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Biography |
Matt Ratliff was the face of the winter Abercrombie and
Fitch campaign, and his face - and bare chest - could be
seen everywhere from the Web site to shopping bags.
Modeling wasn’t a lifelong dream for the Plainfield High
School graduate; he was just at the right place at the right
time. While walking down a street in Indianapolis several
years ago, a talent scout scoped Matt out and suggested he
model.
“It was something that sounded like fun when I was told I
could do it, but it was nothing that I always dreamed of,”
Matt said.
But on a whim, he decided to give it a try. After all, it
was more exciting than computer networking, which he was
studying in college at the time.
Just two years into his young career, Matt hit it big. He
was selected for an Abercrombie and Fitch photo shoot in
Canada.
“They fly 30 guys out and shoot everyone the first day and,
at end of day, they make a cut and, at the end of the day,
they make a cut and send people home. It’s like Survivor,”
Matt said.
While in Canada, he and the other models stayed in a
five-star hotel on the beach and it was “basically a big
party” he said.
During the winter campaign, which started in November and
ended in January, Matt lived in New York City for two
months, where he worked at a new Abercrombie store doing
meet-and-greets and attending fundraisers.
Although he claims the modeling world isn’t exactly as
glamorous as everyone thinks, he isn’t shy about talking
about the celebrities he has met along the way, including
his girlfriend, a former runner-up contestant from Tyra
Banks’ reality show “America’s Next Top Model.”
He briefly came back to stay with his family during the
holidays but left again for a most surreal experience - his
body is going to be cast for a statue to be placed in a
California Abercrombie store. Matt said that this is the
first time that Abercrombie has only used one model for a
statue. Previously, they would use the best features of
several models to create statues.
Matt’s likeness also will be painted on a wall of the same
Los Angeles store where his statue will be.
This wasn’t the only groundbreaking first that Matt
experienced with Abercrombie. He was offered to work at
their corporate headquarters, basically doing whatever he
wanted.
“They’ve really been a great company, and I’m impressed with
the way they handle business. Everything is top notch,”
Gloria said.
You won’t see Matt in any Zoolander-esque walk-offs anytime
soon; he plans to stick with doing catalogs and print
modeling because of the higher pay and the ability to stay
in the Midwest. According to Matt, a majority of
catalog-type jobs are located in this area.
Before Abercrombie and Fitch, Matt did several photo shoots
for catalogs, which is what he would like to continue to
focus on. One of his first shoots was for Jockey packages.
Matt doesn’t let this attention get to his head. He is an
Indiana boy, and doesn’t plan on changing that anytime soon.
“I can hopefully stay in Indiana - there’s a lot of places
that I get to see when modeling,” Matt said.
One of those places will be New York City. He plans live in
an apartment with other models from his agency and try to
participate in Fashion Week - the highlight of the fashion
industry’s year.
“It is crazy busy and there is so much money wrapped up into
the (fashion) shows so you have to be amazing for them,”
Matt said. |
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