There is no shorter route to power than through the genitals of male leaders. This principle guided the Lolita Gambit, played by the Mossad through its "Agent" Jeffrey Epstein
John Casablancas: The Story Of The Monster Who Created The Modern Modeling Industry by Melissa Sartore ranker.com Updated June 14, 2019
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John Casablancas founded one of the world's best-known modeling agencies, Elite Model Management, in 1972. Five years later, he started an agency in New York and soon went global. Through Elite Models, Casablancas discovered models like Stephanie Seymour, Cindy Crawford, and Naomi Campbell, essentially inventing the concept of a "supermodel" in the process.
But as is the case with most industries, modeling carries a seedy underbelly, and Casablancas was a spurious proponent of discrimination against women and borderline child exploitation beneath his facade of craft and glamour. In addition to his positive influence on modeling, there were numerous scandals involving John Casablancas, especially as his predatory relationships with his modeling talent became clear. As a middle-aged man spending most of his time around beautiful women, Casablancas acted the part of a degenerate behind the scenes while using his modeling agency as his glamorous playground.
Casablancas passed in 2013. Quite telling is the fact that none of his high-profile former clients — the world's first supermodels — made statements or came to pay their respects. He'd not earned it.
He Used To Party With Donald Trump And Provide Him With Models
Victorious @VBrown13245591 You're known by the company you keep, and Donald Trump has kept company with -- to use his words -- some "bad hombres," and pediphile [pedophile] John Casablancas was one of the worst. 2:14 PM Dec 17, 2017
John Casablancas and Donald Trump used to run in the same circles. In the wake of sexual misconduct allegations against Trump, an incident involving the two men and several models came to light. At a dinner party both men attended in 1996, Casablancas provided models for the event. The men at the party reportedly requested
"...the models walk on the table so that they could peek under their skirts and comment on whether they were wearing underwear. They also remarked on what the women’s genitals looked like."
Trump's interest in the modeling industry ostensibly grew. He owned his own modeling agency, known as Trump Models, between 1999 and 2017. The agency closed amid claims of human trafficking and "modern day slavery" in regards to the treatment of the models he represented.
President Donald Trump marked the 20th anniversary Friday of federal legislation to help combat human trafficking by dedicating a new White House position to the issue.
Surrounded by survivors, administration officials and members of Congress, Trump signed an executive order creating the position at the conclusion of a White House summit on human trafficking.
He declared his administration “100 percent committed to eradicating human trafficking from the earth,” and called the practice a form of “modern-day slavery.”
-- Trump signs order creating position focused on combating human trafficking, by pbs.org, Jan 30, 2020
He Held Wet T-Shirt Contests At Xenon, The New York Nightclub
parismatch_vintage @matchvintage 1978 - #JohnCasablancas lance a #NewYork une succursale de son agence de mannequins #Elite ebx.sh/2wwJsoS [Google translate: #JohnCasablancas launches a branch of its modeling agency #Elite ebx.sh/2wwJsoS in #NewYork] 3:20 AM Aug 20, 2017
During the early 1980s, John Casablancas made partying part of his job. He went on record as saying that he preferred "a model that parties a little too much to a model that doesn’t party enough" and provided plenty of opportunities for models to make an impression.
After he was turned away from the popular nightclub Studio 54, Casablancas decided that he'd focus on Xenon, another hotspot in New York City. He threw several parties at Xenon, sending t-shirts from Elite Models as invitations, which the women wore when they attended. The models would show as much skin as possible while wearing the shirts, but one night, after Casablancas had a temporary pool installed for the occasion, the party turned into a wet t-shirt contest. On another occasion, he had a pajama party of sorts where models wore nothing but lingerie.
John Casablancas Thought His Own Daughter Had 'A Great Little Body'
In preparation for her profile on John Casablancas for New York Magazine in 1988, reporter Dinah Prince observed the modeling scout and agent with some of his biggest talent. She watched Casablancas interact with famous models like Iman, Andie MacDowell, and Carol Alt, and she saw him chime in to try to take part in their conversations.
The three women were discussing their families, so Casablancas told the group about how his daughter, Cecile, had been asked by a photographer to model for him during a trip to Ibiza the previous year. Casablancas then told them that he tried to get $2,000 for the shot because "she's got a great little body."
He Was Hot For Both Stephanie Seymour And Her Mom
stephanieseymour stephanieseymour Happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there ... and most especially mine! Love you momma. XO, S
John Casablancas told New York Magazine that he noticed Stephanie Seymour's mother before he ever noticed the future supermodel, recalling that she was "absolutely ravishing" and "much more interesting" than her daughter. It doesn't seem like anything happened between Seymour's mother and Casablancas, but the 41-year-old was, to the teen Seymour, her "first everything."
Stephanie's mother was highly encouraging when it came to her daughter's modeling career, helping her get her father's permission to go to Paris, Rome, and Acapulco. When she finally broke the news of her relationship with Casablancas to her father, he simply suggested she was making a mistake. Casablancas swooped in and charmed Seymour's father and, according to Stephanie Seymour, "convinced my father that he loved me more than anybody in this world."
His Third Wife Was 17 Years Old When They Married
John Casablancas married Aline Wermelinger in 1993. The model was one of Casablancas's own creations and was 17 years old at the time — her new husband was 50. Wermelinger had participated in an Elite's Look of the Year in her native Brazil the previous year. She was, by her own admission, "deeply religious and virginal." In the contest, she had even told the judges about her favorite book of the Bible.
Casablancas and Wermelinger had a short courtship, dating for only three months before Casablancas went to Brazil to meet her family. He called their chemistry "electric" but also admitted "I’m not saying the relationship will last forever. But who knows?" Aline and John were married until his passing in 2013.
He Went On A Insult Binge Against His Supermodels
Charles-Antoine Bertaux dit "CAB" @CABertaux Dec 12, 2017 Replying to @CABertaux faiseur de TOP MODELS L'HOMME QUI AIMAIT LES FEMMES qui l'a prouve en creant l'agence #elite en 1972 aurait celbre son 2Seme anniversaire ce 12 decembre JOYEUX ANNIVERSAIRE M. JOHN #CASABLANCAS Le dernier #playboy @BertyRocher @grazi_fr grazia.fr/culture/cinema... Google translate: [maker of TOP MODELS THE MAN WHO LOVED WOMEN who proved it by creating the #elite agency in 1972 would have celebrated its 2nd anniversary on December 12 HAPPY BIRTHDAY MR JOHN #CASABLANCAS The latest #playboy @BertyRocher @grazi_fr grazia.fr/culture/cinema ... ] Charles-Antoine Bertaux dit "CAB" @CABertaux La TOP MODEL @NaomiCampbell (ici avec feu John @CASABLANCAS) interviewee a 22H40 par @LeaSalame dans #Stupefiant sur les "MONUMENTS DE LA MODE" sur @France2tv [Google translate: The TOP MODEL @NaomiCampbell (here with the late John @CASABLANCAS) interviewed at 10:40 pm by @LeaSalame in #Stupefiant on "MONUMENTS DE LA MODE" on @ France2tv] 1:40 PM Feb 5, 2018
Casablancas retired from the modeling industry in 2000, one year after a BBC documentary came out that depicted Elite Models as racist and exploitive, challenging Casablancas' integrity and legacy. He moved to Brazil with his young wife, Aline.
After he left, he didn't hold back from talking about the women he had worked with over the years. He called Naomi Campbell "odious" and expressed happiness at having fired her, labeled Gisele Bündchen "a monster of selfishness," and identified Heidi Klum as a "talentless sausage."
His Relationship With A Teenaged Stephanie Seymour Ended His Second Marriage
When Casablancas was 41, he began an affair with the teenaged Stephanie Seymour – reports claim she was either 15 or 16 at the time. Seymour met Casablancas at a modeling competition and, although he was married to his second wife, Jeanette Christiansen, at the time, he and Seymour soon began a relationship that lasted for two years. Their affair led to Casablancas's divorce from Christiansen – a former model and 1965's Miss Denmark – in 1983.
Jeanette Christiansen
Casablancas described Seymour in a manner that provides insight into his overall demeanor. He told Prince:
"[Seymour is] a girl of extremes...and the way she developed – there’s a quality that developed about her that is this incredible sensuality that a woman-child has, a true woman-child … her voice is a child’s, her attitudes, the way she holds her feet and her hands are those of a child, at the same time with an incredible sensuality to it. And that mixture was and is so explosive … This was something like a forbidden fruit for both of us."
Casablancas also said that Seymour was the only woman "that really broke my heart.”
Stephanie Seymour
John Casablancas told New York Magazine that he noticed Stephanie Seymour's mother before he ever noticed the future supermodel, recalling that she was "absolutely ravishing" and "much more interesting" than her daughter. It doesn't seem like anything happened between Seymour's mother and Casablancas, but the 41-year-old was, to the teen Seymour, her "first everything."
Stephanie's mother was highly encouraging when it came to her daughter's modeling career, helping her get her father's permission to go to Paris, Rome, and Acapulco. When she finally broke the news of her relationship with Casablancas to her father, he simply suggested she was making a mistake. Casablancas swooped in and charmed Seymour's father and, according to Stephanie Seymour, "convinced my father that he loved me more than anybody in this world."
Casablancas Was Constantly In The Company Of Women
parismatch_vintage Les plus belles photos des #archives de @ParisMatch_magazine - #1982 - #JohnCasablancas, PDG de l'agence #Elite regne depuis 24 ans sur un empire de 400 mannequins. Photo: Jean-Claude Sauer/#ParisMatch [Google translate: The most beautiful photos of the #archives of @ParisMatch_magazine - # 1982 - #JohnCasablancas, CEO of the #Elite agency has reigned for 24 years over an empire of 400 models. Photo: Jean-Claude Sauer / # ParisMatch]
Casablancas, called "one of the creepiest people I have ever met" by one observer, was constantly surrounded by women, a circumstance of his own design. When he was at his agency, he would always make it a point to drop in and visit models during their interviews, talk to their mothers, and generally gawk at whatever beautiful women he could find. Casablancas had an uncanny ability to draw lines between the types of women in his life, however. He treated his models as though they were brainless dolls while acting as though the employees at his agency were nonsexual servants.
Casablancas was aware that his relationships with women could be misconstrued by the public. According to Casablancas, he "had friendships with these girls that are sometimes very flirtatious friendships... people imagine what they see is the public part of what goes on privately. It is not." His male friends saw it another way, suggesting that his need to be around women was "almost to the point of being ridiculous. He's insecure about being alone."
Casablancas Was Father, Admirer, And Mentor To New Talent
Elite Look Of The Year 1994 Ibiza... here’s your Canadian girl! John Casablanca and I being interviewed on stage after winning. The 90’s rocked! #elitelookoftheyear1994 #elite #johncasablancas #martineargent pic.twitter.com/Ti6hClAtBb
— Martine Argent (@MartineArgent) February 10, 2018
When young, fresh-faced girls came into Elite Models, Casablancas was always nearby. He would go in and out of the room where girls were interviewed, measured, and weighed, taking an interest in the girls deemed good enough for the agency. He made a point of making sure the girls felt admired and beautiful – manipulating them because it was good for business. For example, he called pop singer and model Jeanna Cie into his office one day and threatened to make her stand on the scale, telling her she disgusted him. Cie, anxious to please, promised him she could control her weight.
Casablancas Regretted Creating The Supermodel
crazy_fads #supermodel of #90s dressed in #versace for @voguemagazine #cindycrawford #tatjanapatitz #helenachristensen #lindaevangelista #claudiaschiffer #naomicampbell #stephanieseymour #karenmulder #moderl #topmodel #top #beautiful#beauty#pic#picture#photo#blackandwhite #fashion #style
Despite allegations that he encouraged his models to do drugs and party and that he carried on numerous affairs with underaged girls, the one thing Casablancas regretted was creating the "supermodel." He explained his behavior, specifically his personal relationships, by stating it was the nature of his business – most people date within the workplace, so why shouldn't he? He defended himself, too, saying he never knowingly had sex with a girl under the age of 16.
Making a new category of models, however, was something he came to hate. According to Casablancas, "They can be impossible. Elite single-handedly brought modeling rates to a peak no one could have imagined, but the girls never thanked me for it. I’ve had enough."
After his passing, none of his supermodels — "Naomi or Heidi, Claudia or Cindy, or Christie Brinkley, Andie MacDowell, Gisele, and Iman" — made any statements.
2 models who worked for Trump's controversial agency tell what it was like for them by Sarah Jacobs Business Insider Feb 14, 2017, 7:15 AM
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A model presents a creation by Ukrainian designer Yuliya Polishchuk during Ukrainian Fashion Week in Kiev, Ukraine, October 12, 2016. Gleb Garanich/Reuters
• US President Donald Trump founded a modeling agency in 1999. • Business Insider interviewed two former Trump models who spoke about their experiences working with the agency. They talked about business practices that included lying about their professions to customs agents. One of the two models said she was left in debt to the agency. • Referring to the industry as a whole, one of the models told Business Insider: "There's quite a bit of exploitation of young girls going to America illegally and being overcharged for apartments and making very little money."
For fashion models around the world, making it to New York Fashion Week is a dream. That was the case for two young models from the Netherlands, whose Dutch agency coordinated with Trump Models to bring them to the US in the mid-2000s. They were 17 and 19 years old at the time and had never heard of Donald Trump.
One of the two models now says she's ashamed that her name was ever connected to his brand. Both women say the agency asked them to lie about their profession and to concoct stories to avoid alerting Customs and Border Protection agents to their intention to work in the US without authorization.
