Today we’d like to introduce you to Matthew Pierrelys.
Hi Matthew, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was raised on both sides of the border Barrio Logan and Tijuana, Mexico, my father a Haitian immigrant turned citizen and my mother, a Tijuana native. My education was also divided in two, having my early years of education in San Diego and most of my junior and high school education done in Tijuana.
The way I started is actually the story of a funny challenge that turned into a real professional career. In 2017, I was offered the opportunity to model for locally known brands in a sort of pro bono situation. I modeled their products and in exchange, I got free clothes/ items of my choosing. This was when I was a 17-year-old senior in high school with no money to buy new/cool clothes on my own yet so for me, that was a pretty sweet deal, although I was not sure of doing it because it was something I had ever done before. It was an overwhelming offer nonetheless. My friends from high school were the ones that encouraged me to pursue this and sort of challenged me to do it and see what happens from it, so ultimately I end up doing the photoshoots and modelling for them. From these photoshoots, I start getting a “rep” amongst the kids in my school and on social media as the kid that models, so from there starting to get my name out there and getting recognized as a model.
Fast forward a year from then, I got discovered by an agent in Chula Vista and signed to what is known as a Mother Agency (an agency that represents you and helps you get scouted by professionals) at the time not knowing anything about the industry, of course, I was thrilled because I never knew that I had the potential for such things to happen to me. Within the first few months of being with my mother agent, I start getting booked for shows and more photoshoots getting the attention of an agency in Mexico City called “New Icon”. The director of this agency contacted me via Instagram to let me know the interest that he had in me about joining his agency and getting signed to them and at that moment I get things ready to sign with this new agency. I already knew about this agency and their experience in representing high-end fashion models around the world and was aiming to get signed to them since I started getting more into the industry. I signed for 3 years with New Icon in 2018 and during this time, I got to really experience the fashion industry in a professional environment, picked up the skill of being a photographer and developed an interest in fashion design and brand development, spent some periods in Mexico City creating more experiences and meeting interesting, incredible people that I now call my friends, also getting involved in social organizations pro migration specializing in the situation of the mass migration of Haitians seeking political asylum in the USA and establishing in Tijuana to do so.
Now my 3-year agreement with New Icon has ended and I am looking for new horizons in my career, pursuing acting and developing my own clothing brand.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Definitely not a smooth road at all. You get a lot of no’s at first, and one of the things that got people to not book me or consider me for is my height, an average model is 6 Ft and up I am 5’11”. Not that short but for the industry and certain things such as runway it is not the “required” height. The constant worry that manifests itself in one’s head about being enough good looking or talented or just that self consciousness that arises when you are in an industry where everything is focused on how you look or what your talents are.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a professional model/ creative also dabble a little in pro migration organizations for Haitian immigrants.
I specialize in commercial acting and photography.
Apart from my work in the fashion industry, I am known for my altruistic activities.
I am proud of my accomplishments over the years and getting involved in social problems and giving the tools to solve these.
I believe what sets myself apart from others is that I wish to be an example for other people that want to start doing something but don’t how or they’ve never given themselves the chance to explore a different side of them. I never thought that I would be capable of doing the things that I have done or accomplish the things that I have accomplished but I gave myself the chance to explore that side of me and it took me far.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
The covid 19 crisis really taught me to really embrace the moments you have with your family and friends, start taking care of ourselves, our health, our wellbeing.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matthew_pierrelys
Image Credits
Melissa Lunar (@mmmlunar)
Ariadna Flores (@lasfloresssss)
