The Incredible Story of Paul Reiffer

SOME TIME AGO WE RECEIVED AN EMAIL OF A GUY WITH SOME PHOTOS ATTACHED. THE FEW THINGS HE HAD TO SAY ABOUT HIMSELF, AND THE PICTURES HE SENT, TRIGGERED OUR CURIOSITY. SO WE DECIDED TO LEARN MORE ABOUT HIM. WE STARTED EXCHANGING EMAILS AND THE MORE INFORMATION HE SENT US, THE MORE HE CONVINCED US HE WAS WORTH THE EFFORT OF INVESTIGATION. FIRST WE HAD THE IDEA OF DOING AN INTERVIEW WITH HIM, BUT THAT TURNED OUT TO BECOME VERY DIFFERENT. PAUL LIKES TO TELL STORIES, SO ALL WE HAD TO DO IS GIVE HIM A FEW TOPICS AND LET HIM DO THE TALKING.

Having grown up around computers, and having always in some way a connection with technology, Paul Reiffer sees himself now as a computer geek turned model. Not the most common description one can give himself, but weirder things have happened. Back at school he always found some kind of excuse to skip physical exercise or extreme adventure, but he now more then makes up for that, being a fanatic windsurfer and snowboarder, a licensed pilot and fully qualified skydiver. Paul was born in a small town on the South Coast of England, one of the Olympic venues for 2012. Being impatient to leave the small community, his work gave him the opportunity to travel all around the UK and the rest of Europe, and offered him extended periods in California and Ireland. He now spends a lot of time in cities like London, Manchester and Southampton, but, giving the concept of “quality of life” true meaning, he happily moved back to his hometown to live. Paul is a happy man.

FAMILY/RELATIONSHIP:
Family is pretty straight forward - mum, dad and a younger sister who's now 21. Like any family we have the odd "disagreement", but strangely we all get on really well these days. So much so, I'm taking them all on vacation with me this winter!

Because of the fact I used to work out there, I also have a kind of "extended family" in San Francisco. It's pretty nice knowing you have that network of friends and family 5,500 miles away when you feel like you just need a break from it all... :-)

Relationship? No. Historically, because I was too busy (and likely too selfish!) but maybe it's something to start considering now. Hmmmm. That sounds awfully grown up - not sure I like that!

EXPERIENCE AND INSPIRATION:
Funnily enough, I didn't ‘intend’ to become a professional model at all. I met with some great guys at image1st back in May/June this year, and things kind of snowballed from there. One day, I sat in the studio getting "coached" on how to work with a photographer, the next I'm on a plane to Stockholm with Simon Le, a photographer from Sydney, or flying to San Francisco to shoot with Scott Marrs and Bill McClaren! Without the guys at image1st, I can safely say I would never have got this far - but now I'm looking even further ahead. I'm working with a couple of agencies now, and things are starting to turn a little more "pro" than I'd ever imagined.

What's funny, is given the sheer number of photo shoots I've been a part of this year, the common feedback that seems to come through is that I have an "amazingly established and broad portfolio". Not bad for someone who wasn't sure he even wanted to do this in the first place! Having paid shoots under my belt now, the whole thing is becoming a lot more serious, and I'm now at a point where I have to decide to "really go for it", or keep it as a side-line with "normal work" keeping me busy for the rest of the time.

For inspiration, well, I've seen a lot in life - and a lot of the world. (Oooh, and a LOT of movies on planes!)  As a library of emotions, I think I have a lot of the bases covered - but I guess there's always more to learn....!

OTHER ACTIVITIES:
Day job? I manage a group of IT people for a big retail company. What's weird is, it doesn't actually feel like "work" a lot of the time - I have one of the coolest teams I know of! They know all about the modeling "thing" (indeed, it's still a hot-topic at lunchtimes!) and have been really supportive, along with my boss and co-workers. I think, without that support, this would have been a REALLY difficult thing to pull off, and it really has made the difference. They're also my biggest critics - so I know immediately if one of my images isn't that great...! Outside of that, as above - skydiving, flying little planes, swimming, snowboarding, travel (looooots of travel!)

FUTURE:
Contrary to popular belief, so far, modeling has already given me a HUGE boost of confidence. I was quite skeptical about entering in to the industry at the beginning - with visions of going home feeling bad at the end of the day, not liking what I saw in the mirror and all. But really, it's done the reverse. If I quit right now, I'd already be taking a world of experience with me, and a massive psychological change in myself for the better. Modeling has been a HUGE eye-opener for me (it's also a lot harder than it looked when I first thought I could do it!). But....  I'm not going ANYWHERE just yet! First things first, the boys at the image1st studio and I have a wager - on getting my face on a billboard. Once THAT'S done, well, we'll see where we go from there :-)

FAVORITE PHOTOGRAPHERS:
Wow. Well, I've not met one I didn't like yet! Each of the guys (and girls) I've worked with so far really have brought something to the table. Bill McClaren for his insane ability to see light in places you'd walk right by; Scott Marrs for his amazingly creative mind, and ability to really show "me" in a photograph; Simon Le for the way he makes every single image he takes so vivid and strong; Leigh Carter for his enthusiasm and the way he can make any shot come to life with his own twist of "perspective". ...and of course, by NO means least, Joby Rawlins (my "home" photographer at image1st). That guy has been through absolute hell getting me "photographer ready" (I guess "trained"!) and comes at every shoot I've done with him with such fresh ideas - and the outcome is always nothing short of stunning. Of course there are others, too many to mention in this question, but really - I'd struggle to pick A favorite as they all bring so much to the table. I'm planning to shoot with Paul Reitz in New York in a month or so, which I'm looking forward to; again, he has a unique style that I've not seen before, but as I say, I've not worked with a bad photographer yet!

MEMORABLE ANECDOTES:
Recently, I was wandering around an industrial area of Oakland, California, with Bill McClaren. The only issue is, I was in shiny trainers, semi-see through shorts, a waistcoat, skydive goggles and a pink furry basketball. The shots really worked, but the looks on people's faces are the best bit I'll be taking away from that day...!

Photography by: Bill McClaren [2, 3, 15, 16] | Simon Le [1, 4, 6, 7, 14, 21] | Leigh Carter [5, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13, 19, 20] | Joby Rawlins [18] | Scott Marrs [10, 17].
Paul Reiffer websites: Paul Reiffer.com | Paul Reiffer Model Mayhem.

PAUL REIFFER | BEAUTIFUL

Comments

[Mauricio]

Not a bad looking guy but I just dont see the model in him. Cant figure it out either age or not unique looking. But I hope Im wrong and he gets a billboard. That would be awesome for him.

[davy]

Besides a good body I think this guy has very strong facial features which really makes him different from many other models I have seen. I believe he has great sex appeal and hope he will go very far in his career.

[Kyo]

So hot!!