Their account of what it's like to work as a model in New York — including that they were not paid adequate wages and were housed in cramped, dorm-like apartments — could be said about much of the industry and do not apply only to foreign models. But President Trump has made an anti-immigration campaign an early hallmark of his presidency. He is focused on those who are working illegally in the US and foreign workers who could be displacing Americans. The women Business Insider spoke with fit both descriptions.
The two models spoke on condition of anonymity. One said she was trying to get a work visa, and the other did not want to use her name because she feared repercussions for speaking out. The details they gave matched those given by other models as reported by Mother Jones and CNN last August.
Trump Models did not respond to several requests for comment about the allegations.
Trump's foray into the modeling business
In 1999, Trump decided to extend his business empire into the world of fashion, opening the New York-based agency that bears his name. Trump had previously been married to professional model Ivana Trump, and he was dating then model Melania Knauss, whom he would marry, but this was Trump's first step into the business side of the industry.
Today, Trump Models represents more than 100 women, which, along with its main line of talent, includes a "development" line, which focuses on new talent, and a "legacy" line, which represents more experienced models. Trump Models' website says that the agency "is the brainstorm and vision of owner, Donald Trump."
Last May, when the Federal Election Commission released Trump's 104-page personal financial disclosure, it was revealed that Trump had generated a nearly $2 million dollar profit from the modeling agency, and Mother Jones reported that Trump owned an 85% stake in the company at the time. Before the inauguration, Trump announced that his business holdings would be placed in the Donald J. Trump Revocable Trust; however, recent reports show that Trump is still closely tied to the trust and it is listed under his Social Security number for federal tax purposes.
In addition to the usual runway shows, advertising campaigns, editorial spreads, and Fashion Week bookings, Trump Models is closely tied to Trump's other endeavors. The agency and its models have worked with Trump's reality-TV show, "The Apprentice," starring in episodes that included fashion-based challenges. Mother Jones reported that some of the agency's models were discovered through Miss Universe and Miss USA competitions, which Trump purchased in 1996 and has since sold.
Coming to America, without a visa
One of the former Trump models told Business Insider that when she was 17 years old she was represented by a local modeling agency in the Netherlands and was looking for more work to build her portfolio. Her agency coordinated a work trip to New York where she would work with Trump Models. Along with two other models from the same agency, she planned to spend three weeks in the US. They did not have work visas, but they were chaperoned by someone who did.
Upon entering the country to work, without a visa she and the other model Business Insider spoke with were potentially violating immigration laws. Though they were still being paid by their Netherlands-based modeling agency, anyone working and receiving compensation for work done for any time in the US is required to have a work visa.
"I was 17 years old the first time I came [to New York] and one of the girls I was with was 14," one of the models said. "She was told to tell people she was 15 because they know that a lot of people would feel difficulty working with a 14-year-old."
Like many foreign models, her goal was to find a US-based modeling agency that would represent her and help her get a work visa so that she could legally come to the US for jobs. But finding an agency that does both is challenging.
She said their first trip to New York for Trump Models was positive overall. "The first experience was quite good," she said. "They arranged test shoots, got me one job, and a good editorial [shoot]. I was very happy."
The second model agreed: "They were professional like any other agency — everything seemed professional."
After the first model's visit, Trump Models still wasn't ready to help coordinate a work visa for her. The agency said she needed to work on her portfolio more and build her client list. Over the course of a year back home, she took jobs in Europe and Australia. The second trip to New York to work with Trump Models was initiated by the model herself, who was determined to build her portfolio and have the agency sponsor her work visa.
They gladly took her on, she said, but again didn't work out a visa before the trip.
According to accounts from both models, they were specifically instructed by Trump Model agents not to take their portfolio books with them on the plane, as doing so can be a red flag to customs agents. They said Trump Models gave them the address of a booker and told them to tell customs that they were visiting a friend at that address. Under no circumstances were they supposed to tell customs that they were models.
That — and the fact that she'd be going through customs without a chaperone or visa — made the first model freeze up, and she ultimately told customs that she was a model when asked about her occupation. It wasn't an issue, and she was let through.
"I was so nervous, I was sweaty, and I was red. I was so tense," she said.
On this second trip, she stayed at the "model apartments," where many would stay while in town on jobs.
"It's a box. It's tiny," she said. "There's a living room with an open kitchen ... a tiny bathroom, the bedrooms, and in each room there was two bunk beds."
Her plan was to stay for four weeks, but the bookers at Trump Models requested she stay another month once they saw that castings were going well. Homesick and ready to return to her boyfriend in the Netherlands, she stayed for only another two weeks.
Her third and final visit with Trump Models was for Fashion Week later that year. Arriving at a New York City airport right before Fashion Week can be risky for those coming into the city without a work visa. She and the agency strategically planned around this, she said. Her flights, coordinated by a booker at Trump Models, had her visit a friend a week previously "elsewhere in America" and then fly into New York for Fashion Week.
But Fashion Week "didn't go well," and between the cost of the flight and housing, she was in debt to the agency. Most important, her third visit confirmed what she had already thought: "I never believed that Trump Models believed in me, and their lack of effort getting me a visa is proof of that," she said.
Ultimately, her Netherlands-based agency broke off all ties with Trump Models, and she has since started working with another US-based agency that she says is working to get her a visa. The second model has left the fashion world altogether.
'American workers first'
Both models said their experiences with Trump Models are not that different from what they've seen at other agencies.
"It's regular fashion business s--- that you have to put up with. The experience I had with Trump Models ... wasn't different from experiences I've had with other places and other agencies," one said. "Agencies ... fabricate a very beautiful story, and tempt you with it — it works well when you’re younger."
According to the first model's account, the agencies pay for the flight up front, expecting the model to pay them back with jobs once she arrives. That, coupled with housing expenses, means that some models are just breaking even.
"They book you a job with quite a lot of money when you first arrive so you [can] pay back your flight and advance on the apartment," she said. "There's quite a bit of exploitation of young girls going to America illegally and being overcharged for apartments and making very little money."
In the past year, Trump Models has come under fire for the practices — in particular, the alleged visa violations — because of how the business contradicted candidate Trump's public statements on the issue.
One of his campaign pledges was to "establish new immigration controls to boost wages and to ensure that open jobs are offered to American workers first."
More recently, Bloomberg News obtained a draft executive order relating to work visas — the same kind that some modeling agencies would use — that says:
"Visa programs for foreign workers … should be administered in a manner that protects the civil rights of American workers and current lawful residents, and that prioritizes the protection of American workers — our forgotten working people — and the jobs they hold."
Backlash from other models
In August, Mother Jones cited three former Trump Models who said they had worked in the US without proper work visas. Former model Rachel Blais, who is now an advocate against unjust practices in the modeling industry, spoke out about her time at Trump Models, saying they are "the most crooked agency" she's ever worked for.
Model Maggie Rizer, who seems to have had a positive experience with her agent at Trump Models, publicly left the agency on the eve of election night.
She wrote in an Instagram post that "as a woman, a mother, an American and a human being, I cannot wake up Wednesday morning being the least bit related to the Trump brand; win or lose. I owe it to myself and to my children to proudly stand up for what I believe in and that is a world where Donald Trump has no voice for the future of our country."
On Monday, The Guardian reported that there's a budding backlash against Trump Models in the fashion industry — not unlike the consumer boycotts against Ivanka Trump's clothing and shoe line.
Today, the first model who shared her story with Business Insider says she feels ashamed of her involvement with the agency.
"It's embarrassing to say out loud, to say that I've worked for Trump Models," she said.
"Now, looking back knowing that I worked for Donald Trump ... it's really insane, it's really awful. It's bizarre working for someone that you now realize how completely opposite his ethics are of mine," she said. "I despise that, and it's bizarre to know I've made money for him."
If you are a model who was once represented by Trump Models and would like to share your story, please contact Sarah Jacobs at [email protected].
Former Models for Donald Trump’s Agency Say They Violated Immigration Rules and Worked Illegally: “It’s like modern-day slavery.” by James West Mother Jones August 30, 2016
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President Donald Trump marked the 20th anniversary Friday of federal legislation to help combat human trafficking by dedicating a new White House position to the issue.
Surrounded by survivors, administration officials and members of Congress, Trump signed an executive order creating the position at the conclusion of a White House summit on human trafficking.
He declared his administration “100 percent committed to eradicating human trafficking from the earth,” and called the practice a form of “modern-day slavery.”
-- Trump signs order creating position focused on combating human trafficking, by pbs.org, Jan 30, 2020
Pierre Roussel/ Zuma Press; Louis Lanzano/AP Photo
Republican nominee Donald Trump has placed immigration at the core of his presidential campaign. He has claimed that undocumented immigrants are “taking our jobs” and “taking our money,” pledged to deport them en masse, and vowed to build a wall on the Mexican border. At one point he demanded a ban on Muslims entering the country. Speaking to supporters in Iowa on Saturday, Trump said he would crack down on visitors to the United States who overstay their visas and declared that when any American citizen “loses their job to an illegal immigrant, the rights of that American citizen have been violated.” And he is scheduled to give a major address on immigration in Arizona on Wednesday night.
But the mogul’s New York modeling agency, Trump Model Management, has profited from using foreign models who came to the United States on tourist visas that did not permit them to work here, according to three former Trump models, all noncitizens, who shared their stories with Mother Jones. Financial and immigration records included in a recent lawsuit filed by a fourth former Trump model show that she, too, worked for Trump’s agency in the United States without a proper visa.
Foreigners who visit the United States as tourists are generally not permitted to engage in any sort of employment unless they obtain a special visa, a process that typically entails an employer applying for approval on behalf of a prospective employee. Employers risk fines and possible criminal charges for using undocumented labor.
Founded in 1999, Trump Model Management “has risen to the top of the fashion market,” boasts the Trump Organization’s website, and has a name “that symbolizes success.” According to a financial disclosure filed by his campaign in May, Donald Trump earned nearly $2 million from the company, in which he holds an 85 percent stake. Meanwhile, some former Trump models say they barely made any money working for the agency because of the high fees for rent and other expenses that were charged by the company.
Canadian-born Rachel Blais spent nearly three years working for Trump Model Management. After first signing with the agency in March 2004, she said, she performed a series of modeling gigs for Trump’s company in the United States without a work visa. At Mother Jones‘ request, Blais provided a detailed financial statement from Trump Model Management and a letter from an immigration lawyer who, in the fall of 2004, eventually secured a visa that would permit her to work legally in the United States. These records show a six-month gap between when she began working in the United States and when she was granted a work visa. During that time, Blais appeared on Trump’s hit reality TV show, The Apprentice, modeling outfits designed by his business protégés. As Blais walked the runway, Donald Trump looked on from the front row.
Former Trump model Rachel Blais appeared in a 2004 episode of Donald Trump’s hit NBC reality show, The Apprentice. Trump Model Management had yet to secure her work visa. NBC
Two other former Trump models—who requested anonymity to speak freely about their experiences, and who we are giving the pseudonyms Anna and Kate—said the agency never obtained work visas on their behalf, even as they performed modeling assignments in the United States. (They provided photographs from some of these jobs, and Mother Jones confirmed with the photographers or stylists that these shoots occurred in the United States.)
Each of the three former Trump models said she arrived in New York with dreams of making it big in one of the world’s most competitive fashion markets. But without work visas, they lived in constant fear of getting caught. “I was pretty on edge most of the time I was there,” Anna said of the three months in 2009 she spent in New York working for Trump’s agency.
“I was there illegally,” she said. “A sitting duck.”
According to three immigration lawyers consulted by Mother Jones, even unpaid employment is against the law for foreign nationals who do not have a work visa. “If the US company is benefiting from that person, that’s work,” explained Anastasia Tonello, global head of the US immigration team at Laura Devine Attorneys in New York. These rules for immigrants are in place to “protect them from being exploited,” she said. “That US company shouldn’t be making money off you.”
Two of the former Trump models said Trump’s agency encouraged them to deceive customs officials about why they were visiting the United States and told them to lie on customs forms about where they intended to live. Anna said she received a specific instruction from a Trump agency representative: “If they ask you any questions, you’re just here for meetings.”
Trump’s campaign spokeswoman, Hope Hicks, declined to answer questions about Trump Model Management’s use of foreign labor. “That has nothing to do with me or the campaign,” she said, adding that she had referred Mother Jones‘ queries to Trump’s modeling agency. Mother Jones also sent detailed questions to Trump Model Management. The company did not respond to multiple emails and phone calls requesting comment.
“Honestly, they are the most crooked agency I’ve ever worked for, and I’ve worked for quite a few,” said Rachel Blais.
Fashion industry sources say that skirting immigration law in the manner that the three former Trump models described was once commonplace in the modeling world. In fact, Politico recently raised questions about the immigration status of Donald Trump’s current wife, Melania, during her days as a young model in New York in the 1990s. (In response to the Politico story, Melania Trump said she has “at all times been in compliance with the immigration laws of this country.”)
Kate, who worked for Trump Model Management in 2004, marveled at how her former boss has recently branded himself as an anti-illegal-immigration crusader on the campaign trail. “He doesn’t want to let anyone into the US anymore,” she said. “Meanwhile, behind everyone’s back, he’s bringing in all of these girls from all over the world and they’re working illegally.”
Now 31 years old and out of the modeling business, Blais once appeared in various publications, including Vogue, Elle, and Harpers Bazaar, and she posed wearing the designs of such fashion luminaries as Gianfranco Ferré, Dolce & Gabbana, and Jean Paul Gaultier. Her modeling career began when she was 16 and spanned numerous top-name agencies across four continents. She became a vocal advocate for models and appeared in a 2011 documentary, Girl Model, that explored the darker side of the industry. In a recent interview, she said her experience with Trump’s firm stood out: “Honestly, they are the most crooked agency I’ve ever worked for, and I’ve worked for quite a few.”
