McLain Mac Driver once thought models to be vapid people – narcissists trapped in vanity with an obsession to reach fame. Never would he choose such a lifestyle for himself.
Whilst sitting in a hair salon one day, a stylist approached Driver. She complimented his looks and told him she knew a modeling agent who could get him a job.
“I told her no,” Driver said. “I didn’t want to be involved in that life.”
After much persuasion, Driver reluctantly agreed to meet the agent. The meeting turned into a test photo shoot, and before long, the agent wanted to sign him up.
“I just said ‘OK, whatever.’ Let’s see where this goes,” Driver said. “It’s an opportunity to make some money and save up for college.”
A few photos later, a modeling agency in New York responded. They wanted Driver on the job.
Voila. Just like that, the industry he once scorned had sucked him in. Everything had somehow fallen into his lap, he said.
“[He] was scouted and came to us with no experience as a model,” owner of JANI Model Management Maral Jorjani said.
That was a year ago. Since then, Jorjani said Driver has received job offers from six agencies around the globe.
The best part about his experience? He gets to explore the world, from Toronto to Berlin, London, New York, and most recently Milan this past summer. Above all, his travels have dispelled many misconceptions he previously had about the industry.
“The word ‘model’ comes with a stigma, and that was one of the reasons I didn’t want to do it originally,” Driver said. “But most models I have met […] are not as vain as others see them, or as I saw them. [Modeling] is not something they went looking for. I’ve met some amazing people who i can call my friends,” he said. “It was when I met people from the industry that I saw the false stigma.”
Driver’s roommate, freshman Jacob Thackston, views Driver as an ordinary guy despite his unusual profession.
“He’s an awesome guy. There’s nothing different about him except he sleeps into 2 o’clock every day,” Thackston said.
His real first name is Jared, although he never responds to it. He instead borrows McLain – a tweaked version of a name belonging to one of his great grandfathers, James McLean, who served as a general in the Revolutionary War.
It is a name he has answered to his whole life, but it now gives him a distinct identity in the modeling world.
When Driver is working full-time in the summer, he leads a hectic life. Some weeks, he attends several casting calls every other day. When he is modeling in a show, he treats it the same way he would treat taking a stroll in public.
“[How much you work] depends on if you get those castings or call backs,” Driver said. “They wanted me to come out for [New York] fashion week but I obviously said no because I’m at college and need to focus on my studies.”
Despite the modeling world’s pull, Driver said he never considered skipping college in favor of modeling.
“I’ve always put a high value on education,” he said. “I’ve actually wanted to come to Hillsdale since sixth grade, so I’ve had my mind set.”
His interests range from economics to pre-medicine, and possibly even law.
Of course, there are challenges to being in the modeling industry, Driver said. The obvious hurdle is staying fit through proper diet and exercise. Jumping from the modeling world to college means that time spent with family is limited and that he often misses them.
Revealing his new gig to his family and friends was not an easy decision, Driver said. What would people think? Would they treat him with the same bias that he had treated models before accepting the job?
“Family supported it, and friends did as well,” Driver said. “I kept it mostly away from my friends for a while because I didn’t want them to know what I was doing at the time. I didn’t know where it was going and I didn’t want them to think of me differently, but eventually word got out.”
Driver said he initially wanted to keep his modeling identity a secret from the Hillsdale populus, but with several of his modeling pictures being on Facebook, that secret was short-lived.
“He sent me a Facebook friend request and I found out that he had been on a photo shoot in Milan,” Thackston said. “I had no idea what to expect, but I’m glad to be his roommate. He’s really smart, well thought out, and normal like the rest of us except he gets to go to places like Milan.”
Despite the demands of the industry, Driver said his experiences have taught him valuable lessons.
“In order to understand humans of all walks of life, it’s important to travel and learn what you can from everyone. I take modeling as a learning, exploratory experience…it has helped me become a better person.”
