What was your first modeling gig and how did you come to get it?
I live in Chicago, and every year there’s this event called “Out at the Park” held at Six Flags. This organization rents out Six Flags and al the queers come out and ride the rides and get drunk and it’s super duper fun. Last year, I took a party bus sponsored by one of the bars, and my partner and I made all sorts of new friends. One of the people we met was a scout for an agency in Chicago, and while we were in line for the wooden old roller coaster, he turned to me and asked me if I’d ever considered modeling before. I laughed about it, and thought it was the funniest thing, and then he followed up the next day and was like “no seriously you should submit.” I’d showed up to an open call with a bunch of printed off Instagram selfies, and somehow got signed. They hooked me up with a bunch of really great photographers, and I’ve been going on shoots pretty consistently ever since. So, I guess my “first modeling gig” was “getting drunk at Six Flags,” and it’s been a roller coaster ride ever since.
What made you want to pursue modeling?
I really enjoy photo shoots! I could try to fancy myself up and be all like “I enjoy the art of collaboration” but that’d be a lie. I like to laugh, and usually I laugh a lot on shoots.
Which shoot do you consider your breakthrough in your career?
I mean, my shoot with Ross Haley for MalePower got me here, so that’s pretty cool. Let’s go with that.
Which shoot has been your favorite? Why?
One of my very first shoots as a “professional” was with my good friend Caitlainne Gurreri, who’s based out of LA but gets to Chicago a lot. Her and I have been close since my second semester of college, and she has this amazing sense of composition. I asked her if she could take some ‘lifestyle’ shots of my boyfriend and I in our first apartment together, after I got us kicked out because I got in a fight with the washing machine (I’d like to say there’s more to the story than that, but that pretty much sums it up), and that shoot was absolutely my #1 favorite shoot. Working with Caitlainne was so easy, and shooting with Dave (my BF) was so much fun because literally all we did was laugh at each other and the silly faces we were making. Caitlainne and I have worked together solo a few times since then, and her and I have a great working relationship, she’s the person I go to whenever I have a question or a worry (or even when I get asked to fill out an interview by a fun underwear blog!), but there was something special about that first shoot with her, and his name is Dave. =) BY THE WAY. http://www.beautyrosephotography.com/. She’s the best. I’ve also worked with Ray of Covet Images a bunch, and have loved working with him. We have a super similar aesthetic, and it’s really easy to work with somebody who’s as easy-going as he is.
Which shoot has been your most challenging? Why?
My agency hooked me up with a shoot for Ward’s catalogue, and it was the first hot summer day of 2015, and we were inside and I was wearing Phat Farm winter coats. It was so sweaty! But look for me in a money mailer coming your way!
Are there any brands or photographers you would like to work with that you have not worked with yet?
SO MANY! Kevin of the @skinlikedawnproject has some really fantastic stuff, and we’re mutual admirers of each other’s work. I’m hoping to maybe get something set up with him when my BF and I visit Georgia later this year (hi Kevin!). There’s the team at @skinandbonemag who I’ve been trading messages back and forth with, I think their shoots are really fun to page through! Brandswise, I’d love to work with Pump!, but I need a bunch more Instagram followers (and abs) before that’s a thing that could happen.
What is something that your fans don’t know about you outside of modeling that you want them to know?
I am a huge baseball fan, like to the point of subscribing to statistics websites and memorizing Moneyball (the book, not
the movie) as a teenager. and I’m named after the Hall of Fame shortstop for the St Louis Cardinals, Ozzie Smith. My team is the Minnesota Twins, though, who are having an AMAZING season out of nowhere, and I’m so proud of my boys.
But I can tell you exactly what idiot transactions led to the tire fire that is the 2015 Miami Marlins, or talk for hours about why the Anaheim Angels are my least favorite team in the game(I will never forgive them for 2002). I also love how the sport has really nailed the presentation of statistics to the casual fan; a big part of my day job is figuring out how to translate complex statistics and trends to laypeople, and find myself idolizing the writing staffs at Fangraphs and Grantland for their ability to turn the databases and pie graphs into compelling stories.
So that’s what you should all know about me.
What kind of diet and exercise do you do to prepare for shoots?
I try to eat relatively healthy, which makes it easy to prepare because you’re starting off from a good base. I start every day with a green smoothie (which started when I was unemployed and I got drunk and bought this app that had like 20 recipes for $6, so then I woke up the next day and was like “shit I better actually use this, I don’t have the $6 to justify just deleting this.” And I ended up really liking how they helped me to jump start my day, especially compared to the Cinnamon Toast Crunch I was eating in the mornings before that). I try not to eat too much meat and avoid dairy (I’m very lactose intolerant), I get most of my protein from nuts and powders (by the way, those plant-based powders are a god-send for us lactose-free folks). I go to the gym regularly, I like morning gym time because it’s easier to start your day with gym energy than to muster it after a long day at the office.
So for shoot-specific prep, I make sure that I’ve gone to the gym a few times the week before, I make sure that I didn’t eat a pint of ice cream the night before, and I make sure I had a good nights sleep. That’s about all you can do while staying sane.
Looking at your underwear drawer, what is it made up of? % boxer briefs, % briefs, % jocks, % thongs.
