interview

Name:
William Los

Agency:
Wilhelmina New York (New York)

Age:
22

Height:
6’2″

Instagram:
@williamtlos

Place of Origin:
Rotterdam, the Netherlands

Ethnic Origin:
My mom is from the Antilles, she’s from Curaçao. And my dad’s 100% Dutch.

Birthsign:
Gemini

How discovered:
I was scouted a few times and after saying no two times, I wanted to give it a shot. So I went to Max Models myself and then it started off. My sister was always pushing me towards modeling. From age 13 already, she was like, “Yeah, you should try, you should give it a shot, send some photos,” and then all of a sudden someone on the street comes up to you like, “Hey, do you want to be a model?” The first time, I was like, “No, what the hell?” and then the second time, I was considering it and I still said no, but I sort of looked into it and that’s how it went.

Favorite things:
I love hanging out, especially here in New York—chilling on the roofs with all the other models. Especially when you’re in the model apartment, you go up in the evening, have a beer or have a drink, and just relax, have a good talk. I love working out. With modeling, you have to, but I love to do it. And watching television and playing video games.

What are you listening to at the moment?
Right now, obviously techno because I’m from the Netherlands, but I also listen to singer- songwriters a lot, like alternative music. It calms you down a bit like the techno pumps you up. My favorite artists are Benjamin Francis Leftwich, he’s a singer songwriter, he’s really good; and Chet Faker, I’ve been to see him like two times.

Favorite movie, tv show:
The Green Mile, that’s one of the best movies I think there is. It gets me every time. I love Suits, that’s amazing. Narcos is off the charts.

Favorite designer, fragrance or beauty product:
That’s a tricky one. I’m not that into fashion, but I would say from the last New York Fashion Week, Cadet because the outfit I wore was off the charts. I liked that a lot and all the designs were really cool.

What were you doing before you started modeling?
I finished school in 2010 and after that I started working full time as a sales manager. I did that for almost a year and then the scouting started, so then it was a bit woozy what I should do and what I wanted to do. After the scouting, I finally jumped into modeling and that’s where it kicked off.

What would you be doing if you weren’t modeling?
That’s a tricky one. I think I would go back to school actually. After a year working full time, I was like, “This is not what I want right now,” so I was thinking about going back to school or getting another job and I went to modeling of course. I would want to be a personal trainer. I hope to model for a long time of course, but if I can be a personal trainer for models, if I can get a good network here or in the Netherlands or somewhere in Europe, I would be training models.

What’s something uncool that you love anyway?
I would say playing Pokemon. Everyone’s playing it, but a lot of people think it’s stupid, but it’s from my time and it’s my childhood memory.

Favorite modeling experience so far?
My favorite modeling experience so far is traveling to New York and staying here because I met so many new people, so many chill people. A lot of the best photographers are here. Everything’s better I think. New York is expensive, but it’s still really good.

What’s the best thing about your hometown/country?
There is none! My hometown is a small town with 45,000 people in it and we had like three bars but they all went away. One burned down, the other one got closed down because it was close to a train track, and the other one sucks. The best thing about my hometown is that it’s my home. My friends are there of course, and that’s it.

First modeling job:
My first modeling job was G-Star e-commerce. The day after I signed, I had a casting for them and the day after the casting I had a job with them and the day after that I had a job with them and two days later I had a job with them. Since then I’ve been kind of an in-house model so I went right into it.

Which brand would you really love to model for?
I would really want to work for Calvin Klein. That’s one of the clients I really want to work for. I did a small internal shoot for them, which was nice. So I got to know them a bit and I really hope that they use me some more.

Place you would love to visit:
I would say the hometown of my mother in Curaçao, Willemstad. I’ve been there once when I was four, so I really want to go there. There are some discussions in my family that we’re all going next year and I really hope that we are going and I really hope it’s not during fashion week.

Currently you’re obsessed with/about:
My obsession is tattoos, which is kind of a bad thing with modeling. I would not get in on my neck, my hands, or my face. I always ask for permission to get a tattoo because that’s sort of in your contract. My first tattoo was “Carpe Diem.” I got that one because my dad was in the hospital and since then it’s kind of our motto. My mom designed it so that’s one of the more emotional tattoos that I have. If I didn’t have to get permission, I would probably get a skull on my upper leg—a big one, but one that you cannot see while wearing shorts. But sometimes you have to wear really short shorts, so it’s kind of tricky. It’s always tricky to get more tattoos. A line like I have on my arm is easy to Photoshop, but a lot of clients like it actually. I didn’t think of that at first, but they like it. But if I didn’t have any tattoos and I started modeling I wouldn’t get any. There’s so much demand for no tattoos right now and all the models I talk to want tattoos.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
Stay true to yourself. Don’t be an asshole. Be nice to everyone and try to be yourself as long as possible and that might help you on the way. I always say to my friends, if I get arrogant or become a dick, slap me, punch me in the face, because sometimes I need just a tap to get back to reality. I think all the models need to follow that advice.