Thursday, September 09, 2010

Creep of the Day: Mr Nice Facade

Easy identifier: There is none. You have to check references.
These creeps are the hardest ones to pick out. They have status and money and they know you to use this to get what they want. They are also smart and normally have people around them to help them with things. Most part of the usual homework does not come up with any warning signs:
 Can you find them/him on the net: yes
 Does he have a company: yes
 Does he have a legitimate reason for using models: yes
 Is he well-known/famous: maybe
 Does the his name <-> phone number match when you search on yellow pages: yes
 Do they have a professional website: yes

So if you are a model that actually do your homework, you have to remember two really important bullets:
 Does he have a good reputation?
 Can you trust your source or is it just gossip?

These questions are the "only" way to blow their facade. You will have to find a first-hand source, a reference who actually worked for him. The rest can be gossip. Since they are smart and they have a lot to loose if their Creep-side come out, they do not try stuff on all models. Just the ones they can use when no one is watching.
Let me describe some I have encountered.

You get an job offering or a casting call for a bikini-shoot for a well-known brand of bikinis. It is even the owner himself that is doing the casting. You Google him and you find pictures of him in the press, at high-end fashion shows and his brand's advertising is really good with top-notch models. After doing your homework (but you forgot to check a reference) you feel more secure, so you contact the guys.
The owner is nice over the phone and you accept the shoot.
The only funny thing is that the casting will be at a hotel rather late one evening.
When you arrive there, you are not directed to any venue, but up to a room. After knocking on the door, he opens only wearing a robe, holding two glasses and invite you for champagne...

You are contacted by an director from India looking for models for his next film. When searching on his name you find him IMDB, in quite a few Indian magazines and websites. You are then contacted by his assistant and he books your ticket and stay in the European city he will come too. It feels a bit awkward to go alone to another city but you think it would be soooooooo much fun to be in an Indian movie so you take the risk.
You meet him in some fancy restaurant over lunch he is paying for and later you follow him on some meetings, since he wants to get to know you for real before deciding. He says this is how he works.

During your time togehter he gets more and more "friendly" and personal, and you keep following him to more meeting, dinners and gatherings. All of a sudden you get it: you are his bunny! His catch. His jewel he like to show up to others to brag.
If you do not stop here you might end up washing his dick in the shower...
Whenever you decide to bail, he will continue to call you, send you messages and invite you next time he comes to in Europe. There is a bit of Mr. Stalker in him too.
You really consider to call the Indian magazines and his family to tell how he really is...

How does Models-n-Shoots' Creep Defense try to keep Mr Nice Facade out?
*Trust. Since we will gather information from everyone who worked with each other, the chances are higher that Mr Nice Facade's cover with break. Sadly, any feedback system rely on honesty on all participants to be good. Irritation, personal vendettas and friendships should not affect ones voting.
The upside though, if it works at least OK, is that you will be able to get information from many Talents quicker than it gets to even call one reference.
Any normal user of Models-n-Shoots can see individual's and company's Trust level. The voting is anonymous but traceable. That is, we at Models-n-Shoots can dig deeper into comments and se who voted, to be able to stop misuse or investigating creeps, but other users just see the level.
Three people have to give feedback before any Trust level is shown, to ensure it is not possible to guess who voted and one biased voter does not affect your first shown level that much.

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