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So I did. And lo and behold, Carmine was asked to do a short shoot with hair and makeup. And that is what I wanted to say happened that day.
OK, that is not exactly what did happen. You see, while Carmine was going through her stuff, I got discovered and asked if I was there for the model audition. And I replied, “No, I am not interested in modeling; I am here for my girlfriend and…” You know the speech.
Am I the driver and supporter? Yes, that speech.
Besides, I am a male, cisgender, and heterosexual, and this was for women, not men.
And the person I was talking to, whose name turned out to be Ellen, decided otherwise.
So I told Ellen, whom I knew nothing about, that the fact that she was becoming a royal pain in the ass, that my name was Shannon O’Conner, that I was 20, and that I was a male, heterosexual, and definitely cisgendered. I was not interested in modeling.
Notice I keep repeating this mantra, and that is because in the end, not one individual believed any of it.
And I learned something about Ellen. She does not give a damn about what you want; it is all about what Ellen wants, and the next thing I know, I am having my hair done and makeup applied, and was in with two photographers, hot lights, and massive, to me, cameras.
And I was shot in some blouses and sweaters that were not male attire appropriate.
I thought that this was all a hoot and allowed it to happen.
I did not want to destroy Carmine’s opportunity, and besides, it was fun.
Carmine caught up to me before I could take off the makeup.
They assume that you want to wear professionally done makeup for the rest of your day, but I was not their normal model, and my hair was still all blown out and professionally done.
And Carmine thought that this was as funny as you could get.
Carmine, as you may remember, was raised not as much by her mother, but behind the bar in a placed owned by a drag queen.
I somehow survived a trip to the men's restroom, got rid of the makeup, pulled my hair back into its normal low ponytail, and we headed back to Mercer and our studies.
And then on Tuesday, someone called from a New York number, and I just hung up.
I do not know anyone from New York. At breakfast on Wednesday, the phone rang again, and again the New York number, and I just killed the call and dropped the phone on the table.
When the phone rang a second time a few minutes later, Carmine beat me to it.
And it was someone called the Ellen Modeling Agency.
And it seemed that this someone, Ellen, who had discovered me at the Outlet Mall the previous Saturday, wanted to do a full shoot of me this coming weekend at a hotel in Grove City, which is where the Outlet Mall is, and they wanted to pay me $5,000 for the privilege.
I said no, but I asked if they were going to use Carmine, and she, actually, in reality, Ellen herself, said that Carmine was an alternative.
So I made a deal: if they gave Carmine the same opportunity that they were giving me, for the same money, then we both would do this callback.
Look, I am a well-off kid of a very successful contract law lawyer who worked so hard for professional jocks and makes the big bucks, and my mother is a college professor.
My parents can afford college for me and give me more than a bit of pocket change.
But Carmine, as I had found out, was hurting, and $5K for a day?
That would take care of her for both semesters and allow her to enjoy school truthfully.
So we did it. And I had my first full professional makeover as a woman.
And I spent five hours in front of multiple cameras, shooting at the same time, in a dozen different outfits, which I was then presented with as an incentive.
Like, what was I going to do with skirts and dresses?
Besides the undie thing? And yes, it was from the skin out, so just bloody get over it, OK? Just get over it.
And then, before we could leave, we were asked to dinner.
And Ellen had a massive pile of raws from both of us. Raws are the unprocessed images generated directly from the data in the camera. Nowadays, the data is sent from the camera directly to a computer and is printed out by an art director in minutes while you are still being shot in the same outfit.
Yes, studio work is that fast.
And the art director, the photographer, and Ellen sat there and made me an offer.
They offered me a six-month developmental contract at $108,000 a month for one nine-day session per month.
And if the photos were used, then I would get royalties or whatever they call that part.
Basically, that was for shooting me, and if the photos were used, I would be paid again.
That, if you do the math, is over $650,000 for basically six months of my time.
And the offer for me was high fashion on the runway, starting at the Fall Fashion Week in New York, New York, in the main tent in Bryant Park.
That is where top models walk.
Carmine was too much figure; she is full figure and has D cup-sized boobs, so no runway work, but she is perfect for what is known as product placement and commercials, that is, where they have her holding what they are selling, not wearing what they are selling.
Say tampons or toothpaste, or in a commercial for an office desk.
You know the commercial work that the industry is filled to the brim with.
Lots of work in catalogs also, and in fashion journals.
But not for top fashion. She is too full-figured for what they, the buyers of the ads, want for full-blown fashion.
But me? I apparently can have a career as a female runway fashion model.
And then the kicker: Ellen told me that I had two hours to decide, that this was the nature of developmental contracts.
Ellen told us that she was at Grove City to find new talent, and if she went back to New York without signing anyone, it would be a waste of her time.
She wanted me, but being honest, and Ellen is an extremely honest agent, she would make money from Carmine also, not as much.
Hence, the offer was for less, but more than enough that six months of developmental contract work would take care of all of Carmine’s uncovered University expenses.
And that was significant. One six-month stretch of work, and Carmine’s education would be secured.
But the implication was that Carmine’s contract was an incentive to my contract.
But we both had to sign. Ellen needed to meet my father; I think she could teach him a bit.
We both signed.
Sunday morning, I called home to tell my parents, and my father went into lawyer mode and took over. And in three hours, we were all sitting with Ellen at a restaurant in Grove City, going over the contract in detail.
Dad said I had a 72-hour cancellation clause on personal contracts signed in Pennsylvania.
If you think I was hearing “Oh hell no, no son of mine is going to do this” from my father, you are so wrong. My father understands this world of rare individuals in a rarified market, and his words were, “Shannon, do not be a fool, do this.” As if I had a choice, I had already signed.
But this brought up what I needed to accomplish before Fashion Week, as in, look, I had to present as a female model from the minute I arrived in New York.
I was going to be billed as the next up-and-coming top model with a serious shot at supermodel to hit New York this year.
And that was high stakes, high publicity, and serious.
And I had only ever worn female clothing for one fashion five-hour shoot.
It was explained that I would most definitely not be the first male to model on the women's wear runway, and that we, men in women's modeling, are very common in Europe, but that I needed to hit the runway as a female model and never deny that I was male, as that was the path that worked the best.
The key was a female model who was male, but who lived as female.
And that meant that, given the time constraints, I had to go 24/7 immediately. Ellen then handed my mother a credit card and said, “Take your youngest daughter shopping from the skin out today.”
And that is what happened. Sunday evening, a male Shannon showed up back at his dorm, and at breakfast on Sunday, the cheerleaders, including Carmine’s roommate, found out about the change, and I got adopted.