He's 19 and loving Modeling! Despite being a newcomer in the industry, he proved during his Modeling shoot that he has what it takes to succeed in Modeling, whether its for runway, fashion or print. He's NEXT. From Photographer Jay A. Rickard of LightWeaver, Ready to go NEXT with Gage?
Gage Houser is the NEXT Hottest Model.
Model: Gage Houser Photo: LightWeaver
"I feel that one of the challenges would be that male models are not always taken as seriously as female models, a lot of the times they are seen more as accessories rather than fellow models and I do not think that should be the case at all. I feel that male and female models should be seen as equals in the industry. Another challenge that I have faced personally is people in the industry wanting to trade sexual favors in exchange for jobs. I had an offer from an agency in Chicago and I turned them down because they expected me to sleep with photographers in order to get work. I would much rather be hired for how I perform in front of the camera and not how I perform in the bedroom lol."
Model: Gage Houser Photo: LightWeaver
"My mama is really the person who supported me and encouraged me to pursue modeling, my whole life I have loved to be in front of the camera, even when I was little I would jump into other peoples pictures just so I could be in the shots lol. I am also a huge fan of art, so I really enjoy the art aspect of modeling as well."
Model: Gage Houser Photo: LightWeaver
"Most of my friends are very supportive. They all think I'm going to be famous someday and buy them a bunch of stuff, so they are definitely very cool with it. My family, on the other hand, are not as supportive. They're pretty old school when it comes to most things, so they think of a model as an attractive young lady not a guy. My mama, however, supports me 150% with modeling, she is really the person who encouraged me to pursue it in the first place."
Model: Gage Houser Photo: LightWeaver
"Top 3 photo shoot themes that I love to do? Let me see here, one of them involves me standing with my back to the camera with my arms wrapped around myself, like the fake making out pose, and my nails are done to look like a woman's and then right beside that photo, a shot of me turned around with my pants undone, revealing that i wasn't making out with another person at all. It's kind of my take on vanity. Another one would be underwater, just a lot of very artistic poses, I have just always wanted to do an underwater shoot lol. and the last would be me and a girl hanging side by side from nooses holding hands and at the bottom it would say together forever. Those are some of the ideas I've come up with that i would enjoy doing."
Model: Gage Houser Photo: LightWeaver
"My most favorite photo in my portfolio right now? Dang, that's a hard one. At the moment I would have to be a picture by Jay Rickard where I am sitting on the ground with nothing on but make-up. I really love the shot because I feel it looks high fashion and I love that kind of photography."
Model: Gage Houser Photo: LightWeaver
"My first photo shoot was three years ago when I first turned 16. A guy found me on myspace and asked me to meet up with him and do a test shoot, so when I got my license I went and met up with him. So the guy lived in Indianapolis and I had never driven there before in my life. Somehow I managed to navigate my way to his apartment and when I got there I was a little more terrified than excited but I still went up to his apartment and met up with him. He was a little strange and kept hitting on me but other than that, all the shots turned out amazing and I fell in love with modeling."
Model: Gage Houser Photo: LightWeaver
"My best friend Renee Mendenhall. She has been through enough stuff in her life for 10 people. Her dad passed away, her mom rejected her when she was just a child, she had to move two and a half hours away from all her friends to live with her sister, and on top of all that her uncle is a serial killer (not even kidding about that). But even though she's been through so much she is still the happiest, funniest, most caring person I know and I love her more than anything! She really inspires me because when I think I am at a low in my life, I can just think of her and know that if I keep a positive attitude and continue to push on, it will be better in the end."