Clip from Girl Model (2011) May 27, 2013
Transcript
I have Diaries probably more videotapes this is the truest evidence all the girls just want to get out so they try they can be athletes they can be gymnasts they can be ballerinas they can be models they can be prostitutes most of the time they do a combination of both or I mean often yeah they do there's certain agencies like a high class agencies that will help facilitate and especially once if you have the experience of making money and you are a model you only know how to make money as a model if you're not making money as a model you just know you're a beautiful girl who uses her body so it's kind of natural to think well I could I saw my body for the camera and what's the difference even did you see you know the DVDs I gave you and you could see sometimes the girl presented herself in a certain way the cast in Russia sometimes it was clearly like she was presenting herself as a sex object sometimes she was just a young girl I mean those those tapes are widely distributed and of course the goal is is that they get placed in modeling agencies but the reality is is that they get place other places too and I I I don't have firsthand experience of of these things I mean I'm I'm not obviously participating in this so it's just it's just normal to be a prostitute for them you know maybe it's it's easier than being a model I don't know I mean a lot of countries prostitution is not considered a terrible thing um I don't really acknowledge that that it exists
***
Girl Model Trailer NegativeCutters Aug 30, 2012
This is the trailer for Girl Model
A documentary on the modeling industry's 'supply chain' between Siberia, Japan, and the U.S., told through the experiences of the scouts, agencies, and a 13-year-old model.
Directors: David Redmon, Ashley Sabin Stars: Ashley Arbaugh, Rachel Blais and Nadya Vall
[Music] she does maybe never have the body though did more oh oh she really wow there's some cute girls there's some nice ones [Music] wow how old is she I'll [Music] try say hello n hello my name is Nadia I'm [Music] for no this Engish [Music] 15 hello my name is I'm 15 years old when I work with Japan they don't know what I do where I go as long as I bring them to [Music] girls you don't mom [Music]
Rachel Blais appeared in this Elle fashion spread, published in September 2004, while working for Trump’s agency without a proper visa. Elle
Freshly signed to Trump Model Management, the Montreal native traveled to New York City by bus in April 2004. Just like “the majority of models who are young, [have] never been to NYC, and don’t have papers, I was just put in Trump’s models’ apartment,” she said. Kate and Anna also said they had lived in this apartment.
“The apartment was like a sweatshop,” said a former Trump model.
Models’ apartments, as they’re known in the industry, are dormitory-style quarters where agencies pack their talent into bunks, in some cases charging the models sky-high rent and pocketing a profit. According to the three former models, Trump Model Management housed its models in a two-floor, three-bedroom apartment in the East Village, near Tompkins Square Park. Mother Jones is withholding the address of the building, which is known in the neighborhood for its model tenants, to protect the privacy of the current residents.
When Blais lived in the apartment, she recalled, a Trump agency representative who served as a chaperone had a bedroom to herself on the ground floor of the building. A narrow flight of stairs led down to the basement, where the models lived in two small bedrooms that were crammed with bunk beds—two in one room, three in the other. An additional mattress was located in a common area near the stairs. At times, the apartment could be occupied by 11 or more people.
“We’re herded into these small spaces,” Kate said. “The apartment was like a sweatshop.”
Trump Model Management recruited models as young as 14. “I was by far the oldest in the house at the ripe old age of 18,” Anna said. “The bathroom always smelled like burned hair. I will never forget the place!” She added, “I taught myself how to write, ‘Please clean up after yourself’ in Russian.”
A detailed financial statement provided by Blais shows that Trump’s agency charged her as much as $1,600 a month for a bunk in a room she shared with five others.
Living in the apartment during a sweltering New York summer, Kate picked a top bunk near a street-level window in the hopes of getting a little fresh air. She awoke one morning to something splashing her face. “Oh, maybe it’s raining today,” she recalled thinking. But when she peered out the window, “I saw the one-eyed monster pissing on me,” she said. “There was a bum pissing on my window, splashing me in my Trump Model bed.”
“Such a glamorous industry,” she said.
Blais, who previously discussed some of her experiences in an interview with Public Radio International, said the models weren’t in a position to complain about their living arrangements. “You’re young,” she remarked, “and you know that if you ask too many questions, you’re not going to get the work.”
A detailed financial statement provided by Blais shows that Trump’s agency charged her as much as $1,600 a month for a bunk in a room she shared with five others. Kate said she paid about $1,200 a month—”highway robbery,” she called it. For comparison, in the summer of 2004, an entire studio apartment nearby was advertised at $1,375 a month.
From April to October 2004, Blais traveled between the United States and Europe, picking up a string of high-profile fashion assignments for Trump Model Management and making a name for herself in the modeling world. During the months she spent living and working in New York, Blais said, she only had a tourist visa. “Most of the girls in the apartment that were not American didn’t have a work visa,” she recalled.
Anna and Kate also said they each worked for Trump’s agency while holding tourist visas. “I started out doing test-shoots but ended up doing a couple of lookbooks,” Anna said. (A lookbook is a modeling portfolio.) “Nothing huge, but definitely shoots that classified as ‘work.'”
Employers caught hiring noncitizens without proper visas can be fined up to $16,000 per employee and, in some cases, face up to six months in prison.
The three former Trump models said Trump’s agency was aware of the complications posed by their foreign status. Anna and Kate said the company coached them on how to circumvent immigration laws. Kate recalled being told, “When you’re stuck at immigration, say that you’re coming as a tourist. If they go through your luggage and they find your portfolio, tell them that you’re going there to look for an agent.”
Anna recalled that prior to her arrival, Trump agency staffers were “dodging around” her questions about her immigration status and how she could work legally in the United States. “Until finally,” she said, “it came to two days before I left, and they told me my only option was to get a tourist visa and we could work the rest out when I got there. We never sorted the rest out.”
Arriving in the United States, Anna grew terrified. “Going through customs for this trip was one of the most nerve-wracking experiences of my life,” she added. “It’s hard enough when you’re there perfectly innocently, but when you know you’ve lied on what is essentially a federal document, it’s a whole new world.”
“Am I sweaty? Am I red? Am I giving this away?” Anna remembered thinking as she finally faced a customs officer. After making it through immigration, she burst into tears.
Industry experts say that violating immigration rules has been the status quo in the fashion world for years. “It’s been common, almost standard, for modeling agencies to encourage girls to come into the country illegally,” said Sara Ziff, the founder of the Model Alliance, an advocacy group that claimed a major success in 2014 after lobbying the New York State legislature to pass a bill increasing protections for child models.
Bringing models into the United States on tourist visas was “very common,” said Susan Scafidi, the director of Fordham University’s Fashion Law Institute. “I’ve had tons of agencies tell me this, that this used to happen all the time, and that the cover story might be something like ‘I’m coming in for a friend’s birthday,’ or ‘I’m coming in to visit my aunt,’ that sort of thing.”
Read a letter from an immigration attorney confirming Rachel Blais’ eligibility to work in the US. Pierre Roussel/ZUMA
For their part, modeling agencies have complained about the time and resources required to bring a foreign model into the country and have insisted that US immigration laws are out of step with their fast-paced industry. “If there are girls that we can’t get into the United States, the client is going to take that business elsewhere,” Corinne Nicolas, the president of Trump Model Management, told the New York Daily News in 2008. “The market is calling for foreign girls.”
In 2007, a few years before his career imploded in a sexting scandal, former Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) sponsored a bill that would give models the same kind of work visas that international entertainers and athletes receive. The tabloids had a field day—”Give me your torrid, your pure, your totally smokin’ foreign babes,” screamed a Daily News headline—and the effort ultimately failed.
Trump Model Management sponsored only its most successful models for work visas, the three former models said. Those who didn’t cut it were sent home, as was the case, Blais noted, with many of her roommates.
“It was very much the case of you earn your visa,” Anna said. “Essentially, if you got enough work and they liked you enough, they’d pay for a visa, but you weren’t about to see a dime before you could prove your worth.”
The company eventually secured an H-1B visa for Blais. Such visas allow US companies to employ workers in specialized fields. According to financial records provided by Blais, the company deducted the costs of obtaining a work visa from her earnings. (The agency did not obtain work visas for Anna and Kate, who each left the United States after their stints with Trump Model Management.)
H-1B visas have been increasingly popular in the high-tech field, and Trump’s companies, including Trump Model Management, have used this program extensively in the past. But on the campaign trail, Trump has railed against the H-1B program and those who he says abuse it. “I will end forever the use of the H-1B as a cheap labor program and institute an absolute requirement to hire American workers first for every visa and immigration program,” Trump said in March. “No exceptions.”
Nearly three years after signing with Trump’s agency, Blais had little to show for it—and it wasn’t for lack of modeling jobs. Under the contracts that she and other Trump models had signed, the company advanced money for rent and various other expenses (such as trainers, beauty treatments, travel, and administrative costs), deducting these charges from its clients’ modeling fees. But these charges—including the pricey rent that Blais and her roommates paid—consumed nearly all her modeling earnings. “I only got one check from Trump Models, and that’s when I left them,” she said. “I got $8,000 at most after having worked there for three years and having made tens of thousands of dollars.” (The check Blais received was for $8,427.35.)
“This is a system where they actually end up making money on the back of these foreign workers,” Blais added. She noted that models can end up in debt to their agencies, once rent and numerous other fees are extracted.
This is known in the industry as “agency debt.” Kate said her bookings never covered the cost of living in New York. After two months, she returned home. “I left indebted to them,” she said, “and I never went back, and I never paid them back.”
The experiences the former Trump models related to Mother Jones echo allegations in an ongoing class-action lawsuit against six major modeling agencies by nine former models who have claimed their agencies charged them exorbitant fees for rent and other expenses. One plaintiff, Marcelle Almonte, has alleged that her agency charged her $1,850 per month to live in a two-bedroom Miami Beach apartment with eight other models. The market rate for apartments in the same building ran no more than $3,300 per month, according to the complaint. (Trump Model Management, which was initially named in an earlier version of this lawsuit, was dropped from the case in 2013, after the judge narrowed the number of defendants.) Models “were largely trapped by these circumstances if they wanted to continue to pursue a career in modeling,” the complaint alleges.
“It is like modern-day slavery” Blais said of working for Trump Model Management—and she is not alone in describing her time with Trump’s company in those terms. Former Trump model Alexia Palmer, who filed a lawsuit against Trump Model Management for fraud and wage theft in 2014, has said she “felt like a slave.”
Palmer has alleged that she was forced to pay hefty—sometimes mysterious—fees to Trump’s agency. These were fees on top of the 20 percent commission she paid for each job the company booked. Palmer charged that during three years of modeling for Trump’s company, she earned only $3,880.75. A New York judge dismissed Palmer’s claim in March because, among other reasons, she had not taken her case first to the Department of Labor. Lawyers for Trump Model Management called Palmer’s lawsuit “frivolous” and “without merit.”
Palmer filed a complaint with the Department of Labor this spring, and in August the agency dismissed the case. Palmer’s lawyer, Naresh Gehi, said he is appealing the decision. Since he began representing Palmer, he said, fashion models who worked for other agencies have approached him with similar stories. “These are people that are coming out of the closet and explaining to the world how they are being exploited,” he said. “They are the most vulnerable.”
Documents filed in Palmer’s case indicate that she worked in the United States without a work visa after being recruited by Trump’s agency from her native Jamaica. Gehi declined to discuss his client’s immigration status.
Former Trump model Alexia Palmer posed for this Teen Vogue shoot in January 2011. She secured a work visa in October 2011. Teen Vogue
A Caribbean model contest launched Palmer’s career in 2010, and at age 17 she signed an exclusive contract with Trump Model Management in January 2011. Department of Labor records show she received approval to work in the United States beginning in October 2011. Yet according to a financial statement filed as evidence in her case, Palmer started working in the United States nine months before this authorization was granted. Her financial records list a January 22, 2011, job for Condé Nast, when she posed for a Teen Vogue spread featuring the cast of Glee. (The shoot took place at Milk Studios in Los Angeles.)
“That whole period, from January to September, was not authorized,” said Pankaj Malik, a partner at New York-based Ballon, Stoll, Bader & Nadler who has worked on immigration issues for over two decades and who reviewed Palmer’s case for Mother Jones. “You can’t do any of that. It’s so not allowed.”
Trump has taken an active role at Trump Model Management from its founding. He has personally signed models who have participated in his Miss Universe and Miss USA competitions, where his agency staff appeared as judges. Melania Trump was a Trump model for a brief period after meeting her future husband in the late 1990s.
“I left with a bad taste in my mouth. I didn’t like the agency. I didn’t like where they had us living. Honestly, I felt ripped off.”
The agency is a particular point of pride for Trump, who has built his brand around glitz and glamour. “True Trumpologists know the model agency is only a tiny part of Trumpland financially,” the New York Sun wrote in 2004. “But his agency best evokes a big Trump theme—sex sells.” Trump has often cross-pollinated his other business ventures with fashion models and has used them as veritable set pieces when he rolls out new products. Trump models, including Blais, appeared on The Apprentice—and they flanked him at the 2004 launch of his Parker Brothers board game, TRUMP.
Part of Blais’ job, she said, was to serve as eye candy at Trump-branded events. Recalling the first time she met the mogul, she said, “I had to go to the Trump Vodka opening.” It was a glitzy 2006 gala at Trump Tower where Busta Rhymes performed, and Trump unveiled his (soon-to-be-defunct) line of vodka. “It was part of my duty to go and be seen and to be photographed and meet Donald Trump and shake his hand,” she remembered.
Trump made a strong impression on her that night. “I knew that I was a model and there was objectification in the job, but this was another level,” she said. Blais left Trump Model Management the year after the Trump Vodka gala, feeling that she had been exploited and shortchanged by the agency.
