Merry Christmas!

I hope everyone has an amazing holiday with all their families... Enjoy company, eat good food, and cherish the moments! Also, have a safe, fun and happy New Year to follow. My adventures to Europe are getting closer and closer. January 9th I'm booked to Athens... So stay tuned!!

-Mitchell

Michigan

As I said before, now that I'm back in Michigan for the month of December, I'd post some pictures of what my hometown looks like... They are all taken from my Blackberry so they aren't the best quality photos, but they do the job. MUCH different than New York. It's like a totally different world visiting. When I go from the city to this it's always a culture shock. Check it out:

This is a big agricultural farm right down the street from my neighborhood.

This is another a few miles away from my house. Cow farm.

This is a huge corn field right next to my neighborhood with forest in the background.

Front yard taken from my bedroom window. Welcome to MI

-Mitchell

Changes

I have lived in New York City for 2.5 years now, and the longest I've ever left was probably around 2 weeks at a time. Today is my last full day in New York and its pretty bittersweet. I'm really going to miss this city and all my friends I've made over the years...  but I am subletting my apartment here in the city, so I will definitely be back!

I'm flying back to Michigan for the month of December to spend with my family. I hardly ever get to see them (usually once or twice a year for a week) so I think this will be refreshing for all of us. In January I am planning on going to Europe for quite a while for modeling. I'm starting out in Athens Greece for 2 months with an agency called X-Ray Models, and then following I will head to Milan Italy for another 2 months with Major Models Milan! The time is indefinite at this point. I possibly would like to continue traveling more after those 4 months elapse, around Europe a bit or possibly even Asia! I'm very excited about it!

While I'm home for an entire month, I'll attempt to take some photos from my home town. That way you can see where I come from and how COMPLETELY different it is from NY!

Stay tuned!

-Mitchell

Barcelona Spain

 I got the opportunity to go to Barcelona Spain in March of 2009. I had met with a really great agency called Traffic Models. The head agent from Traffic flew in for a week to meet with a bunch of New York models to scout new talent. I was sent to meet with her by my agency in NYC and I was picked up by Traffic and asked to come out for a month to live, go on castings and see if I could potentially work in the Spanish market.

I left the day after my 20th birthday. It was a great addition to my birthday seeing as all my roommates threw me a surprise birthday party the night before... I had no idea!

As I sat down to blow out the candles I got an extra surprise waiting underneath the table. Scared the crap out of me.  That night was full of surprises! Was an amazing birthday =]

I arrived in Barcelona after a long flight but was ready to get into the city and explore. I hadn't been outside New York or the US since my trip to Milan. From the airport I was picked up by a driver who brought me to where I would be living for the duration of my stay. 

I had my own room. Which was a bonus, because most model apartments are shared rooms.

The apartment I stayed at was extremely nice. It was on the top floor in the upper part of the city. The apartment was quite a hike up a pretty steep road from the subway, but the view made up for it. The apartment had 4 balconies with some pretty amazing views....

Mediterranean Sea in the distance

Agbar Tower and La Sagrada Familia

The subways were EXTREMELY clean, quick, and efficient. NYC should take notes...

Surfers everyday

Me!

Cool photo I took while hanging out at the Mediterranean Sea. There's more where this came from... stay tuned ;)

Inside the agency TRAFFIC with wall of  "out of town" model cards

One of the editorials I shot for a Spanish magazine while in Barcelona 

No matter what city you visit, you'll always see a crazy bird lady

La Sagrada Familia, By far the most creepy yet inspiring structure I have ever seen.  Construction began way back in 1882, and is not expected to be completed until 2026. 144 years! Reason being: Architect Gaudi forced strict rules of the structure to be funded thru donation only.

As well as designing La Sagrada Familia, Gaudi also designed multiple museums around Barcelona as well. This one reminds me of the mansion in the movie Casper

It was nice to be in a climate with palm trees while NY was still freezing in March =]

I think I went to the Sea every single day I was in Spain

I had an amazing time in beautiful Barcelona. I met great people, learned new things about myself, and experienced memories that I will never forget. I booked work, got to experience a new culture for a second time not knowing any of the language ;) and visit a foreign city and country that I can now check off on my world list. What more could I ask for?? :)

-Mitchell

Gianfranco Ferre

So I'm going to start my first entry from an event that happened within the first 2 weeks of my modeling career, but to this day has been one of the coolest experiences I have had since I started modeling, so I decided to make it my first!

I started modeling in May of 2008. While living in Michigan I got signed to Wilhelmina Models, to the main fashion mens board. I moved to New York shortly after, and it all started from there!

Wilhelmina set me up for a "looks" job within the first week I started. Basically I was meeting with a really successful stylist (Karl Templer) who needed a model to put on the looks he created for a Vogue editorial he was styling, to see how they looked and fit. It wasn't anything glamorous and I don't even think I got paid for it, but the outcome was totally worth it.

My agent at Wilhelmina told me that it could be great exposure to be working so close with a top stylist, so I said alright lets do it. I go to his studio, tried on a handful of outfits he put together, and that was that. As I was packing up and getting ready to leave, he looked at me and said "you know... when you walked in I didn't really see anything special, but once you put on these outfits you totally transformed". He then looked to his assistant and told her to take polaroids of me for Ferre. I had no idea what that meant... but little to my knowledge I was in for a big surprise.

A few days later, Wilhelmina called me and asked for me to stop by the agency. They said nothing more. So I had no idea what they wanted to say to me. I arrived and 3 of my bookers pulled me into a conference room and told me that I was to be leaving for Milan Italy in 2 days and that Karl Templer booked me exclusively for the Gianfranco Ferre show for Milan Fashion Week, all expenses paid, (flight, hotel, food, AND being paid for the show) and on top of it I was to be staying for 5 days because I was also to be doing all the "looks" for the show as well!!

I was completely stunned. I had never been to Europe before, let alone for FREE! So I packed a bag to last me for 5 days and 2 days later headed to the airport for Milan!

I arrived in Italy and was beyond excited, but slightly nervous at the same time. I came from a pretty small town back in Michigan, and to move to New York City and then take a flight to Milan all by myself within the first 2 weeks of modeling was quite a change for me! I didn't know a single word of Italian, so it was a challenge, but I'm very navigationally savvy, so I managed.

Ferre headquarters in Milan, where I basically lived for 5 days.

My room was on the top floor and I had 2 balconies overlooking the city!

From hotel balcony 

2 of my bookers on the left from Wilhelmina, and a handful of Willy guys in Milan for fashion week!

Duomo

Here are a few pictures from the Ferre show...

I had a really great time in Milan and it was definitely a once in a lifetime opportunity! I feel very fortunate that I got to experience it. 

Headed home. Hitting the ocean for the next 8 hours...

-Mitchell