Curious on Gage's dating life? "Yes, I am dating someone right now and they are a little uncomfortable with me modeling, but I let them know when we first started dating that modeling is my passion and I would never give it up because they didn't approve. He acts like he understands but I don't know lol." Among the popular celebrities, Gage looks up to Ashton Kutcher, "He is my hero! I love his personality and I find the way he rose to fame inspiring because it is how I would like to become famous. He started out in a small town, got discovered and became a model, got a lead role on a hit television series, then went on to star in a bunch of movies, and then got his own TV show. That is how I want to do it lol." When it comes to Summer, what's his take, style wise? "My style for summer is very casual lol. I'm not really what you would call a dressy person. My outfits usually consist of gym shorts and a cut off shirt or pants and a t-shirt. When I go to meet with photographers however I try and dress up a little nicer and do my hair. But if I'm a fashion brand, I'll either be Zoo York or Hurley, I love both of those brands of clothing. I feel the style with both of them is casual yet kind of flashy, if that makes sense. So I can easily wear a pair of pants and one of their t-shirts and be ready to go out for a wild night with my friends or just go to class." Random facts on Gage? "Wow there are a lot lol. I am obsessed with Discovery health channel, though i have absolutely no aspirations to go into the medical field! My favorite foods are goldfish crackers and golden Oreo's. I am madly in love with Lipton Citrus Green Tea. I am bisexual. The town I graduated from had a population of 1600 people and my graduating class had 58 people. I have wanted to be on the reality show Survivor ever since the first season! My favorite color is green and my favorite place to eat would probably be Hardees, unhealthy i know but i love that place. I have a ton more but I'll just stop here for now lol." As a new model, Gage understands the challenges that newcomers faced in this industry, his advise for new models? "Go for it! This may sound like a Disney answer but if its something you're passionate about and its your dream don't let anyone tell you you can't do it. I had a ton of people tell me that I wasn't attractive enough to be a model, that I wasn't tall enough and that people from small towns didn't become models but i just kept my head held high and ignored the haters. So i guess that would be my advice lol." Working with Jay A. Rickard had been a learning experience for him, Gage share, "The best thing I learned from Jay, I would have to say how to catch the light in a photograph. To show your personality and be as comfortable as possible when shooting. Crazy ideas always create the best images and of course have an open mind!" As for other photo shoot boundaries, Gage shares, "I would absolutely refuse to do any kind of shoot that glamorized harming animals or supported it. I am very big on anti-fur and all that stuff so i would definitely be very opposed to doing a shoot like that. Other than that though I am pretty open to anything, whatever a photographer feels like throwing at me! Oh I have never had to deal with rejection, NOT! I just tell myself that its only one job, there are plenty more just like it. I understand that in modeling you have to have a very thick skin. Photographers will flat out tell you exactly what they don't like about you and why your not right for their shoot lol some are viscous." His most funny and bizarre experience lately? "Oh I have a good one! So I am at my boyfriends house and I'm in the shower. He walks into the bathroom to tell me he is going upstairs and will be right back. He lives with his grandparents by the way. So I get done with my shower and I hear someone coming down the stairs. Assuming that its my boyfriend I slam open the door. Naked. Unfortunately for me it was not my boyfriend it was his grandmother! So I hurry up and slam the door and she screams at the top of her lungs. Yah, i would have to say that's the most awkward thing that has happened to me in awhile lol." Gage, during the interview also shared a weird experience where he found himself in the middle of challenging situations, "I got an offer from an agency to sign with them, so I got super excited. I began to talk to them for a few days about becoming a part of their agency and they just really started to creep me out. They told me that I needed to forget about my family and friends and that they would be my new family. When I would tell them I could not make it to something they told me that I was being selfish and not thinking of the family. It really got to the point where I thought I was joining a cult and Charles Manson was talking to me on the phone. So long story short, I decided not to sign with them. My advice for other models would be if someone seems like a creep, they probably are and if you are going to meet an agent or photographer that creeps you out, bring someone with you so that if it is a cult, your friend can be your get away car or the one that identifies your kidnappers."
Special Thanks to Jay A. Rickard of LightWeaver
Model: Gage House Photo: LightWeaver
"When I looked back at my life someday, I would like to see that I enjoyed myself and I did not let anyone tell me I couldn't do something. I would love to be able to look back have no regrets and no that I took every opportunity that arose for me and the best part of modeling is when i get old and senile, I can just look back at my photographs and even if only for a few minutes remember what a great time I had as a teenager."
Always Exciting. Always NEXT.