Kate, who went on to have a successful career with another agency, also parted ways with Trump’s company in disgust. “My overall experience was not a very good one,” she said. “I left with a bad taste in my mouth. I didn’t like the agency. I didn’t like where they had us living. Honestly, I felt ripped off.”
These days, Kate said, she believes that Trump has been fooling American voters with his anti-immigrant rhetoric, given that his own agency had engaged in the practices he has denounced. “He doesn’t like the face of a Mexican or a Muslim,” she said, “but because these [models] are beautiful girls, it’s okay? He’s such a hypocrite.”
The Cutthroat World of Russian Teen Modeling | Reggie Yates |Black Current Black Current Dec 29, 2021 #BlackStories #BlackCulture #BlackCurrent
Reggie Yates and BBC go to 3 Siberian cities where thousand of girls aged 13 to 15 compete to become international models. About 70 of 5,000 girls will get contracts after 12 selection rounds. Prospects, earnings and fears are touched upon.
Black/Current is a space to provide both educational and entertaining content primarily by or about Black people. That’s Black Brits, Black Americans, Black Africans, Black Canadians, Black Australians and so forth. There is a really loud desire for diverse voices and stories and we want to be a part of that conversation.
Transcript
you're going to bug me i might get a mug you it's that gorgeous one and i believe i can run for peace america download valee now to russia that's how cold it is the largest country on earth and home to nearly 150 million people growing up as a kid in the 80s in london russia was painted as this weird big baddie now with vladimir putin well into his third term as president it's starting to feel like that again between britain and russia the west has imposed tough sanctions against russia russia is responsible for the violence and relations are the frostiest since the cold war but this hasn't stopped an army of young siberian models invading the west and while the catwalk and magazine demand for these girls grow i'm here where it all starts at the castings my name is isa i'm 13 years old i'm from siberia the dream starts young some of these girls were shocked very young with thousands of russian children starting model training almost as soon as they can walk but there's a darker side to the dream the right and the wrong is just so blurred so i'm going to find out just what it takes to make it in the west and leave siberia behind [Music] [Music] at over 9 000 kilometers long and crossing eight time zones the trans-siberian railway is the longest in the world and the coldest temperatures here can drop as low as -60 that's how cold it is look you feel that siberia is so huge but if it were a country it would be the biggest in the world 50 times the size of the uk but with around half of the population most siberians live along this road [Music] so this is the train that model scouts from all over the world must take in search of fresh new siberian faces hey how you doing i'm reggie what's your name taco taco nice to meet you nice to meet you so where exactly are you from tokyo tokyo yeah and how many girls are you expected to find in the time that you're here well as much as possible army is like if you cannot find it you cannot find it if you find 10 you find 10. it's just like that yeah yeah so what is it you're specifically looking for the actually what we're looking for is somebody who has a strong and they're still young like 14 years old 13 years old girls they're still growing so i haven't introduced myself to you either sorry i'm reggie hi i'm kate nice to meet you hello okay nice to meet you nice to meet you so why here i mean this is so far away from from home for you girls no well specifically what type of girls it's a short age like only if teenagers maybe over one age people think you're getting old and no chance anymore but so you're looking for someone who feels and looks younger yeah our clients love it our clients like young girls in britain children aren't allowed on the catwalk until they're 16 and although girls younger than that do model for magazines the asian market specifically looks for the youngest faces [Music] the first stop on the model tour is the industrial mining city of krasnayak 3000 miles from moscow and a world away from the uk in soviet times siberia was where political prisoners were sent to die a few decades later and it's not how i imagined it as a as a kid growing up in north london when you think of somewhere like siberia you just imagine this huge vast sort of massive land with mountains and snow and nothingness but the bit that i'm in right now it could very easily be somewhere in the uk you know there's literally tower blocks everywhere we very easily could be in pekka [Music] and this is where the glamorous life of a siberian supermodel begins at a casting organized by local agencies for the visiting talent scouts [Music] and coming to a casting like this really can pay off natalia vodia nova was discovered selling fruit by the side of the road in russia now she's a millionaire supermodel but this is the first step standing next to naked in front of strangers i don't remember the last time i felt this this awkward i think it might have been the time when um i stayed at my mum's and i found my little sister who i'm convinced is still nine years old even though she keeps telling me she's 19. when i found her bra it was the weirdest feeling i think i've ever had and that is now being sort of gazumped by what i'm feeling right now because just over my right shoulder there's a whole heap of kids and they're in pants and bras but then i see something that really takes me aback [Music] [Music] they're all so young [Music] i didn't expect there to be this many people and i didn't expect them to be this young it looks like everyone hears about the age of i don't know 15 16 tops then the director of noah models arrives tigran kahatrian has been running casting sessions like this for 20 years as if these girls weren't standing up straight enough already um there's suddenly been a bit of an atmosphere change in here because there's a a guy that everybody is shaking hands with hello hello reggie i'm tigran nice to meet you can you explain them your role uh today well the role is to select girls uh primarily uh for ourselves yeah to send all across the world for them to work there are many young girls here and what sort of numbers are you expecting today uh i expect to find about 10 to 15 girls here out of how many is this how many people expecting to arrive probably 100 a lot of them have great potential the critical part is the character most russian girls okay they're like ferraris without angels but when you when we start working with them we put those engines to try to make that a awesome car so i'm gonna start calling you the mechanic for the rest of the where are the mechanics tigran's right-hand woman anna yuzakova is running today's event she personally manages over 100 girls working all over the world [Music] bless them on their cards they've got their name and their age [Music] my name is niza i'm 13 years old my height is 176. i'm from siberia i like modeling traveling and swimming some of these girls are young [Music] if any of the scouts like a girl a code letter is added to their card some of them may have worked before and some will be newbies and in the asian market they can start as young as 12. asia is like the kindergarten then uh that's the first market usually that's where they start yeah okay then they go to europe you're you can consider as the high school yeah then they go to the us and that's the university right so what are you looking for what can you tell already um the photogenic qualities uh certain geometry of the face right and the proportions of the body if you take the distance between the eyes you take the distance between the nose and the eyes right you've got this down to a science it is a science it feels like a really strange thing to say but these young women trying to get the job you know and in any other environment they'll be holding up their cv whereas here their cv is their body it's the way they look it's the way they walk it's how they smile how confident they are and then when you see the people who are the right quote you can really tell the difference are you mom hello pleasure to meet you how you doing i'm reggie what's your name hello lovely to meet you she's um she's got every single agency on there but yeah so um did you did you ever come to something like this did you ever try it [Laughter] do you think that you would have coped as well being that young and wearing so little in public [Music] [Music] quite a lot of the girls were getting letters and this marks them out for the next step hello all right so what have we got on this piece of paper there's two letters on here what does that mean i mean i see that you put your your jumper back on now is it um is it a bit weird being in a bra and underwear for so long you know [Music] [Music] so have you officially made it or is this sort of a step towards finding out the journey from siberia to supermodel is a long one and tigran likes to start them young [Music] i feel great when i help these young girls because over here they don't have uh big opportunities is that why you got into this dental to help young women yes yes i do i want to really help these young women and it gives me great joy spiritually when somebody becomes very successful i take great pride in it so we'll see okay all right uh i'm sure i'll catch up with you again in a little bit yeah thank you thank you something tells me though it's not just about spiritual reward this is business each teenage model that tigran signs could make him thousands in commission but was he right about the lack of opportunity anya's been trying to be a model for three years i'm going back to her village to see what life is like for her there [Music] [Music] now this is what i imagine siberia would be like it's only an hour outside of krasnayask but it feels a million miles away anja's lived all of her life in a village in the middle of a forest called oceancon anya this couldn't be any more different to uh to where i grew up i mean what's it like living here but at the time being a guy who grew up in a big city like london there are opportunities literally everywhere i look i mean what sort of opportunities do you have growing up here uh connections the russian education system is good more than half of russian girls go to university but in a country where even doctors make just over 400 pounds a month i can see the temptation to work abroad [Music] anya lives in a one bedroom flat with her mom tatiana her father died when she was four so anya's mum brought her and her brother up on her own and is that one of your paintings that's beautiful [Music] oh wow so this is your art as well look at this very nice anya dreams of being an artist but finding a way of making money out of that feels like a pipe dream how realistic is it to to have a career as an artist is you know being totally honest with you it seems as though this is where your heart is and modeling is definitely where the money is and where a career is [Music] really about how soon will it be before you get that big break do you think um [Music] anya has to rush off to rehearsals for siberia's next top model a reality show shooting in krasnoyarsk we'll see you soon good luck okay which leaves time for a chat with her mum [Music] yes please and my first taste of siberian hospitality [Music] i was just looking at this while you were in the kitchen making the tea and i can't believe that it's the same girl because she looks like just a normal teenager here with you and your son and then here she just looks like a completely different person in these modern shops concourse well i want to have one of these do you think then that you're um do you think that your daughter will actually make it can anyone anya become a professional model no yes okay so if if anya actually makes it as a model and is successful will she have to send money home will she have to look after her family so is the modeling career currently bringing any money into the house [Laughter] wow that must be tough now when i got here anya was uh really really welcoming and showed me her room and showed me all of her pictures on her wall but one thing she didn't show me was where you sleep so where's your room and where do you where do you lay your head in the floor they still are you so you sleep you sleep here [Music] when you um when you see just how humble home is you can understand why and you're as bo focused um it sort of stirred up a lot of um a lot of stuff in me because i remember growing up in not the nicest council estate in the world uh with not very much and um i also grew up with a mum who made the best of what she had and um when you've got someone like that looking after you all you want to do is look after them [Music] [Applause] i'm back on the trans-siberian express on the next leg of the model tour and it's another 800 kilometers to siberia's capital novosibirsk not a lot of room [Music] so uh i guess this is home [Music] for the next 12 hours anna the scout from noaa models is in the next carriage she's been running these siberian model tools for six years hello anna hello hey so what is it about siberian girls that draws people from everywhere what is really special about siberians is their roots so a lot of people were present during soviet times so from ukraine from baltic republics also a lot of people are coming from asian parts to siberia it's a mixture of ethnics roots so the faces are really interesting and also siberian girls have better skin and hair conditions because i think you noticed that there are there were a lot of girls with hair up to their waist so it's really it's really unique i had absolutely no idea until today that girls under the age of 16 were going around the world on their own for modeling trips how do you look after them when they when they leave here it's not only me who look after them it's we are making the big team all together so it's the local agency when krasnoyar's going overseas where we're going and also the agencies we are working with how does it get split whatever's earned tickets then uh transportation accommodation allowances all advanced by the agency if the girl doesn't cover this expense by her jobs she doesn't have to return the money so a successful girl a girl who does well in maybe the asian market or european market how much is she likely to earn in a year just round so if we don't talk about like top top top model like kate moss or claudia shifford if we are talking about just normal models yes successful models um it can be like 20 000 per month us dollars like that yeah usd 20 grand a month for a 15 year old girl from siberia that's a hell of a that's for a 15 year old girl from london that's a hell of a but we we say about highest rates i mean so it can be sometimes the girl come back home with zero because their expenses were more than their earnings so next trip could be more successful yeah all right well i'll let you get on um good talking to you and i'll see you in the morning sure okay and i hope you will enjoy my home city your home say yes i'm looking forward to it it's still ten long hours till nova sebisk but at least i'm in business class it's been a very long first day in siberia and a bit of a culture shock to begin with i just felt really um [Music] for one of a better word and not sound like a complete sap i felt quite sad at the beginning of the day because i just saw so many kids stood there in their underwear desperately clutching at a chance for a better life desperately clutching a chance to do something to make it but you know the more the day went on up the more i understood that these teenagers aren't being forced to do anything they put themselves there because that's where they want to be and they see it as an opportunity to do something else it's a really strange day novice abyss is thousands of miles from the catwalks of london paris and new york but in this city alone there are 24 different model agencies and schools so i want to see what they're actually teaching them hello hello hey how you doing i'm reggie nice to meet you my name is olga hello olga are you a director global national model [Music] girls start these classes as young as four [Music] learning to walk pose apply makeup and diet [Music] today there's a fashion shoot for their portfolios it's like behind the scenes at the paris catwalks but with young kids instead [Music] [Music] she's a little pro look she's hitting the poses straight away excuse me hello hi is this uh is this your daughter ah nice to meet you hello mom mom and dad right hello lovely to me lovely to meet you i'm how old is she she's six six years old wow so she's she's really young just a generation ago during soviet times there was virtually no modelling industry in russia how do you look at models here in russia there are so many girls that want to do it [Music] [Music] hello what's your name larter how old is lata you're 12. [Music] [Applause] wow she's amazing at modeling and this is what models are supposed to do they're supposed to make love to the camera [Music] she's a child and she's delivering quite mature and slightly sexual poses and that's the right thing to do in this context but for it to be a child delivering that that's where i struggle the final girl of the day sophia comes in and she's got her eyes firmly on the prize so how old is your daughter yeah she seems very practiced like she knows all of her poses and her angles already i mean did you did you used to model you could have done this no you did ferrari it's amazing how quickly these kids have bought into the dream of riches and stardom after all only one generation ago russia was a communist country [Music] the model agency boss has seen huge change over the last 20 years during the soviet union you know when once