All briefs and jocks. No thongs, I don’t like their feel or the way the sit on me. Boxer briefs are the worst, they roll up my legs and never make me feel cute. You’ll find a lot of 2xist, a lot of Andrew Christian, and a lot of underwear that makes me feel good. Underwear is literally the only thing you wear that is JUST for you, so it better make you feel good.
The craziest pair of underwear you have ever worn?
There’s this see-through neon mesh pair of Andrew Christians I have…does that count?
Most embarrassing photo shoot situation?
I don’t get embarrassed that much, if I feel myself beginning to feel weird I just start to laugh about it instead. Though if you ask my boyfriend, or most of my close friends, they’ve all seen some pretty amazing embarrassing pictures of me.
I guess there was this one shoot I did where I was sucking popsicles and wearing a swimsuit that gave me mom butt, but that was so much fun to shoot! Plus I got to eat like six popsicles, so really, it all worked out.
I said above that I’m lactose intolerant, but I also live in Chicago, and sometimes the pizza is worth the bloat. Piece Pizza in Wicker Park is my favorite, which is great because I work right down the street for my day job. And when the BF and I want to order in, we have this place called Nancy’s which is so good but also always surprisingly expensive. I spent $40 the last time we ordered there, for one pizza. But it was so worth it.
What goes through your mind right before you have to do these revealing shoots?
“I’m hungry. Should I have eaten something? Did I leave the air conditioner on? What am I making for dinner tonight? Oh no, tomorrow is laundry day. I hate laundry day. Maybe I can make boo do it, instead. How can I trick boo into thinking it’s his turn to do the laundry? Is it too hot in here? It’s totally too hot in here, I’m sweating balls. Do I get to run the music for this shoot? Gesuz, that’s a lot of pressure. What if they hate my playlist choices? Everybody likes Kanye West, right? Yeah, it’ll be fine. Everybody loves Kanye.”I have lots of thoughts. Most of them have nothing to do with the shoot. I’ll get up in my head about it before I even walk in the room, and that’s not how you wanna approach life.
What are your goals for your career?
Well, I’ve surpassed most of the goals I set for myself when I started doing this, so I guess it’s time to reevaluate. I’d really like to take a selfie next to a picture of myself on a train platform, I think that’d be hilarious and I’d have FAR too much fun with that. Can you imagine the Facebook likes I’d get?? I’d also like to work with a menswear store in Chicago, for a full lookbook, like what’s going on at Akira Mens this fall, oh look it’s Ozzie! That’d be super fun.
And then to keep working with super cool people! I’ve met some really funny folks doing this, and want to keep that going!
What is the best advice anyone gave you when you started your modeling career?
When I was just starting, Caitlainne told me to just go on as many shoots as possible. I had no idea what I looked like on camera, and it takes a lot of effort to get it right. I still think I have work to do, but the only way you can get better at it is if you actually do it. Even if it means working for free, getting the experience valuable.
Find Ozzie online at:
Pictures other than selfies by RSH Photography featuring MalePower Underwear.
UnderGear’s time is numbered, from what I gather from my sources. Their social media accounts haven’t been updated since June. As I said in my UnderGear post, it’s sad to see this icon go. There is one thing I know many of you out there will miss. The UnderGear models. They were the first company that I remember people going “Who is that model?”
Christopher Fawcett – Christopher was one model they used a lot in UnderGear. He did both underwear and clothing shoots. On top of that he was in one of their runway shows at a bar in NYC. He has the boy next door looks that made him popular.He was one of my favorites I will admit.
Will Grant – Will is a BMX biker and bodybuilder/fitness competitor. He posed for UnderGear for a swim and underwear campaign. I wish they would have used him more than that shoot! He has gone on to do some more modeling right after UnderGear but lately he’s not modeled any underwear.
Thierry Pepin – Thierry is no stranger to the world of underwear modeling. You probably have seen him do a few of the Gregg Homme campaigns. His tattoos make him pretty memorable. At the end of UnderGear he was often used for all the UnderGear brands.
Radoslav Vanko – Radoslav is one model I found that had no social presence. I don’t know much about him other than some of the swimwear campaigns they featured him in. I also didn’t find where he modeled for other brands after UnderGear.
Adam Ayash – Adam was another model they used quite a bit. He graced the pages of the catalog in both swimwear and underwear. He’s still modeling and embraces his UnderGear past. His Instagram feed has a few #tbt featuring past UnderGear pictures.
Devon Spence – Devon wasn’t one that was too big on the site. He was one of the non-white models they used. UnderGear was never shy to use models from all races. We are glad they included him as a model.
Paul Marron – Is another one like James. He was a staple for a time in the UnderGear catalogue. He appeared regularly in swimwear and underwear. Paul is one that really sticks out when I think of UnderGear.
Joe LoCicero – Joe is one who was at the end of the UnderGear run. He’s been seen by other brands on the market. He’s still working and looks amazing in underwear. I hope we get to see a lot more from him.
Philip Fusco – Philip worked with them for a shoot on a roof top. It was one of the editorial campaigns they shot back in the day. Philip continues to work in the world of underwear and has his own line called #philcity.
Scott Herman – This reality start of Real World Brooklyn turned to the world of Fitness. Back in 2008 he did a few pictures for UnderGear. He did some other underwear back in the day including Baskit. In the recent years I haven’t seen him do much for specific brands. He’s now focusing on the fitness industry.
