Most modeling agencies are interested in beautiful, tall and slender models with perfect proportions, but Berlin-based We Are Unlike You is not your typical modeling agency. As long as you have a unique style or persona, their only requirement is to be yourself.
“We are unlike other model agencies,” founder Maurice Redmond says about We Are Unlike You. “We don’t just offer tremendous looking individuals, but real characters who don’t just look the part, they feel and act it too. Because it’s simply who they are.” The story of this unconventional talent agency began when Redmond saw some photos documenting the Berlin burlesque scene, taken by his photographer Paul Green. Intrigued by the characters in the images, he started thinking about the stories behind them, so after talking with Green and Tim Rhodes, a mutual friend and photo agent, the three decided to work together and connect the colorful individuals in the images with their stories in front of the camera.
Their goal is to work with people who are special not only for the way they look, but also for who they are and what they do, and help them get involved in projects that fit their unique personalities and talents. We Are Unlike You’s roster of amazing models includes “a 7ft a baton-twirling blue bunny on suicide heels, the man from Helsinki with the strongest nipples on earth, a human crab, a burlesque dancer that can make grown men weep and many, many more”.
At We Are Unlike You, models have conventional talents like acting, singing, dancing, event hosting, as well as off-the-wall skills like running on heels, bending iron bars between teeth, glass walking, or acting with fire, but what sets them apart from other models is that they don’t play roles. “ Each of them have embraced their stage persona as a life commitment, Maurice Redmond says.
“The fact many of them make their living performing and embracing their passions is what makes them inspiring, not how many tattoos they have or how wild their makeup, drag act or burlesque costume is.” We Are Unlike You books its models for commercial shoots, and most of the photographers, directors, casting agents, copywriters and creative agencies they work with actually encourage their models to come with their own costumes, props, outfits and just be themselves on camera.
We Are Unlike You is not the world’s only unconventional modeling agency. A while back we wrote about the Ugly Model Agency, a bold and unique company who works with unusual-looking individuals.
Photos © We Are Not Like You
