:16:58,520 --> 00:17:03,160 Speaker 3: place down. I'll take everybody with me. He said, well, 296 00:17:03,240 --> 00:17:07,520 Speaker 3: you're fired. If you don't do it, he fired me. 297 00:17:08,359 --> 00:17:09,320 Speaker 3: David Alman fired me. 298 00:17:10,359 --> 00:17:14,879 Speaker 4: She was upset because her brother, you know, apparently, you know, 299 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:18,720 Speaker 4: was roughed up, and I think simultaneously, like maybe. 300 00:17:18,520 --> 00:17:21,080 Speaker 1: He was annoying me. I don't really remember, like maybe 301 00:17:21,119 --> 00:17:22,440 Speaker 1: Paul was annoying me, you. 302 00:17:22,359 --> 00:17:24,000 Speaker 2: Know, that seems unlikely. 303 00:17:24,200 --> 00:17:25,040 Speaker 1: I think Pam. 304 00:17:24,800 --> 00:17:28,000 Speaker 4: Issued me an ultimatum, if you don't give him the bullet, 305 00:17:28,600 --> 00:17:32,280 Speaker 4: I'm out of here. And she was somebody that was 306 00:17:32,400 --> 00:17:37,200 Speaker 4: highly respected by other models, So he suddenly became a risk. 307 00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:40,640 Speaker 4: So Pam basically like called me up and said, look, 308 00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:42,160 Speaker 4: you know what, if you don't you know, this guy's 309 00:17:42,280 --> 00:17:44,880 Speaker 4: like a complete nutjob. If you don't get rid of him, 310 00:17:44,920 --> 00:17:47,359 Speaker 4: I'm out of here. So I gave him the push. 311 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:52,240 Speaker 2: You know, basically, Paul is out of a job. Yet again, 312 00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:56,600 Speaker 2: some of us would be despondent, but you could say 313 00:17:56,840 --> 00:18:01,199 Speaker 2: that Paul goes into Jerry Maguire mode. You remember the scene. 314 00:18:01,840 --> 00:18:05,680 Speaker 2: It's when Jerry's leaving his fancy sports agency and he's 315 00:18:05,680 --> 00:18:09,400 Speaker 2: trying to convince the entire staff to leave with him. 316 00:18:09,520 --> 00:18:14,040 Speaker 5: Anybody else wants to come with me. This moment will 317 00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:19,960 Speaker 5: be the moment of something real and fun and inspiring 318 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:24,680 Speaker 5: in this god forsaken business, and we will do it together. 319 00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:28,840 Speaker 3: I went over to my little apartment that I had. 320 00:18:29,440 --> 00:18:31,199 Speaker 3: I called every one of the models to come with me. 321 00:18:31,400 --> 00:18:33,040 Speaker 3: We had like one hundred and fifty miles at the time. 322 00:18:33,119 --> 00:18:35,800 Speaker 1: Who's coming with me? Who's coming with me? 323 00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:41,440 Speaker 3: Nobody returned my call. They all told me to fuck off, 324 00:18:41,560 --> 00:18:42,840 Speaker 3: including Omar. 325 00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:44,280 Speaker 1: This is embarrassing. 326 00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:46,920 Speaker 3: Omar ran the men's Omar had one hundred and fifty guys. 327 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:49,320 Speaker 3: I said, Omar, come over. He goes, Paul, you don't 328 00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:52,119 Speaker 3: got no money, I said, I do. I just borrowed 329 00:18:52,119 --> 00:18:54,520 Speaker 3: ten thousand dollars from my grandpa. He was, Paul, how 330 00:18:54,520 --> 00:18:56,080 Speaker 3: are you going to compete with anybody doing with ten 331 00:18:56,080 --> 00:18:58,159 Speaker 3: thousand bucks? I said, all the models are going to 332 00:18:58,200 --> 00:18:59,960 Speaker 3: come with me. He said, no, they're not, Paul. No 333 00:19:00,040 --> 00:19:03,160 Speaker 3: one's coming with you. What what? 334 00:19:04,400 --> 00:19:07,640 Speaker 2: No one is coming with Paul. It looks like he's 335 00:19:07,680 --> 00:19:16,920 Speaker 2: out of luck and on his own. So Paul made 336 00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:20,800 Speaker 2: his big plea as he was ousted from East West, 337 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:23,800 Speaker 2: but it looked like nobody wanted to go with him, 338 00:19:24,160 --> 00:19:27,639 Speaker 2: not even Omar, who we all assumed was the renee 339 00:19:27,720 --> 00:19:32,800 Speaker 2: Zellwegger to Tom Cruise's Jerry McGuire. But just like Jerry McGuire, 340 00:19:33,200 --> 00:19:37,280 Speaker 2: it turns out Paul does have one person in his corner. 