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