you've got your region everything was planned you get your degree then you do this job you get the standard salary so hardly anybody challenged that it was a very stable boring lifestyle right but these younger girls they don't want that what sort of young women are being produced by having these opportunities and by being alive and being young in this this time they're far more creative they want to be someone in life and like their mothers you know what it takes uh i mean what happens when you send a 14 year old girl from poor or average family to japan let's say and she comes home with 20 000 that she earned in two months now that's that's amazing their mothers didn't have that chance yeah they do with so much money on offer and the girls being so young i can't help but wonder if people ever take advantage of them you know there are agencies all over but most are not really doing jobs to send girls to the west where they work professionally as models so these other agencies then are they essentially setting these girls up to be escorts no no no what they do is they find the wealthy boyfriends for these girls and that's a far more profitable business unfortunately and many of the parents knowingly give their girls to them why would anybody because because it's in the russian culture it's in the russian dream to have uh to get married have a wealthy boyfriend to have a beautiful apartment to have a beautiful car and so that's what happens that's mind-blowing to me that a parent would want their daughter to live that sort of half-life that doesn't make that's the reality that's the reality tigran's holding the second model casting tomorrow and i'm starting to see how this could be a life-changing event for the girls who show up elite stars is one of the top agencies in town and there's just time for one last practice before they meet the international scouts former model arena has to teach her students everything she's learned scouted at 15 she's lived in london and new york and work for vogue magazine and brands like chanel and dior she knows what these girls need to learn if they're going to stand a chance [Music] i want you to help me with english class oh wow yeah because the girls they're gonna go to uh work uh in a modeling agency in paris london tokyo everywhere so they need practice so let's play a little game like a casting like you're a client and the girls they are coming to you they're looking for a job okay i need a berry and a cigarette though hello hello hey hey my name is abinaya i'm from russia i'm 15 years old okay it's a good walk hello hey what's your name my name is dan i'm 14 years old 14 yeah wow and how old are you i am 14 years old 14. you're very tall how tall are you now one seventeen three they have to learn english because it's very important hello hello i'm 16 years old i'm from siberia my high 73 okay what's your favorite flavour ice cream um i love all right all of them oh yeah it's a good answer thank you very much nice to meet you what makes a good model in your opinion first you have to be a business woman you have to be energetic with good attitude because without this you cannot make a great career because you can have a beautiful face and great body but if you have nothing in here in your head forget it about they want to take pictures my modelling days are over but it's amazing how quickly it all comes rushing back hi everyone look at this camera broke it girl i've worked it i've wrapped it girl thank you very much i've um admittedly regressed a little and i suddenly feel like i'm one of the girls and posed it's just pad these girls are really investing in the dream six months of classes with all the expenses can cost more than two months local wages not to be really sort of out of order about it but you can see that there are some girls that probably won't make it just based on their height and their weight and their look and the people that really have potential really do stand out and of the 5 000 models on elite stars books only 70 are working abroad [Music] so realistically out of all of these girls here who all really want this really want a career how many of them will be as fortunate as you to go abroad and have a career to be honest they have all good chance [Music] the casting is being held later this afternoon hey vika hello i met vika yesterday but all i really know about her is that she likes ice cream hello i'm reggie she lives with her single mom natalia god you need so many layers it's so cold okay gold really yes this is cold you're telling me this isn't cold for me it's not cold it's okay so this is your place this is really cute where are we um where are we headed in here yeah okay so you love a flower don't you yeah it's a one bedroom flat so vika sleeps in the living room it's my favorite farm here look at all of these pictures what's this elite stars yeah it's my diploma and i have a title miss edit stars miss elite stars yeah what's the house you won the crown publishing group stars nice [Music] it's my first photo shoot were you nervous uh of course when i see camera i'm scared [Music] this isn't her first international casting but she's never been picked so everything is riding on this one buckwheat was a staple of soviet cuisine so i'm a little bit nervous so this is where i can't say no isn't it [Music] [Music] i mean hearing all of that come from your daughter does that not scare you or worry [Music] um how likely to succeed are you what are your chances [Music] i like that at you that's the only attitude to have and that's good is failure even an option for you then yeah the abuse that you work with the casting that could make or break vika's dream is being held on the 22nd floor of a shopping mall [Music] i ought to be getting used to this by now but it's still surprising how young they are anna's running the casting again and there's a new foreign scout i haven't you're from paris right so are you casting specifically for paris today yes the objective is about to find someone who have the potential to appear uh in the shows like chiven chidio so you're saying that one of the girls or some of the girls in this room could walk a fashion with of course so what is the um the ideal for you today i mean um the the asian market was specifically looking for someone with a smaller frame and that height didn't matter as much what's your criteria in our case if you want to appear in the shows in new york in london in our paris you need at least to be 177 okay that's the minimum height because you do the you do first address and then you select them in fact lionel's already found the girl he's interested in [Music] those pictures are incredible they're really impressive right i don't know where she has been before philippe you can transform it to any age any style excuse me what's your what's your name hello nice to meet you do you speak english a little bit a little bit so on your first trip abroad did you work much or did you not get much work when you were but with things going so well for you in the east um are you trying to set your sights on the west now is that why you've come today to try and get picked up by uh by our man from paris so do you look at days like today as a competition or you're not even bothered about other people [Music] the competition's tough and i'm worried for vika it's her big moment and she looks so nervous she's brand new yes the other girls seem to be getting a positive reaction but what about vicar [Music] vika's casting seems to be over in a matter of minutes and it's time for a new batch of girls to step up and how did it go [Music] [Music] yes that's pretty harsh criticism about just the one centimeter yes foreign surely having a spinal problem isn't made easier by being in heels today you take them off get them off come on that's really funny the minute you take your heels off suddenly you look like a 16 year old girl again suddenly your hair falls in front of your face and you look younger [Music] vika seems really upset and in a hurry to get home i feel bad for her i know how hard she's tried the truth is around 90 of these girls won't get picked but that doesn't stop them trying reality show siberia's next top model is just one of hundreds of competitions held across russia it has a prize of a thousand us dollars and anya the wannabe model i'd met a few days ago is in the finals [Applause] the finals being held in a restaurant at the back of yet another shopping center antiguan the boss of noah models has invited me to be a judge how's it going guys how are we doing you're right looking good [Music] like the other 28 finalists anja's made it through 12 knockout rounds to get here [Music] but this evening's about more than just winning this local contest the international scouts are here as well [Music] number 18 seems to be cleaning up i picked her i'm getting good at this model scouting against the idol model [Music] [Applause] contracts are being handed out for work in europe and asia but there's nothing yet for anyone [Music] it's really interesting they really know what they're looking for and it's tough and they have to be because you know it's massive they've saved the best for last tigran is looking for girls to go to america this could be anya's big break a better life for her and her mom [Applause] [Music] just seeing the golden goal hey well done congratulations oh thank you so you're going to los angeles you're going to california oh yeah [Laughter] anya hasn't just won a contract in america first she's going to asia so it's not just california it's india as well you're going to be going to two corners of the world off the back of a an evenings of competition i mean how are you feeling about all of this mom [Music] well done congratulations well done and congratulations to you too thank you thank you anya's not the only winner excuse me sorry excuse me sorry to interrupt um i see you've got flowers did you did you win this evening you have okay congratulations uh what's the contract for where are you going china wow have you ever been to china before no and how old are you 15 15. but there's a catch katya needs to persuade her mom and dad does the decision have to be made now do you have to decide literally this evening if she's going to china or not how would you feel about her being out there without you there to look after her are you worried i mean what is it that's making you so so emotional being faced with this crossroad i mean how big a decision is it for you um do you think mom and dad are going to say yes maybe ah one word in english that's a good english word to use it's the perfect word for this moment the right and the wrong is just so blurred because both avenues are the right one letting your daughter start this career is the right thing to do but also not letting your child your 15 year old child go to china on their own is also the right thing to do i don't envy their decision and if it was my kid i might say no as well [Music] i want to talk to someone who's been there done it and modeled the t-shirt valeria was scouted when she was just 14 and traveled the world modeling for 12 years when i was young you know i just wanted to be like every girl trying new clothes where all like you know this cinderella story you maybe you have this opportunity to be a princess do you have pictures of you yeah can i see this person yeah this this is very invested oh yeah so it is how old are you here yeah i was 14. wow god you are so young wow and this was in japan as well you're like 14 or 15 here did you have anyone looking after you no that's the thing you're alone in another mentality in another world with no friends no parents and and your child and you're a child and if you go one centimeter more then your contract is finished right when i was paranoid that i'm fed but i was not sad how much money were you making at that age um from 20 to 50 000 u.s per month that's a lot of money you say it so flippantly but that's a lot yeah but you have tickets then flight per month you don't understand what is the contract you don't have a lawyer all you have is 10 percent so you're making a lot of money but you never get them [Music] some girls they don't know what to do and they put themselves in troubles what sort of troubles i mean they actually selling the girls for guys you know just to hang out with these guys and they paint the bookers so random men would pay money to have young models just to hang out with them yeah of course a lot of girls they are coming they think that they are models but then they become a prostitution you know how often does that sort of thing happen well some girls because they're scared because people say i will not give you passport you will not go to your motherland you have to make money and you have to find the way to make money and it's the reality real reality of this fashion industry saint petersburg russia's second biggest city and the home of lower models it's 6am and i'm at the airport to meet anya she's flying in to shoot the portfolio she'll need for her first contract abroad hey and surprise surprise katy has made it too good to see how you doing hello hello hello where's your bags is that what you come with [Music] come on [Music] they've got a busy day in front of them so we're heading straight to the studio well for both of you this really could be the beginning of a career would you expect to come from this yeah the most choked nachos foreign [Music] up to 10 teenage models at a time can sleep here when they're starting their careers [Music] this is the biggest photo shoot of their lives and the work they get when they start abroad will depend on how good these shots are [Music] [Music] and she looks incredibly nervous i think reality is suddenly started [Music] it's hard work for the girls this is their first proper taste of the modeling business [Music] but i want to know if tigran honestly thinks either of these girls can make it big overseas based on how much you know about these girls at this stage how realistic is it for them to make it they can make it to certain markets now no not to every market just how fair do you think it is that you know so many girls get taken on that don't necessarily have everything that it takes we're giving them uh an opportunity in life to become someone to do something more important so what'd you do i mean what would the girl do in nyarsk at best i mean think of it or or in novosibirsk you know finish high school go to college have a diploma and then do what go get a job for 500 a month marry someone at a very young age have a baby most likely get divorced this is this is what they're facing this that's the reality what they're facing what do you think the parents think about the role that the agency plays in their daughter's career the parents of course they want their children to be more successful in life than they have been so they allow the girls to go to the west and you know become models we have to understand one thing that for a russian to go abroad in general even as a tourist is a huge advantage because they need visas literally to go anywhere so it's a great opportunity for their daughters and a great basis for a business like tigran's but one thing's for sure the girls seem absolutely determined to grab this opportunity with both hands model room how are we doing girls you're okay okay you're all right uh how did you find today then oh no has a day like today made you more excited or made you realize just how much work you're about to get into [Music] good luck girls best of luck all right be good good luck all the girls need now are their visas be safe so they can start their contracts and new lives abroad i can't say for certain whether they'll be one of the lucky ones who'll actually make decent money but at least they will experience a life outside of siberia that they might not have otherwise i come from a place where there are so many opportunities i come from a place where i can be anything i want to be and i'm told that every day whereas here if you're a young girl this is one opportunity that takes you all over the world potentially and could make you very very wealthy and very successful and yes it doesn't happen for everyone anya and katya might not end up getting careers but from what i've seen in my time in siberia i can see why so many girls queue up to chase that modelling dream [Music] you
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HOW EXTREMELY BEAUTIFUL RUSSIAN GIRLS are TRICKED in FAKE MODELING AGENCIES ? RUSSIA DOCUMENTARY Discover With OS Feb 10, 2024 #countries #Documentary #travel
Hello everyone, I am OS.
In this video, we wanted to address the issue of human abuse, which is one of the biggest problems of our day, through women. Russia and Japan are one of the leading countries on this issue and what happens in these two countries brings human life to the lowest possible levels.
In this country documentary, I have presented you some important information about life in Russia. I talked about life in Russia, daily life in Russia, Russian festivals, Russian history. When you watch the documentary, you will learn about life in Russia, Russian music, Russian nightlife, Russian food, Russian food and interesting information about Russia. I also presented information about the climate in Russia. Life in Russia, culture of Russia, travel in Russia, travel in Russia, customs in Russia, rules in Russia, laws in Russia, scenery of Russia, nature of Russia, people of Russia, citizenship in Russia, Russia visa, Russia vlog, Russia brands, studying in Russia, Russia student opportunities, Russia erasmus, Russia Work Holiday, settle in Russia, housing and job opportunities in Russia, You will watch a fluent Russia country documentary, Russia country video on Okan Suvari channel about many topics such as Russia's natural beauties, Russia food, How Russia became a country, Russia's history, Life in Russia, Russia music, Where is Russia, Russia food, Russia immigrants, Russia places to visit, Russia Moscow, What kind of place is Russia.
