PurrView #53 - "Remodeled" star Paul Fisher

                Quite possibly the world's most inexhaustible modeling agent, Paul Fisher has represented household names such as Naomi Campbell and Stephanie Seymour; and one of his most recent discoveries, Meghan Wiggins has just become the new Guess Girl. As showcased on the BANFF Award-winning docu-series "Remodeled" on The CW, he is now taking revolutionary strides in the fashion industry through his company, The Network. The Network is an entity he created, not only to represent models, but to manage other modeling agencies as well. Fisher has two main goals with his venture. The first is to remake small modeling agencies around the country and mold them into better, smarter businesses.  The other, which is Fisher's most passionate reason, is to promote wellness in models; a concept others in the fashion industry (i.e. Vogue editors) are now beginning to grasp as well.

Paul, in what ways do you hope The Network will change or influence the fashion industry?

Well, the only reason I decided to build The Network was to create a safe environment for girls around the world. And so what The Network is all about-- kind of how modeling agencies manage models, The Network manages modeling agencies. So I wanted to kind of start at the seed level. I didn’t just want-- you know, it's one thing to have the models becoming role models, but it has to start from the agencies that are actually taking care of kids in the first place. So I wanted to kind of gather up a group of agencies around the world who kind of had the same thought processes that I do about young kids giving back and about creating role models and things like that. So, in a perfect world-- fast-forward two years from now-- I hope and pray that you and I Maureen are sitting front row at a Calvin Klein show and we never see a girl that's 16-years-old, that's 111 pounds walking down the runway. That's my dream. My dream is to watch beautiful, beautiful, sexy women-- healthy women walking down the runway so other young kids around the world can kind of look up to those kids.

What's some of the feedback you've received yourself from the designers and the industry regarding your approach?

They want me to shut up. They're going to have to put a bullet in me. I'm not going to shut up. I will not stop until this business takes responsibility for the images that we’re putting out there in the world. Until we take social responsibility and quit thinking about just our bottom line-- you know, I'm building a platform. I represent about 14,000 and we take care of all of their social media accounts-- their Twitters, their Facebook accounts. By the end of this year, we'll have 30 million followers. By the end of next year we'll have 90 million followers. The reason why that's important to me? Because if the major designers of the world don't stop using super-skinny girls and putting out the wrong images, my 90 million followers will stop buying their clothes. I will go to war with them if they don't clean up their act.

Matt Lauer recently said that the power players are the people that get up at 4:30 in the morning to start their day. What do you have to say about that, considering you wake up at 4 a.m. every day?

You know, I wish-- my life is kind of like Groundhog's Day. Every morning I wake up, it's 3:58. I wish one day that I could actually wake up and see 9:15. But I have agencies in Slovakia, I have agencies in London. I have agencies all over the world and so I have to start early to work with my agencies all over the world. Then I work out. Then I pray. And then I go to war with the fashion industry.

What are some of your thoughts about Meghan [Wiggins] becoming the new Guess girl?

You're gonna make me cry. When I told Meghan that she'd become the face of Guess she literally said, "You're kidding me! I'm going to feed the homeless now." She didn't take a beat-- she didn’t take a beat. It’s my dream to create role models, and to actually have a kid like Meghan become the face of Guess one year after meeting me. Meghan and I are about to go to Ghana with a man named Dr. Jeffrey Sachs; it's a project called The Millennium Project. And so my kids are giving back. My kids are sharing. My kids are giving to the world. And Meghan Wiggins is going to become--not just a huge star, but-- an Angelina Jolie, a Madonna, a Robert Redford, a Paul Newman. Somebody that the world takes notice of.

I've noticed that you have an approach where you like to promote wellness with your models-- a healthy model. Would you say that Meghan embodies that?

Meghan? She don't do drugs. She doesn’t drink. And if any of my kids do, they're gonna-- you've seen my show. I can be a pretty intense character, you know? And it starts with me. I must be an incredible role model for my kids. I must walk the walk. Meghan Wiggins is a role model and a lot of my kids give back to the world, their churches are important to them, charity's important to them, a foundation is important to them. Meghan is a special soul.

I don’t know if you saw it or not. There was an editors' letter in June Vogue about how they want to promote wellness with their models as well; no very, very skinny models; no one under 16; etc. Do you think it's coincidental that they’re starting to see things your way?

You know, it would be my ego to think that I had something to do with that. People have been talking about it-- Diane von Furstenberg, one of the editors of Vogue has been talking about it. But it's been bifurcated. You know, they're talking about it in different pockets around the world; nobody's kind of coming together and actually walking the walk. So I'm really humbled, I'm really proud. But do I have anything to do with that? I'm not quite sure. I just know that we have the largest modeling network in the world today and I'm hoping it's starting to seep out into the industry. I'm praying that it does.

So you're glad that they’re coming around and seeing things that way.

