I was 16 when I got scouted at the Calgary Stampede. I was just chilling—eating a corn dog or something—and someone came up to me. They said, “You’re going to be a superstar.” I was like, “Oh, okay.” I wasn’t 18 yet, so I could’’t do anything yet. I just started doing little gigs here in Calgary. I was actually getting a lot bigger for football, so that was becoming a bit of an issue. But it all worked out eventually.
How did you booking Gucci come about?
Sometime in January, my manager Michael told me about it. They were like, “Can you attend this Gucci show?” But it was like, “I’m probably not going to get it.” It was a big maybe—I didn’t get my hopes up or anything. But then they wanted to fly me out the next day—it was very short notice. So I worked it out with my coaches, and I got on a plane for fittings. About a month later, I showed up again, and we did a bunch of rehearsals.
So it sounds like they found you. How did it feel, grabbing the attention of such a big brand?
It’s pretty insane, honestly. I don’t know what it is exactly about me! It’s just a blessing. With these kinds of things, you’re not in control of them. I feel super ecstatic about it, but I didn’t necessarily do anything to acquire it. I was just born this way.
What I loved about the show, is that they really seemed to encourage models having walks with personality. How did you cultivate your walk?
Yeah, it was a pretty funny walk. It was mostly the designer, Demna. They were discussing how I should walk. They were like, “Be more macho—like an Italian mobster!” Then we perfected it in rehearsals, tweaking it here and there. “Do this with your shoulders—don’t swing your arms as much.” When we were backstage, they were like, “We’ve given you this character, so just remember your character and get into character when you walk.” It was pretty cool.
Your walk went viral, and a lot of people were sharing it or discussing it. Did you expect that level of response?
I did not. I honestly didn’t realize how huge the show was. It’s pretty funny to see people writing that I walked like a robot.
Do you think people didn’t realize that you were playing a character? Like, that’s not how you actually walk?
Yeah! They were like, “Why is he walking like that?” But it’s like, that’s the job. I was playing a character. That’s not how I’m actually walking around the city.
What did you think of your runway look?
I’ve never worn a pair of pants like that. They were jeans, but imagine a laminated pair of jeans. The polo had little Gucci stripes on the collar. My favorite part of the outfit, though, was the watch. It was swinging around on my arm, super baggy on my wrist. My watch was awesome—I tried to keep it.