Transcript
my name is Lia I'm 13 years old I'm from [Music] Siberia hello my name [Music] is [Music] many people are pursuing success in life in the past a few Generations ago people aspired to study and build careers some wanted to become doctors lawyers and others Engineers those who held such professions gained great respect and realized their dreams with handsome salaries over time technology advanced and the course of professions began to change accordingly people seem to care less about pursuing a career or gaining respect through their work instead they have started to look for easy ways to make money in a sense in the evolving world no one cares about what you do but rather how much you earn these easy money making paths present different options for men and on the other hand provide additional choices for women today women have become quite inclined to live comfortably from adolescence onwards the process works as follows almost everyone has a more or less sophisticated smartphone used for social media from a young age women see how luxuriously their peers live on social media and start to Envy their lives especially if in the country you live in the possibility of earning a living by studying is quite challenging and your family's means cannot provide you with a high purchasing power the likelihood of falling into traps becomes even more accessible at this point women whose financial situation is slightly below the norm but who find themselves physically attractive take all the risks and Venture into different Pursuits trying to make money the easy way for example they start to dream big by applying to various model agencies in their countries with the dream of going to Europe and United States if their family structure allows they use to any place that offers opportunities such as modeling or dancing of course some of them can achieve their dreams they start receiving offers from various clothing and cosmetic brands and become the face of screens on many platforms including social media however not all are so fortunate and they face unexpected events so let's take a closer look at the two countries where these incidents happen the most and elaborate on the situations by focusing on Russia and the bizarre situations that people find themselves in under the J key culture in Japan this is Russia a country you've heard about for many reasons throughout your life with its 150 million population and vast land area it is one of the central countries in the world it contains numerous autonomous regions and various ethnic Origins life conditions in the country are not easy and people are tired of many political events negatively affecting their lives in such circumstances people embark on an Adventure full of suspicions that will affect their lives model agency applications are usually opened online inviting people from various parts of Russia with specific criteria to their Studios of course not everyone is invited to increase credibility even if you find yourself in a trap criteria include being under 25 years old and taller than 160 cm the government cannot understand the authenticity and honesty of these agencies because they run their entire organization ation as officially as possible and all the documents they submit to the government are handled in a highly professional manner women invited to the studio after a pre-application are entirely unaware of everything and a minute later they have no idea what will happen to them they line up one after another each dreaming of migrating to the West their ages and body measurements are written on the papers they hold interestingly participation in such agencies is highly prevalent in Russia society's general family structure allows this and people throw themselves into these agencies without knowing their authenticity after a while a man comes and starts checking each model individually probably he is the one who will shape their lives the education system in Russia is good enough but the real problem is the income imagine studying and becoming a doctor in Russia even a profession like being a doctor in the country earns less than $1,000 this is not enough for young people to be be happy moreover these professions require brain power and age people prematurely but if you are a Russian girl you start life a few steps ahead of your peers in most countries because they are often beautiful and physically well- conditioned therefore the models most preferred by brands are generally Russian women this is the most significant factor in the country's emergence of such fake agencies low purchasing power directs Russian girls towards professions that can be done based on physical appearance away from knowledge for example this girl's name is Anna she lives in a village in Siberia and is only 18 years old she lost her father and brother in a traffic accident at a young age after that the family was pushed into a financial collapse unable to withstand the expenses of City Life they migrated to the freezing regions of Siberia currently she lives in an old one room apartment with her mother in a village in Siberia she wanted to be a painter but she knows well that she cannot make money by painting in Russia therefore she chooses to pursue money by putting her dreams aside she applies to every modeling agency where the outcome is unknown her mother's and her only hope in life passes through this modeling job modeling is of course an excellent and very profitable profession however if there are plenty of such agencies around there is always some catch which is exactly what our video is about so if you ask where the Trap is is in this business it starts right now after people are called to agencies with the promise of modeling personal photos of each person are taken from various angles the scope of these photos can be much broader and thus you end up with tons of intimate images in the hands of an agency whose name you've heard for the first time in your life these agencies demand between 500 and $1,000 during the application process since people people find the Gathering of such extensive equipment and so many people highly reliable they not only hand over the money requested by the agencies but also provide hundreds of images related to themselves at the next stage fake agencies sell the phone numbers of the girls to wealthy individuals and even act as intermediaries for example if your modeling application process is ongoing you might receive a job offer from someone like this these job offers can be domestic or International as you can guess they all have a common point and I am referring to criminal gangs the course of a modeling application made with pure dreams to Brands changes this way of course these criminal organizations do not intimidate the girls whose numbers they have purchased instead they make offers that seem normal from the outside but lead to much darker aspects of the business for instance mature and Wealthy individuals from Russia or places like the UK and the USA are married to Russian girls through the mediation of these fake agencies at this point the agencies do their best to convince and commission Russian girls from the wealthy individuals unfortunately this tactic is often successful if you are curious about how rich Americans meet and marry people 20 years younger than themselves this is how these mind games work this scenario is considered the best thing that can happen to the Russian girls in the hands of these agencies however there is something worse in another scenario girls receive direct job offers they are offered much more money than they can earn from modeling and efforts are made to convince them for their businesses in other words to deceive them if successful these girls are taken from Russia to places like turkey Dubai or Saudi Arabia where they are employed as a euphemistic term body workers the girls realize they cannot become rich in these places after a while but then they struggle to to get rid of the people they have fallen into the hands of this is how a person's life takes a decisive turn at a young age and everything about their life goes out of control from that moment on there are other types of these incidents worldwide but the one I will discuss Now does not involve a direct trap it is a situation perpetuated under the name of culture related to the Japanese it is called J key culture school girl culture in English those of you who have been to Japan especially Tokyo know that there are some girls resembling game characters in the central streets where people rarely pass in simple terms they wear clothes resembling high school uniforms these young girls smile and wave at you as you pass by each of these girls has some posters in their hands which invite you to a location when you examine the posters they hold it usually looks like they promote a restaurant Cafe or concert but this is just a bait because the work they do in this way is directed to a legal level and the police police cannot accuse you in any way the product there is not what is written on the posters it's the people themselves they are almost everywhere on the central streets of Tokyo looking for suitable people let me tell you this in this way in Japan people are as introverted as possible and are made up of individuals who cannot express their feelings outward most of them have no social life and they cannot communicate with people hence cannot handle emotional relationships so some have become so accustomed to loneliness that their entire social life consists of adult magazines some of them may not be able to bear this situation after a while and may even prefer to end their lives this situation mixed with shyness and the inability to express ones has created a market in Japan controlled by some individuals these gangs aim to take the money of men under the pretext of product promotion using young girls in Japan for example those who have never been on a date never went out to eat never chatted with someone of the opposite sex pay money to spend time with these girls each service has a specific value among these Services there is everything from fortunetelling to massages for example if they want to eat together the customer covers all the venue expenses and pays the girl the girl also makes money by taking her commission from the business she works for Japanese girls have no chance to pocket most of the money they receive from customers because the men of these gangs are constantly watching the girls from a distance even if you are a tourist and try to take pictures of these girls someone suddenly warns you not to take photos these J key girls also have their music groups for example they perform at specific venues at night and make music everything seems normal until here but when you enter the venue the weird thing you will notice is that everyone watching them and trying to have fun there is male they call them Fanboys their only goal is to communicate with the girls there the lack of confidence and low self-esteem psychology in Japanese men leads them towards completely fake relationships thus they automatically give a leverage to those serving the industry for instance J ke music groups sell their signed photos and various items to these Fanboys after the concert also taking a picture with each girl is entirely paid in addition everything you can think of such as asking for a phone number or hanging out out together has a price I cannot say anything about this situation being considered a culture for people to meet those they like However if those who want to meet these girls are as old as their fathers the situation becomes completely ugly unfortunately these J key girls are managed by a gang and they cannot choose customers therefore whether they want it or not they have to be friendly and cheerful to everyone according to the gangs every man is like a goose ready to be plucked it is assumed that the JY culture in Japan emerged in the early '90s at that time it was called paid flirt in a way men paid to have a relationship with women they liked faces and names have changed from those days to now but this culture has not changed lonely and Wealthy individuals who feel lonely in society have managed to keep this phenomenon alive in Japan no one complains about the situation and there is no sanction at the state level although such incidents are forbidden in terms of of many religions the Japanese are not very committed to significant religions and moral rules of society if you stay in Tokyo for a while you can easily see that the life of the Japanese is focused on working and having fun and they don't care much about anything beyond that however the main reason why Japanese girls are pushed into this path is the same as those in Russia the common feature of both situations is that people unable to tolerate poverty find themselves involved in these sectors moreover similar situations exist not only in these two countries but also in all countries worldwide and women continue to be exposed to various negative things through their bodies see you in the new video goodbye
Russia's Extreme Teen Model Factory Reggie Yates Extreme Real Stories May 27, 2021
Reggie Yates visits Siberia to meet the young girls who are going to extreme lengths to attract the international scouts and make it as fashion models in the west.
Russia is the largest country on earth and home to nearly 150 million people. Vladimir Putin is well into his third term as president and with the west imposing tough sanctions, relations are now the frostiest since the Cold War.
Reggie Yates gets up close and personal with three very different communities in contemporary Russia. By living with them for a week, he explores what it's like for young people living here, 24 years after the fall of the Soviet Union.
An army of Siberian models is invading the west. Siberia is known around the world for its frigid temperatures, but within the fashion world it is famous for being home to the world's most beautiful women. Reggie joins international scouts as they board the Trans-Siberian railway and cross Siberia looking for the freshest new faces.
At the open castings - the first one in Krasnoyarsk, 2,800km east of Moscow - Reggie meets girls as young as 13 as they parade in bikinis, hoping that their stunning looks will get them noticed. In Novosibirsk, Siberia's capital, he visits some of the city's 26 modelling agencies and schools, where children as young as five are learning how to walk, pose, apply make-up, and diet.
He meets Anya, who would love to be an artist but realistically knows that, here in Siberia, there's more chance of her making money as a model, Vika, who has been eating buckwheat for breakfast, lunch and dinner in a bid to lose those extra two centimetres for the casting, and Katia, whose parents are distraught when they have to make a decision about whether she goes to work in China - at the age of just 15.
But how likely is it that they will really succeed? What are the pitfalls of the modelling industry? And what is the life they are leaving behind like?
Transcript
The West has imposed tough sanctions against Russia. Russia is responsible for the violence, and relations are the frostiest since the Cold War. But this hasn't stopped an army of young Siberian models invading the West. And while the catwalk and magazine demand for these girls grow, I'm here where it all starts, at the castings. My name is Lisa. I'm 13 years old. I'm from Siberia. The dream starts young. Some of these girls were as young as 13, very young, with thousands of Russian children starting model training almost as soon as they can walk. But there's a darker side to the dream. If I were a parent, I don't know what I would do. But the right and the wrong is just so blurred. So, I'm going to find out just what it takes to make it in the West and leave Siberia behind. [Music] [Music] At over 9,000 kilometers long and crossing eight time zones, the Trans Siberian Railway is the longest in the world. [Music] And the coldest temperatures here can drop as low as -60. That's how cold it is. Look, you feel that? Siberia is so huge that if it were a country, it would be the biggest in the world. 50 times the size of the UK, but with around half of the population. Most Siberians live along this [Music] railroad. So, this is the train that model scouts from all over the world must take in search of fresh new Siberian faces. Hey, how you doing? I'm Reggie. What's your name? Taco. Taco. Taco. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. So, where where exactly are you from? Tokyo. Tokyo. And how many girls are you expected to find in the time that you're here? Well, as much as possible. I mean, like if you cannot find it, you cannot find it. If you find 10, you find 10. It's just like that. Yeah. Yeah. So, what is it you're specifically looking for? The actually what we looking for somebody who has strong face and they still young like a 14 years old, 13 years old girls. Uh, they're still growing. So, I haven't introduced myself to you either. Sorry. I'm Reggie. Hi, I'm K. Nice to meet you. Hello. K. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. So, why here? I mean, this is so far away from from home for you. Girls? No. What specifically? What type of girls? It's short age, like only teenagers, maybe over one age. If people think you are getting old, then no chance anymore. But, so you're looking for someone who feels and looks younger. Yeah. Our client love it. Our client like young girls. Yeah. In Britain, children aren't allowed on the catwalk until they're 16. And although girls younger than that do model for magazines, the Asian market specifically looks for the youngest faces. [Music] The first stop on the model tour is the industrial mining city of Kranas, 3,000 miles from Moscow and a world away from the UK. In Soviet times, Siberia was where political prisoners were sent to die a few decades later. And it's not how I imagined it. As a as a kid growing up in in North London, when you think of somewhere like Siberia, you just imagine this huge vast sort of mass of land with mountains and snow and nothingness. But the bit that I'm in right now, it could very easily be somewhere in the UK. You know, there's literally tower blocks everywhere. We very easily could be in Pekco. And this is where the glamorous life of a Siberian supermodel begins. at a casting organized by local agencies for the visiting talent [Music] scouts. And coming to a casting like this really can pay off. Natalia Vodanova was discovered selling fruit by the side of the road in Russia. Now she's a millionaire supermodel. But this is the first step. Standing next to naked in front of [Music] strangers. I don't remember the last time I felt this this awkward. I think it might have been the time when um I stayed at my mom's and I found my little sister who I'm convinced is still 9 years old even though she keeps telling me she's 19. When I found her bra, it was the weirdest feeling I think I've ever had. And that is now being sort of gazumped by what I'm feeling right now because just over my right shoulder there's a whole heap of kids and they're in pants and and bras. But then I see something that really takes me back. Whoa. [Music] Whoa. They're all so young. [Music] I didn't expect there to be this many people and um I didn't expect there to be this young. It looks like everyone here is about the age of be 15 16 tops. Then the director of Noah Models arrives. Truahhatrian has been running casting sessions like this for 20 years. Paris. Uh as if these girls weren't standing up straight enough already. Um there's suddenly been a bit of an atmosphere change in here because there's a a guy that everybody is um shaking hands with. Hello. Hello Reggie. I'm Tigin. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. Tigin, could you explain um your role uh today? Well, the role is to select girls uh primarily uh for ourselves to send all across the world for them to work. There are many young girls here. And what sort of numbers are you expecting today? Uh, I expect to find about 10 to 15 girls here. Out of how many this turning up? How many are you expecting to arrive? Probably 100. A lot of them have great potential. The critical part is the character. Most Russian girls. Okay. They're like Ferraris without engines. But when you when we start working with them, we put those engines try to uh make it a awesome car. I'm going to start calling you the mechanic for the rest of the mechanics for Tigran's right-hand woman, Anna Yuzakova, is running today's event. She personally manages over 100 girls working all over the world. [Music] Bless them on their cards. They've got their name and their age. My name is Lisa. I'm 13 years old. My height is 176. I'm from Siberia. I like modeling, traveling, and swimming. Some of these girls are as young as [Music] 13. If any of the scouts like a girl, a code letter is added to their card. Some of them may have worked before and some will be newbies. And in the Asian market, they can start as young as 12. Asia is like the kindergarten. Then uh that's the first market that you send them to. Usually that's where they start. Yeah. Okay. Then they go to Europe. Europe you can consider as the high school. Yeah. Then they go to the US and that's the university. Right. So what are you looking for? What can you tell already? um the photogenic qualities uh certain geometry of the face and the proportions uh of the body. If you take the distance between the eyes, you take the distance between the nose and the eyes, right? You put this down to a science. Yeah, it is a science. It feels like a really strange thing to say, but these young women trying to get a job, you know, and in any other environment, they'll be holding up their CV. Whereas here, their CV is their body. It's the way they look, it's the way they walk, it's how they smile, how confident they are. And um when you see the people who are the right way, quote unquote, you can really tell the difference. Hello. Are you mom? Hello. Pleasure to meet you. How you doing? I'm I'm Reggie. What's your name? Ya. Hello. Lovely to meet you. She's um she's got every single agency on there. So um did you did you ever come to something like this? Did you ever try it? [Laughter] Do you think that you would have coped as well being that young and wearing so little in [Music] [Laughter] public? Hello, my name is Quite a lot of the girls were getting letters and this marks them out for the next step. Hello. All right. So, what have we got on this piece of paper? There's two letters on here. What does that mean? I see that you put your uh your jumper back on now. Is it um is it a bit weird being in a bra and and underwear for so long? [Music] If I was in my underwear, stood up there, I'd be crying. [Music] So, have you officially made it or is this sort of a step towards finding out? [Music] The journey from Siberia to supermodel is a long one and Tigran likes to start them young. [Music] I feel great when I help these young girls because over here they don't have uh big opportunities. Is that why you got into this then to help young women? Yes. Yes, I do. Uh I want to really help these young women and uh it gives me great joy spiritually when somebody becomes very successful. I take great pride in it. So we'll see. All right. Uh, I'm sure I'll catch up with you again in a little bit. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Something tells me though, it's not just about spiritual reward. This is business. Each teenage model that Tren signs could make him thousands in commission. But was he right about the lack of opportunity? Anna's been trying to be a model for 3 years. I'm going back to her village to see what life is like for her there. [Music] Now, this is what I imagined Siberia would be like. It's only an hour outside of Crash, but it feels a million miles away. Anna's lived all of her life in a village in the middle of a forest called Offsanka. Anya, this couldn't be any more different to to where I grew up. I mean, what's it like living here? Being a guy who who grew up in a big city like London, there are opportunities literally everywhere I look. I mean, what sort of opportunities do you have growing up here? [Music] The Russian education system is good. More than half of Russian girls go to university. But in a country where even doctors make just over £400 a month, I can see the temptation to work abroad. Hello. How you doing? Hello. Nice to meet you. Anna lives in a one-bedroom flat with her mom, Tatiana. Her father died when she was four. So Anna's mom brought her and her brother up on her own. And is that one of your paintings? Yeah. That's beautiful. Oh wow. So this is your art as well. Look at this. That's me. Very nice. Anna dreams of being an artist, but finding a way of making money out of that feels like a pipe dream. How realistic is it to to have a career as an artist here? You know, being totally honest with you, it seems as though this is where your heart is and uh modeling is definitely where the money is and where a career is. But how soon will it be before you get that big break, do you think? [Music] Anna has to rush off to rehearsals for Siberia's Next Top Model, a reality show shooting in Kresnk. Want to see you soon. Good luck. Okay. Which leaves time for a chat with her mom. Yes, please. And my first taste of Siberian [Music] hospitality. I was just looking at this while you were in the kitchen making the tea. And I can't believe that it's the same girl cuz she looks like just a normal teenager here with you and and your son and then here she just looks like a completely different person in these model shop. Wow. I'm going to have one of these. Do you think then that your um do you think that your daughter will actually make it? Can any become a professional model? Okay. So, if if Anna actually makes it as a model and is successful, will she have to send money home? Will she have to look after her family? No. So, is the modeling career currently bringing any money into the house? [Laughter] Wow, that's that must be tough. Now, when I got here, Anna was uh really really welcoming and showed me her room and showed me all of her pictures on her wall. But one thing she didn't show me was where you sleep. So, where's your room and and where do you where do you lay your head in the flat? Wow. So you sleep you sleep [Music] here. When you um when you see just how humble home is, you can understand why Anna is so focused. Um it sort of stirred up a lot of um a lot of stuff in me cuz I remember growing up in not the nicest counselor state in the world uh with not very much. And um I also grew up with a mom who made the best of what she had. And um when you've got someone like that looking after you, all you want to do is look after them. [Music] I'm back on the Trans Siberian Express on the next leg of the model tour and it's another 800 kilome to Siberia's capital, Nova Sabis. Not a lot of room. So, uh I guess this is home for the next 12 hours. Anna, the scout from Noah Models, is in the next carriage. She's been running these Siberian model tours for 6 years. Hello, Anna. Hello. Hey. So, what is it about Siberian girls that draws people from everywhere? What is really special about Siberians is their roots? So, a lot of people were present during Soviet times. So, from Ukraine, from Baltic republics also a lot of people are coming from Asian part to Siberia. It's a mixture of ethnics, roots. So the faces are really interesting and also Siberian girls have better skin and uh hair conditions because I think you noticed that there are there were a lot of girls with hair up to the waist. So it's really it's really unique. I had absolutely no idea until today that girls under the age of 16 were were going around the world on their own for for modeling trips. How do you look after them when they when they leave here? It's not only me who look after them. It's we are making the big team all together. So it's the local agency in Christ no where we going and also the agencies we are working with. How does it get split whatever's earned tickets then uh transportation accommodation uh allowances all advanced by the agency. If the girl doesn't cover this expense by her jobs, she doesn't have to return the money. So a successful girl, a girl who does well in maybe the Asian market or European market, how much is she likely to earn in a year? Just round. So if we don't talk about like top top top model like Kate Mos or Claudia Shifford, if we are talking about just normal models, successful models, um it can be like 20,000 per month. US dollars 30. Yeah, like that. US dollars. Yeah. USD 20 grand net a month for a 15year-old girl from Siberia. That's a hell of a That's for for a 15year-old girl from London. That's a hell of a lot. But we we say about highest rate. I mean, so it can be sometimes the girl come back home with zero because their expenses were more than their earnings. So next trip could be more successful. Yeah. All right. Well, I'll let you get on. Um, good talking to you and I I'll see you in the morning. Sure. Okay. And I hope you will enjoy my home city. You're hoping? Yes. I'm looking forward to it. It's still 10 long hours till Nova Sabers, but at least I'm in business class. It's been a very long first day in Siberia and a bit of a culture shock. To begin with, I just felt really um for one of a better word, and not to sound like a complete sap, I felt quite sad at the beginning of the day cuz I just saw so many kids stood there in their underwear desperately clutching at a chance for a better life, desperately clutching at a chance to do something to make it. But, you know, the more the day went on, the more I understood that these teenagers aren't being forced to do anything. They put themselves there because that's where they want to be and they see it as an opportunity to do something else. It's a really strange day. Novice is thousands of miles from the catwalks of London, Paris and New York. But in this city alone, there are 24 different model agencies and schools. So, I want to see what they're actually teaching them. Hello. Hello. Hey, how you doing? I'm I'm Reggie. Nice to meet you. My name is Olga. Hello, Olga. Global models. Girls start these classes as young as four. [Music] Learning to walk, pose, apply makeup and diet. Today, there's a fashion shoot for their portfolios. It's like behind the scenes at the Paris catwalks, but with young kids instead. [Music] [Music] She's a little pro. Look, she's hitting the poses straight away. Excuse me. Hello. Hello. Hi. Is this Is this your daughter? Ah, nice to meet you. Hello, mom. Mom and dad, right? Hello. Lovely to meet you. Lovely to meet you. Um, how how old is she? Six old. Six years old. Wow. So, she's she's really young. Just a generation ago, during Soviet times, there was virtually no modeling industry in Russia. How do you look at models here in Russia? Cuz there are so many girls that want to do it. [Music] [Music] Why do you think that there are so many negative connotations when it comes to modeling? Hello. What's your name? L. How old are you, L? You're 12. [Music] [Applause] [Music] Wow, she's amazing at modeling. And this is what models are supposed to do. They're supposed to make love to the camera. but she's a child and she's delivering quite mature and slightly sexual um poses and that's the right thing to do in this context but for it to be a child delivering that that's where I struggle. The final girl of the day, Sophia, comes in and she's got her eyes firmly on the prize. So, how old is your daughter? Right. She seems very practiced. Like, she knows all of her poses and her angles already. I mean, did you did you used to model? You could have done if not you did. So, how successful were you? Were you able to get to the top two? Really? It's amazing how quickly these kids have bought into the dream of riches and stardom. After all, only one generation ago, Russia was a communist country. How's it going, man? How are you? Tigran the model agency boss has seen huge change over the last 20 years. During the Soviet Union, you know, when once you got your everything was planned. You get your degree, then you do this job, you get this standard salary. So hardly anybody challenged that. It was a very stable, boring lifestyle, right? But these younger girls, they don't want that. What sort of young women are being produced by having these opportunities and by being alive and being young in this this time? They're far more creative. They want to be someone in life unlike their mothers. You know what it takes? Uh I mean what happens when you send a 14year-old girl from a poor or average family to Japan, let's say, and she comes home with $20,000 that she earned in two months. Now that's that's amazing. Their mothers didn't have that chance. Yeah. they do. With so much money on offer and the girls being so young, I can't help but wonder if people ever take advantage of them. You know, there are agencies all over, but most are not really doing uh jobs to send girls to the west where they work professionally as models. So, these other agencies then, are they essentially setting these girls up to be escorts? Uh, no, no, no. What they do is they find uh wealthy boyfriends for these girls and that's a far more profitable business unfortunately. And many of the parents knowingly give their girls to them. Why would any parent because because it's it's in the Russian culture. It's in the Russian dream to have uh to to get married, to have a wealthy boyfriend, to have a beautiful apartment, to have a beautiful car. And so that's what happens. That's mind-blowing to me that a parent would want their daughter to live that sort of half life. That doesn't make That's the reality. That's the reality. Tigran's holding the second model casting tomorrow, and I'm starting to see how this could be a life-changing event for the girls who show up. Elite Stars is one of the top agencies in town, and there's just time for one last practice before they meet the international scouts. Former model Arena has to teach her students everything she's learned. Scouted at 15, she's lived in London and New York and worked for Vogue magazine and brands like Chanel and Dior. She knows what these girls need to learn if they're going to stand a chance. [Music] Uh, Reggie, right? Yes. Reggie, I want you to help me with English class. Oh wow. Yeah, because the girls they're going to go to work in a modeling agency in Paris, London, Tokyo, everywhere. So they need practice. So let's play little game like a casting like you a client and the girls they are coming to you they looking for a job. Okay. I need a berry and a cigarette. Don't Hello. Hello. Hey. Hey. My name is Aaria. I'm from Russia. I'm 15 years old. Okay. It's a good walk. Hello. Hey. What's your name? My name is Dan. I'm 15 years old. 14? Yeah. Wow. And how old are you? I am 14 years old. 14. You're very tall. How tall are you now? I'm 173. They have to learn English because it's very important. Hello. Hello. My name is Vika. I'm 16 years old. I'm from Siberia BK. Um my high um 73. Yeah. Um what else? Okay. What's your favorite flavor ice cream? Um I love all. All of them. Yeah. It's a good answer. Thank you very much. Nice to meet you. Nice to meet you. What makes a good model in your opinion though? First, you have to be a businesswoman. You have to be uh energetic with good attitude because without this you cannot make a great career because you can have a beautiful face and great body but if you have nothing in in your head forget it about they want to take picture with you. My modeling days are over but it's amazing how quickly it all comes rushing back. Everyone look at this camera. I've worked it, girl. I've worked it. I've worked it, girl. Thank you very much. I've um admittedly regressed a little and I suddenly feel like I'm one of the girls and pose. [Music] These girls are really investing in the dream. 