341 00:19:37,760 --> 00:19:41,520 Speaker 2: I will go with you one young model. 342 00:19:41,400 --> 00:19:41,840 Speaker 3: Thank you. 343 00:19:42,000 --> 00:19:45,560 Speaker 2: She's actually only thirteen or fourteen years old, and her 344 00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:50,320 Speaker 2: name is Jennifer Jimenez. And Paul is over the moon 345 00:19:50,720 --> 00:19:51,320 Speaker 2: about this. 346 00:19:51,880 --> 00:19:54,199 Speaker 3: She walked into my agency and I looked at her 347 00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:55,920 Speaker 3: and I laughed, and I said, okay, first of all, 348 00:19:56,080 --> 00:19:58,680 Speaker 3: take off all that makeup, little girl, and we're gonna 349 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:00,399 Speaker 3: shave your head, then you're can you would meet a 350 00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:04,400 Speaker 3: friend of min named Bruce Weber. What yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, 351 00:20:04,440 --> 00:20:06,159 Speaker 3: You're gonna take off all that makeup. I'm gonna make 352 00:20:06,200 --> 00:20:08,880 Speaker 3: you look like a little boy, and then you're gonna 353 00:20:08,920 --> 00:20:11,960 Speaker 3: go meet Bruce Webber. She came back the next day, 354 00:20:12,680 --> 00:20:15,840 Speaker 3: head shaved, no makeup on. I introduced her to Bruce Webber. 355 00:20:16,080 --> 00:20:18,520 Speaker 3: Bruce Webber booked her for the Azzadine Olaya campaign and 356 00:20:18,640 --> 00:20:21,720 Speaker 3: walk in the fashion show, booker for Calvin Klein, and 357 00:20:21,800 --> 00:20:23,640 Speaker 3: she was off and running. Put her on the cover 358 00:20:23,640 --> 00:20:25,520 Speaker 3: of Americanelle. Was the youngest girl ever on the cover 359 00:20:25,520 --> 00:20:26,080 Speaker 3: of Americanell. 360 00:20:27,240 --> 00:20:32,639 Speaker 2: So it's just Jennifer, this one middle school kid who's 361 00:20:32,680 --> 00:20:35,240 Speaker 2: gonna come over and she's gonna join Paul. 362 00:20:35,920 --> 00:20:40,080 Speaker 4: You can be with an agency, but it's the agent 363 00:20:40,200 --> 00:20:43,399 Speaker 4: that actually represents you, that loves you, that's who you 364 00:20:43,480 --> 00:20:45,800 Speaker 4: really want to be with. So in the modeling business, 365 00:20:46,440 --> 00:20:50,200 Speaker 4: you can be with any name brand, fancy agency. 366 00:20:49,760 --> 00:20:52,120 Speaker 1: You want to be with, But does your agent love 367 00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:55,919 Speaker 1: you and Paul love Jennifer. So yeah, so Jennifer went 368 00:20:55,960 --> 00:20:59,320 Speaker 1: did the I mean I had no for me? It 369 00:20:59,359 --> 00:21:01,560 Speaker 1: wasn't even a quick and of course Jennifer went with Baul. 370 00:21:02,119 --> 00:21:06,199 Speaker 2: So Paul founds a new agency in his apartment with 371 00:21:06,480 --> 00:21:12,080 Speaker 2: Jennifer Jimenez as his only client. It's called IT Models. 372 00:21:12,640 --> 00:21:13,960 Speaker 3: How did I come up with the name it? I 373 00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:18,200 Speaker 3: had placed Jennifer with an agency in Paris called City 374 00:21:18,400 --> 00:21:21,520 Speaker 3: See it Y, one of the biggest agencies in Paris. 375 00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:25,480 Speaker 3: When Jennifer came over to my agency, I couldn't afford stickers, 376 00:21:25,920 --> 00:21:29,640 Speaker 3: I couldn't afford portfolios. So this little fourteen year old 377 00:21:29,640 --> 00:21:33,719 Speaker 3: girl has her city model's portfolio on our on my table, 378 00:21:33,800 --> 00:21:35,720 Speaker 3: my kitchen table. I don't have an office, I have 379 00:21:35,800 --> 00:21:39,280 Speaker 3: a studio apartment. And she takes a piece of tape. 380 00:21:40,320 --> 00:21:44,160 Speaker 3: She covers up the y, covers up the sea. She goes, Paul, 381 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:50,200 Speaker 3: we don't need portfolios. We just call it it. You 382 00:21:50,240 --> 00:21:51,760 Speaker 3: just cover up the sea and cover up the wy. 383 00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:55,800 Speaker 3: I can keep my old portfolio from Paris. I went, 384 00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:59,520 Speaker 3: you gotta be freaking kidding me. It was born. 385 00:22:02,080 --> 00:22:05,520 Speaker 2: So Paul and this teenage girl are joining forces that 386 00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:09,560 Speaker 2: IT Models, and Paul is once again clawing his way 387 00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:13,600 Speaker 2: back into the modeling industry, and little by little it's 388 00:22:13,640 --> 00:22:17,679 Speaker 2: starting to work. We're going to get into all of 389 00:22:17,680 --> 00:22:22,760 Speaker 2: that but before we are really overdue to discuss what 390 00:22:23,359 --> 00:22:27,439 Speaker 2: is modeling at its core, especially when you're dealing with 391 00:22:27,480 --> 00:22:31,479 Speaker 2: young girls. What is this world that Paul's trying to 392 00:22:31,520 --> 00:22:36,720 Speaker 2: climb to the top of. Next episode, Jennifer Jimenez is 393 00:22:36,760 --> 00:22:40,200 Speaker 2: going to explain it, and some of it is going 394 00:22:40,280 --> 00:22:44,359 Speaker 2: to be dark. Not all modeling stories are this dark. 395 00:22:44,520 --> 00:22:48,639 Speaker 2: Some of them really aren't. But we think it's time 396 00:22:48,680 --> 00:22:52,120 Speaker 2: for you to hear from one of the girls themselves. 397 00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:54,680 Speaker 6: I kept saying, you should get your daughter into modeling, 398 00:22:54,680 --> 00:22:57,000 Speaker 6: you should get your daughter into money. Abnormal became the 399 00:22:57,080 --> 00:22:59,320 Speaker 6: new normal for me, you know, and I was being 400 00:22:59,400 --> 00:23:01,719 Speaker 6: looked at for the moment I started as an object. 401 00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:04,400 Speaker 6: I was remember this one teacher, drama teacher of all teachers, 402 00:23:04,720 --> 00:23:06,240 Speaker 6: and she was like, oh, you think you're going to 403 00:23:06,280 --> 00:23:08,040 Speaker 6: get away with everything because you have a pretty face. 404 00:23:08,119 --> 00:23:10,840 Speaker 6: And I just looked at her like she has no idea. 405 00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:14,320 Speaker 6: I just came back from Tokyo. I've been sexually assaulted, 406 00:23:14,920 --> 00:23:18,080 Speaker 6: like I'm paying for my family, like for us to survive, 407 00:23:18,720 --> 00:23:22,480 Speaker 6: and she's making fun of like me being pretty or 408 00:23:22,600 --> 00:23:25,000 Speaker 6: ugly or something like co fuck yourself, lady. 409 00:23:25,640 --> 00:23:27,800 Speaker 2: That's next time on Model Wars. 410 00:23:34,040 --> 00:23:37,760 Speaker 7: Model Wars was a production of iHeart Podcasts and Campside Media. 411 00:23:38,160 --> 00:23:41,520 Speaker 7: Listen on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you 412 00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:45,399 Speaker 7: get your podcasts. Model Wars was executive produced and hosted 413 00:23:45,480 --> 00:23:49,520 Speaker 7: by Vanessa Gregoriotis. Our senior writer was Michael Kenyon Meyer. 414 00:23:49,880 --> 00:23:52,879 Speaker 7: Julia K. S Levine was our producer and reporter. Our 415 00:23:52,920 --> 00:23:55,840 Speaker 7: senior producer was Lily Houston Smith, and our assistant editor 416 00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:59,000 Speaker 7: was Emma Simonov. We had story and production help from 417 00:23:59,000 --> 00:24:03,240 Speaker 7: Shoshi Shmolowitz, Ali Haney, and Blake Rook. Our production manager 418 00:24:03,359 --> 00:24:06,640 Speaker 7: was Ashley Warren and our studio recordist was Ewan Lyi Tremuen. 419 00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:11,080 Speaker 7: Sound design, mix and engineering by Mark McCadam. iHeart Podcasts 420 00:24:11,160 --> 00:24:14,800 Speaker 7: executive producers were Jennifer Bassett and Katrina Norbel. The show 421 00:24:14,880 --> 00:24:18,119 Speaker 7: was also executive produced by Rachel winter In, Campside Media's 422 00:24:18,200 --> 00:24:21,200 Speaker 7: Josh Dean, Adam Hoff, and Matt Schaer. 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