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Biography |
Geoff Burns was a complete unknown a year ago. Quietly
studying for a degree in business and economics at the
conservative Wheaton College in Illinois, he hid his square
jaw and hardened features behind a helmet, playing
cornerback for the Wheaton College football team.
Seventeen saw the “all-American boy” in the pictures Burns’
roommate Brian Payne sent and featured him in their August
2007 issue as one of their 17 sexiest guys. That job led to
flying to Switzerland for a week of shoots, runway modeling
and being picked from 17,000 Americans to be a Guess model.
Then came Abercrombie.
After a “‘Survivor’ like” competition where 16 male and
female models were narrowed down to one, Burns was the last
man standing and spent the summer as the male model of the
summer. That meant his face and shirtless body plastered on
billboards, shopping bags and in-store displays and the
infamous video that has him suspended from school.
In the short video, there aren’t many clothes, but it’s
fairly tame except for a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it “heiny”
shot, as Burns puts. The controversial video on
Abercrombie's website found it’s way into Wheaton
administrators, who suspended Burns for the semester and
kicked him off the football team for his senior year.
While many people in his position would use that as an
excuse to quit school and go into modeling full time, Burns
enrolled in community college and is “100 % dedicated to
finishing school.”
As offers for bigger projects roll in and more time is
demanded of him, Burns has had to make decisions about
what’s important to him. He cancelled a trip to and a five
figure modeling gig to not interfere with his studies and
football. When he got a $50,000 offer from Abercrombie to
pose shirtless for a week in front of his picture, Burns
figured a week of his education was worth more than that. A
different model ended up posing under Burns’ picture.
While he models and high-end fashion like $15,000 Christian
Dior belts, Payne said Burns still wears t-shirts and jeans
and takes five minutes to get ready when they go out and has
proven to his friends that he has his priorities in order.
“This (modeling) hasn’t changed him much,” Payne said. “His
loyalties still really lie with friends, school, football
and family. He’s not gonna abandon any aspects of his life
for modeling. Some people might think it’s stupid turning
down that much money, but he puts other things first.”
Payne has been helping Burns book gigs and said that having
a male model as a good friend makes it easier to meet girls
… as long as you don’t mention it right away. When they’re
out together, Payne compared them to “Wedding Crashers,”
saying he’s like Vince Vaughn, talking a mile a minute and
Burns is like Owen Wilson. A nice guy, who’s shy at first,
but great once you get him to open up.
In between sips of his Venti Ice Vanilla Latte at a
Starbucks in Wheaton, Burns said he works out two hours a
day, and he’s had to watch what he eats; avoiding starches
and going three months without a slice of pizza in months
Besides the dietary restrictions and the pressure to lose
another ten pounds, Burns has had to fend off male
photographers coming on to him, saying he just says no and
lets them know he’s just there to work. He says a lot of
conceptions about models, perpetuated from “Zoolander” are
myths, saying that Blue Steel is not a good look and that
not all models are dumb.
“A lot of people judge me for what I do,” he said. “What I
do might be different from your daily job. This is what I
do. It’s my passion. You wouldn’t think you get better over
time, but you do. I’m a lot more comfortable in front of
camera. It’s so funny looking at day one to now. Now I feel
like I own the thing.”
He’s climbing to the top of the modeling world, but both he
and Payne aren’t ready for it to stop there. He just
finished a successful shoot with legendary photographer Tony
Duran and is looking for a massive campaign from Polo. They
see a career similar to Brad Pitt, who started modeling,
moved on to commercials and then the big films. Payne is
optimistic for the future of his friend, who’s climbed high
in the modeling world in just one year.
“He’s one of my best friends and I want what’s best for us,”
he said. “It’s a great dynamic duo, so why stop?” |
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since December 12, 2007