Benjamin

Who:
Benjamin Bamfo (@rarelyrondo) — 187 cm / 6’1″ — Ghanaian from Bepong Kwahu, Ghana — born July 24th — he/him.

Where:
Call Time Models Management (Accra – mother agency)

— If you could talk to your younger self, what advice would you give?
Rondo today, Rondo tomorrow, Rondo forever!

— Who is your favorite entertainer?
Joey B. I like his creativity.


— One thing people may be surprised to find out about you:
Most people are surprised when they find out I am a model.

Jimin

Who:
Jimin Park (@elfminy) — 174 cm / 5’8.5″ — Korean from Guri-si, South Korea — born June 9th — she/her.

Where:
1ST MGT (Seoul – mother agency)

— Who is your favorite entertainer?
Han Hyejin. Even after she had big success in her modeling career, she maintained herself as a top model and kept working as a friendly entertainer in TV programs. Presenting her in both ways seems a great deal to me.

— What are three interesting facts about you?
1. I can zone out anytime I want.

2. I’m learning how to use a film camera.

3. I can eat seafood every day.

— What weird or useless talent do you have?
I can draw a perfect circle with one single pen.

Maceo

Who:
Maceo De Souza (@maceodesouza) — 187 cm / 6’1.5″ — German/French from Berlin, Germany — born April 21st — he/him.

Where:
IZAIO Management (Berlin – mother agency), IMG Paris, IMG Milano

— What are three interesting facts about you?
1. I love biology! Like honestly, it is so interesting! What makes me so passionate about it is how it changed and continues to change my view of the world. It makes me understand nature, myself, and others so much better. And that kind of makes you understand the hidden but profound connections between everything (the best example, therefore, is the mycorrhiza networks ;)). It’s kind of like a spiritual thing to me.
2. I love music. I love the creating process as I produce and mix my own music, as well as the “passive” action of dancing. Moving my body to rhythm and sound is probably the most liberating thing I could think about. And I guess that has to do something with my (epi-) genetics as my grandmother was a ballet teacher throughout her entire life, and my aunt is now teaching as well.
3. Probably the least people know that I am/have a black belt in Taekwondo. I started doing this sport at five years old, and from then on never stopped. Taekwondo is a South Korean fight sport that is focused on kicks. All the movements, the stretching, and the correlating culture form an amazing self-discipline and self-awareness that I would not want to miss!

— The most interesting thing about your family:
I feel like most people would not expect my dad to be a POC. And I kind of like it, as it breaks all the pigeonholes people want to put you in and the prejudices people tend to project on you. And I could not imagine a better thing than having an ethnically diverse family. I have family in Togo, Spain, France, and Brazil, but also in Poland and some other places, and this allowed me to experience the amazingly rich cultures of many of these places.

— What weird or useless talent do you have?
I know many trees, their names, and random facts about them. Which probably annoys my friends when we walk through a forest or even the streets.

Russia

Who:
Russia Williams (@rrusssia) — 178 cm / 5’10” — Australian from Melbourne, Australia — born December 22nd — she/they.

Where:
People Agency (Melbourne – mother agency), Wilhelmina New York, COVER (Paris), Tank Agency (Milan), The Squad (London), Chic Management (Sydney)

— How did you become a model?
I was scouted by my mother agent at my local op shop while shopping to cope with a recent breakup. I was beyond excited – what better way is there to cope with heartbreak than becoming an ultra mega superstar model? Unfortunately, by the time my contract was signed, Covid struck, and the first two years of my career were virtually nonexistent.

— What are three interesting facts about you?
1. My brother named me before I was born. He was so young he was unaware that Russia was a country. When he finally learned that it was the name of a country, he was quite upset. He just liked the sound of the name.
2. Music has always been a huge part of my life. I’ve played a number of instruments and have been trained in vocals over the years, but the piano is my favorite and the main instrument that has stuck with me.
3. From a very young age, my passion was theatre and live performance; I loved being on stage but also backstage. Throughout those years, I explored many roles involved in creating a show, including makeup, lighting, set design, direction, and more.

— What’s a story your family/friends like to tell about you?
My mum enjoys telling the story of my love for dogs as a young child. When I was 5, I loved my grandad’s dog “Chopper” so much and wanted a dog so badly that anytime he stayed over, I would sleep outside on the back verandah with him. My parents gave in, and we got our dog Buffy.

Tom

Who:
Tom Michael Salla Stoop (@_tomstoop_) — 191 cm / 6’3.5″ — Dutch from Den Haag, The Netherlands — born February 4th — he/him.

Where:
Editorial Model Management (Rotterdam – mother agency)

— The most interesting thing about your family:
My mom, grandpa, uncle, father, and others have a big thing in common: they all failed at the top level of their hobbies. My dad came from a poor family, so he played street football all the time. He joined a club, and his dream was to be a professional footballer, but when he was 19, his knee started breaking down, and he didn’t pass the medical checks. My mom wanted to be a professional ballet dancer. She got asked to join the conservatorium (the Dutch school of dance and such), but her dream, too, was destroyed. Her agilis tendon was too short, and she also failed the medical checks. My grandpa wanted to be a professional baseball player; he wanted to go to America and go pro. He was one of the best in the Netherlands, but the level was much higher in the USA. He got asked to try out in his dream team. But he could not afford to make the trip to America, so his dream too was crushed.

— One thing people may be surprised to find out about you:
I was a huge Harry Potter fan. I read every book, had every set of Lego, and visited an exhibition. My parents got me tickets for the exhibition, and the day I found out I was so happy I cried. I’ll never forget that day. It was amazing. I still have all the books and a little collection.

— Who is your favorite entertainer?
It’s a fictional character, but Mister Miyagi from Karate Kid. The way he explains things… he seems like the smartest, nicest guy there is. When I was a little older, I rewatched every Karate Kid movie and I was mesmerized by how his character saw our world, and his way of fixing things in the most peaceful ways.

Yuchen

Who:
Yuchen Ye — 176 cm / 7’9.5″ — Chinese from Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China — born July 31st — she/her.

Where:
Lacoco Model Management (Shanghai – mother agency)

— Who is someone you admire and why?
Bella Hadid. She tries her best to change herself and is very brave, persistent, and hardworking. She is an example for me; l also hope to become an excellent model like her.

— What stresses you out?
When I first entered the modeling industry, I felt pressured when others stared at me. But now I feel better and more confident.

— Who is your favorite entertainer?
Cui Ranjun. He has strong abilities and excellent stage performance, so I’ve liked him for a long time.