6 months of classes with all the expenses can cost more than 2 months local wages. Not to be really sort of out of order about it, but you can see that there are some girls that probably won't make it just based on their height and their weight and their look. And the people that really have potential really do stand out. And of the 5,000 models on Elite Stars books, only 70 are working abroad. You sure? So realistically out of all of these girls here who all really want this, really want a career, how many of them will be as fortunate as you to go abroad and have a career? To be honest, they have all good [Music] chance. The casting is being held later this afternoon. Hey, Vika. Hello. I met Vika yesterday, but all I really know about her is that she likes ice cream. Hello, I'm Reggie. Nice to meet you. She lives with her single mom, Natalia. God, you need so many layers. It's so cold. Okay. Cold? Really? Yes, this is cold. You're telling me this isn't cold for me? It's not cold. It's okay. You have no This is your place. This is really cute. Where we um where we headed in here? Yeah. Okay. So, you love a flower, don't you? Yeah. It's a one-bedroom flat, so Vika sleeps in the living room. It's my favorite flower. There's loads here. Look at all of these pictures. What's this? Elite Stars. Yeah, it's my diploma. And I have a title, Miss Elite Stars. Miss Elite Stars. What's Oh, you won the [Music] crown. Elite Stars. Look at you. Nice. [Music] It's my first photo shoot. Were you nervous? Uh, of course. Uh, when I see camera, I'm scared. first international casting, but she's never been picked. So, everything is riding on this [Music] one. How do you go about it then? Buckwheat was a staple of Soviet cuisine, so I'm a little bit nervous. So, this is where I can't say no, isn't it? Smells like hot wheat a [Music] bit. You wouldn't have this with [Music] anything. Of course, it is not tasty. Was you happy for her to try and make modeling her thing? I mean, hearing all of that come from your daughter, does that not scare you or worry you at all? [Music] How likely to succeed are you? What are your chances? I like that attitude. That's the only attitude to have and that's good. Is failure even an option for you then? The casting that could make or break Vikica's dream is being held on the 22nd floor of a shopping mall. I ought to be getting used to this by now, but it's still surprising how young they are. Anna's running the casting again. And there's a new foreign scout I haven't spoken to before. I'm Reggie. Yes. Nice to meet you. What was your name? Sorry. And where you from, man? Paris. You're from Paris, right? So, are you casting specifically for Paris today? Yes. The objective is more to find some model who have the potential to appear uh in the shows like Chain Salon and So you're saying that one of the girls or some of the girls in this room could walk a fashion week. Of course. So what is the um the ideal for you today? I mean um the the Asian market was specifically looking for someone with a smaller frame and the height didn't matter as much. What's uh your criteria? Yes. In our case, if you want to appear in the shows in New York, in London, Mina or Paris, you need at least to be 177. Okay, that's a minimum height because you do the you do first the dress and then you select the mar. In fact, Lionel's already found a girl he's interested in. Those pictures are incredible. They're really impressive, right? Don't know where she has been before. Philippines. Yeah. Yeah. She started to work at 14. Now she's 15. You would never know that from these images. And this is the model face. You can transform it to any age, any style. [Music] Excuse me. What's your what's your name? Hello. Nice to meet you. Do you speak English? A little bit. A little bit. So on your first trip abroad, did you work much or did you not get much work when you were there? So, you made good money there. Yeah. But with things going so well for you in the east, um, are you trying to set your sights on the West now? Is that why you've come today to try and get picked up by uh by our man from Paris? Yeah. So, do you look at days like today as a competition or you're not even bothered about other people being the competition's tough and I'm worried for Vika. It's her big moment and she looks so nervous. She's brand new. Yes. The other girls seem to be getting a positive reaction. But what about Vika? [Music] Vika's casting seems to be over in a matter of minutes and it's time for a new batch of girls to step up and how did it go? Um 1 cm. They said yes. That's pretty harsh criticism about just the 1 cm. Why would you [Music] Surely having a spinal problem isn't made easier by being in [Music] heels. Well, I'm not casting. You take them off. Get them off. Get them off. You know, it's really funny. And the minute you take your heels off, suddenly you look like a a 16-year-old girl again. Suddenly your hair falls in front of your face and you look younger. Okay. All [Music] right. Vika seems really upset and in a hurry to get home. I feel bad for her. I know how hard she's tried. The truth is around 90% of these girls won't get picked. But that doesn't stop them trying. Reality shows Siberia's Next Top Model is just one of hundreds of competitions held across Russia. It has a prize of $1,000. And Anna, the wannabe model I've met a few days ago, is in the final. [Applause] The finals being held in a restaurant at the back of yet another shopping center. Antigan, the boss of Noah Models, has invited me to be a judge. How's it going, guys? How we doing? You all right? Looking good. Like the other 28 finalists, Anna's made it through 12 knockout rounds to get here. [Music] But this evening's about more than just winning this local contest. The international scouts are here as well. Amazing. [Music] Number 18 seems to be cleaning up. I picked her. I'm getting good at this model scouting against her idol [Music] model. Contracts are being handed out for work in Europe and Asia, but there's nothing yet for Anna. It's really interesting seeing it from this perspective. They really know what they're looking for and it's tough and they have to be because, you know, it's massive competition in a worldwide market. They've saved the best for last. Tren is looking for girls to go to America. [Music] This could be Anna's big break. A better life for her and her mom. [Applause] [Music] Just seen the golden girl. Hey, well done. Congratulations. Oh, thank you. So, you're you're going to Los Angeles. You're going to California. Oh, yeah. Anna hasn't just won a contract in America. First, she's going to Asia. So, it's not just California. It's India as well. You're going to be going to two corners of the world off the back of a an evenings of competition. I mean, how are you feeling about all of this? Mom, you've taken your shoes off. Is it that point of the night? Is it time to finally let your hair down? Well done. Congratulations. Well done. And congratulations to you, too. Thank you. Thank you. Anna's not the only winner. Excuse me. Sorry. Excuse me. Sorry to interrupt. Um I see you've got flowers. Did you Did you win this evening? You have? I have. Congratulations. Um what's the contract for? Where are you going? China. China. Wow. Have you ever been to China before? No. And And how old are you? 15. 15. But there's a catch. Katya needs to persuade her mom and dad. Does the decision have to be made now? Do you have to decide literally this evening if she's going to China or not? How would you feel about her being out there without you there to look after her? Are you Are you worried? I mean, what is it that's making you so so emotional? being faced with this crossroad. I mean, how big a decision is it for you? Do you think mom and dad are going to say yes? Maybe. Ah, one word in English. That's a good English word to use. It's the perfect word for this moment. The right and the wrong is just so blurred because both avenues are the right one. letting your daughter start this career is the right thing to do. But also not letting your child, your 15year-old child go to China on their own is also the right thing to do. I don't envy their decision. And if it was my kid, I might say no as well. [Music] I want to talk to someone who's been there, done it, and modeled the t-shirt. Valyria was scouted when she was just 14 and traveled the world modeling for 12 years. I was young, you know, I just wanted to be like every girl, trying new clothes, wear all like, you know, the Cinderella story. You maybe you have this opportunity to be a princess. Do you have pictures of you at that age? Can I see this person? This you? Yeah. This this is Vivian Westwood. Oh, yes. So, it is. How old are you here? Yeah, 14. Wow. M God, you are so young. Wow. And this was in Japan as well. And you're you're like 14 or 15 here. Did you have anyone looking after you? No. That's the thing. You're alone in another mentality in another world with no friends, no parents, and uh and you're a child. And you're a child. And if you go one cm more, then uh um your contract is finished. Right. And I was paranoid that I'm fat, but I was not fat. How much money were you making at that age? Um, from 20 to 50,000 US per month. That's a lot of money. You said it so flippantly, but that's a lot. Yeah, but you have tickets then flat per month. You don't understand what is the contracts. You don't have a lawyer. All you have is 10%. So, you're making lot of money, but you never get them. Some girls they don't know what to do and they put themselves in troubles. What sort of troubles? I mean they actually selling the girls for guys, you know, just to hang out with these guys and they pay to the bookers. So random men will pay money to have young models just to hang out with them. Yeah, of course. A lot of girls they are they think that they are models but then they become a prostitution. You know how often does that sort of thing happen? Walu some girls because they scared because people say I will not give you passport. You will not go to your motherland. You have to make money and you have to find the way to make money. And it's the reality reality of this fashion industry. St. Petersburg, Russia's second biggest city and the home of lower models. It's 6:00 a.m. and I'm at the airport to meet Anna. She's flying in to shoot the portfolio she'll need for her first contract abroad. Hey, and surprise surprise, Katya's made it, too. Good to see you. How you doing? Hello. Hello. Hello. Where's your bags? Is that what you come with? Come on. They've got a busy day in front of them, so we're heading straight to the studio. Well, for both of you, this really could be the beginning of of a career. What do you expect to come from this? [Music] Up to 10 teenage models at a time can sleep here when they're starting their [Music] careers. This is the biggest photo shoot of their lives. And the work they get when they start abroad will depend on how good these shots are. And so it [Music] begins. Doesn't look excited. I've seen it for sure. Next up is Katia. [Music] and she looks incredibly nervous. I think reality has suddenly started to set in. [Music] It's hard work for the girls. This is their first proper taste of the modeling business. But I want to know if Tren honestly thinks either of these girls can make it big overseas. Based on how much you know about these girls at this stage, how realistic is it for them to make it? They can make it to certain markets now. No, not to every market. [Music] Just how fair do you think it is that you know so many girls get taken on that don't necessarily have everything that it takes? We we're giving them u an opportunity in life to become someone to do something more important. So what you do I mean what what would the girl do in cross New York at best? I mean, think of it or or in Nova Curus, you know, finish uh high school, go to college, have a diploma, and then do what? Go get a job for $500 a month, marry someone at a very young age, have a baby, most likely get divorced. This is this is what they're facing. This that's the reality what they're facing. What do you think the parents think about the role that the agency plays in their daughter's career? The parents of course they want their children to be more successful in life than they have been. So they allow the girls to go to the west and you know become models. We have to understand one thing that for a Russian to go abroad in general even as a tourist is a huge advantage because they need visas literally to go anywhere. So, it's a great opportunity for their daughters and a great basis for a business like Trens, but one thing's for sure, the girls seem absolutely determined to grab this opportunity with both hands. Model room. How we doing, girls? You okay? Okay. You all right? How did you find today then? Has a day like today made you more excited or made you realize just how much work you're about to get into? [Music] Good luck, girls. Best of luck. All right. Be good. Good luck. All the girls need now are their visas. Be safe. So they can start their contracts and new lives abroad. I can't say for certain whether they'll be one of the lucky ones who will actually make decent money, but at least they will experience a life outside of Siberia that they might not have otherwise. I come from a place where there are so many opportunities. I come from a place where I can be anything I want to be and I'm told that every day. Whereas here, if you're a young girl, this is one opportunity that takes you all over the world potentially and could make you very, very wealthy and very successful. And yes, it doesn't happen for everyone. Anna and Katya might not end up getting careers. But from what I've seen in my time in Siberia, I can see why so many girls queue up to chase that modeling [Music] [Applause] [Music] dream. Heat. Heat. N. [Applause] [Music]
New report digs in on details of the incident that reportedly caused Trump to ban Epstein from Mar-a-Lago. Employees of Donald Trump’s Florida club were sent to make house calls on Jeffrey Epstein until a young beautician complained about him making sexual advances towards her, report alleges by Joe Sommerlad Independent.co.uk Wednesday 31 December 2025 12:41 GMT https://www.independent.co.uk/news/worl ... 92648.html
Jeffrey Epstein was never a fee-paying member of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago club in Florida but routinely received home visits from staff members sent to provide massages and manicures, a new report has alleged.
Former employees of Trump’s Palm Beach estate have told The Wall Street Journal that the house calls took place around the late 1990s and early 2000s and “went on for years,” even as young female employees warned each other about Epstein’s predilection for “being sexually suggestive and exposing himself during the appointments.”
The former staff members told the WSJ that the house calls were an occasional service offered to spa members.Although Epstein was not a member, they said, they alleged that Trump had told them “to treat him like one” and that Epstein had an account, where appointments were booked for him by Ghislaine Maxwell, his accomplice and then-girlfriend.
Maxwell reportedly frequented the club herself, making use of Epstein’s account, and “used the spa to recruit young spa workers for side jobs, which weren’t authorized by the club.”
However, Epstein’s relationship with Mar-a-Lago ended abruptly in 2003, according to the WSJ’s sources, when an 18-year-old beautician returned to the club and told its human resources team that he had pressured her for sex.
[x] Jeffrey Epstein and his accomplice Ghislaine Maxwell in a recently released photograph published by the Department of Justice (DOJ)
A manager responded by sending Trump a fax relaying the employee’s accusations against the wealthy financier and urged him to ban Epstein, to which the future president replied by saying it was a good letter and agreeing it was appropriate to sever ties. The beautician’s complaint was never passed on to Palm Beach police.
Trump has not been accused of wrongdoing in relation to Epstein, who took his own life in a New York City jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges, but has faced consistent pressure this year to explain their past friendship.
The account supplied by the WSJ tallies with Trump’s claim that he kicked Epstein out of Mar-a-Lago around 2004 for being a “creep.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told the newspaper Tuesday it was “writing up fallacies and innuendo in order to smear President Trump.”
“No matter how many times this story is told and retold, the truth remains: President Trump did nothing wrong and he kicked Jeffrey Epstein out of Mar a Lago for being a creep,” she said.
[x] Donald Trump's members-only Mar-a-Lago club in Palm Beach, Florida (Getty)
The Independent has reached out to the White House for further comment.
The WSJ report goes on to allege that Trump and Epstein “continued to cross paths” after he was banned from Mar-a-Lago and that the pair found themselves in direct competition for a Palm Beach property up for auction in late 2004, with Trump coming out on top in the bidding process.
The pressure on the president to provide justice for Epstein’s victims ramped up in July when the Department of Justice and the FBI issued a joint memo stating that there was no “client list” in existence detailing the late pedophile’s powerful friends and that conspiracy theories alleging he was murdered in jail were false.
The memo only served to revive interest in the case, however, and set in motion a call for the DOJ to release all government files on Epstein, which resulted in the Epstein Files Transparency Act near-unanimously passing Congress in November and the first tranche of documents and photographs being made available via the department’s website on December 19.
A second, much larger tranche was published on December 23, and the DOJ has since said it has uncovered “over a million more” documents possibly tied to the Epstein case and that it will take weeks to release them all.
Trump is suing the WSJ for reporting on the existence of a lewd 50th birthday letter he allegedly sent to Epstein in January 2003, which was subsequently uncovered by the dead man’s estate in response to a subpoena by Democrats on the House Oversight Committee.
The president has denied authorship of the letter, but the newspaper has argued its reporting was accurate and is seeking to have the lawsuit dismissed.
