When it comes to getting discovered, models, actors and actresses were first spotted in all types of places. Rumor is Gisele Bündchen was first seen at a McDonald’s, and Natalie Portman was discovered at a pizza parlor. But for wannabe models, social media is making your life a lot easier.
Attention, aspiring models. So-Flo is the home of one of the world’s top modeling agencies.
Erin Lucas: "Wilhelmina Models is a global model management firm. Our primary offices in the U.S. are New York, Los Angeles and Miami."
Wilhelmina’s Miami headquarters is in the Mondrian on South Beach, but you can’t just walk in and get an agent. Now, thanks to social media — and a new hashtag — getting discovered just got a little easier.
Erin Lucas: "Hashtag ‘WillyScouts’ is our newest scouting program, and it was created by our CEO Bill Wackermann, and basically it gives aspiring talent across the globe access to our scouts via social media."
Aspiring models just need to use the hashtag "WillyScouts" on their Instagram pictures, and a Wilhelmina professional will check you out.
Erin Lucas: "We wanted to cast the broadest net possible. Wilhelmina is known for its fresh new faces."
If you want proof that you can get discovered on social media, ask Maggie Rawlins.
Maggie Rawlins: "I was discovered on Instagram, and before I knew it, I was on a plane going to Miami to meet with Wilhelmina Models, and it just kind of went from there."
Thankfully, a Wilhelmina scout saw Maggie’s Instagram, and she went from being a certified oncology nurse in Charlston, S.C. to being a full-fledged professional model.
Maggie Rawlins: "Social media is just super important for your career. It gives agents and potential clients the ability to see you in a different light. They get to see you in your everyday habits and routines. They get to see a piece of you, like who you really are."
Hashtagging Willy Scouts lets the pros see your habits, friends and your favorite things. And, one tip from Wilhelmina…
Erin Lucas: "We don’t want to see nudity. We don’t really want to see that bathroom selfie in the underwear."
We can’t promise you will make the cut, but it is a way to get noticed.
Maggie Rawlins: "It gives everybody a chance to be seen."
FOR MORE INFO:
Wilhelmina
1100 West Ave.
Miami Beach, FL 33139
(305) 672-9344
www.wilhelmina.com/miami/models/introduction-page