It's my life. I book thousands of covers, you know? Every single campaign in the world, I've booked. But when a young person-- or their parent calls me up and says my daughter stopped putting her finger down her throat and you had something to do with that, Paul Fisher-- you know, that's when I realized that I'm doing something good with my life. So it's very humbling to see what's going on in the industry, and maybe I have a tiny, tiny, part of it.

What do you have to say about Las Vegas with regard to the fashion industry?

I think it's backwards. I think it’s messed up. I think it’s screwed up and I plan on changing a lot of things in the Las Vegas market. You know I have an agency here. It's called Las Vegas Models, formerly the Lenz Agency. It's been around for about 50 years. But what's really interesting about the Las Vegas market is none of the models sign exclusive contracts. All of the models are like free agents. They work with everybody in this town. They're afraid that if one agency gets a job, they may miss out on that job. But it's like, you know-- what, do you have five boyfriends? Who are you going to trust to actually guide your career? It's a hodge-podge city. And I hope and pray that I can have a little bit of an effect and some kind of an impact on this city. We're finding some incredible stars out of this city. Most people in the Las Vegas market-- they think about the hotels, the casinos, the tradeshows, the atmosphere girls, and the kind of sexy/T&A girls. But there are some of the most beautiful kids in the world that come out of this city right here. And so I think it's a very, very, very important market. The tourism here. Kids come from all over the world here. We're going to find some amazing stars in this city. And I actually found an incredible star today. She was our lifeguard. Seventeen-years-old, her name's Michelle. She's actually walking in the show. She's this Asian kid-- one of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen in my life. She's a lifeguard. And she's going to become an amazing, amazing kid.

So you're always on the lookout for that fresh face?

Wherever I go-- you know, it’s weird. I don’t know what it is about God, but wherever I go, I don’t know what it is-- all of a sudden there's that kid! And I think it's in my path, in my journey in this physical form that I'm supposed to help these kids out and make them into, God-willing, important role models that touch other people in a very positive way.

What's a fashion item you can't live without?

There's one watch line that I always wear. He's a buddy of mine; Ritmo Mundo.

And that's who Meghan and Bobby had that shoot with?

Yes you're exactly right. She ended up doing the billboard ad in L.A. with Bobby Rake. Bobby Rake, he signed an exclusive contract with Calvin Klein. So you've got Meghan, the face of Guess, you got Bobby doing Calvin Klein, you've got Mazlow doing Abercrombie & Fitch by Bruce Weber. And you know, one thing I want to say-- never in the history of television on a modeling reality show has any kid ever become a real model. Ever. Ever. Never. I don’t want to talk badly about any shows out there because I have total love for most of the shows out there, but I'm a real agent. And I make people real famous. And I just think this is the first time that anybody on television has seen an actual real agent-- what we do. It's not a show, it's not a contest. This is what we do. We make kids' dreams come true, but in a real way.

Earlier you said that the industry kind of wants you to shut up. But due to the results-- I mean Calvin Klein, Abercrombie & Fitch, Guess-- people are being receptive, aren’t they? Anyone else?

Yea, yea, yea. Tim Devo just did Versace. And I have a girl that's five-foot-three, her name is Jennifer Sullins. She comes from our Portland, Oregon agency, five-foot-three, she's on hold for one of the biggest campaigns in the world. I can't-- I don’t want to say what it is yet 'cause I don't want to jinx it. But yea; I believe that whenever you come from a place of light and of true change and you truly care about people, you're going to resonate with peoples' souls. One way or the other. So they can fight me-- in the physical form-- they could not like me. They can think anything they want about Paul Fisher, but their souls and my soul connect. They know what I'm talking is truth. They know that we must change. And so maybe in the physical world they don’t realize it, but deep down they know they're promoting the wrong things and they should take responsibility. And that's why we just won "Best Reality Show" over "The Apprentice," over "16 and Pregnant," over "Storage Wars." Why? Not because I'm such a great character. Not because we have this great show. It’s because our intentions are so pure. Because we care about these kids so much. And that's why we’re winning these awards. And that's why people are watching my show.

And I guess with your intentions being so pure, like you said-- the universe can’t help but be behind you.

You know if I may say one thing, my spiritual teacher at the Kabbalah Centre who's the most important in my life, they say to me, "Paul, are you facing a lot of challenges?" And I said so many challenges you can’t imagine. They said, "Fantastic. You know you're on the right path." And the only way we know-- whenever you're trying to change the world and try to bring light into the world, the only way that you know you’re truly on the right path is if it’s filled with a tremendous amount of challenges. I'm on the right path.

Is there anything else you’d like to add ?

I think the only other thing I want to say is listen-- everybody asks me how to become a model. Go to TheNetworkCommunity.com/. Check out our site. I don’t suggest anybody to be a model. I say run away from guys like me. But if you're going to do it, become educated, learn the business, understand. Don't go through it blindly. Understand the difficulties of it, the challenges, the pitfalls and then take your shot.

Catch "Remodeled" on The CW, Modays at 9.

~Meow~

Pennies