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SEPTEMBER 2006

The War On Tampa Model Scams - How We Will Win Before We Start.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. Introduction by model Monica Stevens. Scroll down on this page after "Table Of Contents" to read. A copy of this is at the beginning of letter 001.

001. Letter Of The Month: A Model Walks.
A model recognizes a model job scam for what it is and walks away.

02. French Fry Guy And His Fort Desoto Shoot.
Our favorite Clearwater French photographer talks about shoots, videos, and Independent Modeling.

03. A Tip From The French Fry.
The French photographer from Clearwater sounds off about a questionable model consultation business.

04. Model Consultation Scam.
A model has a bad experience with a model consultation scam.

05. Agency War.
Is Tampa Bay Modeling going after model and talent agencies and model scams?

06. Independent Modeling Connection.
A model asks about Independent Modeling updates and how TBM is connected to IM.

B. Closing by model Monica Stevens. Scroll down after letter menu to read. A copy of this also ends the last letter.

INTRODUCTION BY MODEL MONICA STEVENS

Well, it is another mail bag where we have to make adjustments to the format. Thankfully, this one went up on time this month. With all of this work and a lot of meetings with models and lawyers concerning our fight with model scams in the Tampa Bay area and exactly what our course of action is going to be, there has been little time to actually relax. I have not been having much fun, and I’m not a happy model.
My boyfriend and I went walking along the beach in Clearwater the other night, and he was asking me why I seemed so down. I shouldn’t have been down, especially since it was a beautiful evening and he tried his best to help me relax. We had just finished having a candlelight dinner at this nice little restaurant on the beach, which should have been a treat considering my crazy career schedule and the fact that I have a hard time allowing myself to slow down. The waves were doing their regular crashing thing and the stars seemed to shine much like they do on a crisp winter night around Christmas, except this was a hot summer night with the aroma of suntan lotion and the only thing that we had on were swimsuits. Clearwater beach on that night reminded me of one of those Carribean island beaches that I love shooting on, but even the rare environmental serendipity did not raise my spirits. I was sad, and it sucked that I couldn’t get into it and enjoy myself. It was kind of like that old Supertramp song “it’s raining again”, even though the skies were clear and the stars were shining, it was raining on my heart and soul.
I told him that I was depressed because of all of the liars and con artists in the Tampa Bay modeling industry. Sure, my career is hardly affected by model scams because I spot most of them easily and am able to avoid them. I also book lots of model print work without going through model and talent agencies, and my career is a textbook case of what a professional independent model should be; my mind is free, I think for myself, and I see things so much more differently than the models who choose to be controlled by an agency and are dependent upon an agency to get any work. I should be enjoying the advantages that I have over mere mortal models, but I don’t. The problem that I have is that I actually care. I care about other models, I care about the integrity of the Tampa Bay modeling industry, and I even care about the reputable model and talent agencies. Making a difference and being a success can be so bittersweet.
My boyfriend, who is far from a model and knows as much about the modeling industry as I do about football, didn’t know what to say. The only thing that he could do is smile over at me and take my hand. It actually worked a little, and we talked about other things as we left a trail of footprints that the waves washed away as quickly as we left them. Damn, I should have been a foot model. Then again, this isn’t exactly the market for reputable foot modeling jobs.
Well, it is time to get to these letters. It is already September, and there are only another dozen weeks left in 2006 and three more mail bags until the new year. I’m sitting here at my place in Hyde Park now, it’s a bit cooler out tonight, and it is already feeling like summer is drawing to a close. There is a nice breeze moving my curtains, and every now and then they’ll rise up and blow over my computer as they brush my face. There is nothing like the feeling of an breezy room after a bath. I’m actually sitting here quite comfortable in my underwear and a bathrobe, so I’m enjoying the night air and it is helping my mood, which I will need to answer these letters. Thank God I am not on the ground floor. It’s great to be young and beautiful, and I will just have to enjoy it because such things can never last outside of pictures. Could it be that I am in love with myself? Whatever. What trouble can I start this month?
~ Model Monica Stevens,
Tampa Bay Modeling Mail Bag Editor

001. Letter Of The Month: A Model Walks.
A model recognizes a model job scam for what it is and walks away.

02. French Fry Guy And His Fort Desoto Shoot.
Our favorite Clearwater French photographer talks about shoots, videos, and Independent Modeling.

03. A Tip From The French Fry.
The French photographer from Clearwater sounds off about a questionable model consultation business.

04. Model Consultation Scam.
A model has a bad experience with a model consultation scam.

05. Agency War.
Is Tampa Bay Modeling going after model and talent agencies and model scams?

06. Independent Modeling Connection.
A model asks about Independent Modeling updates and how TBM is connected to IM.

CLOSING BY MODEL MONICA STEVENS

You know, I am actually in a good mood right now, especially after reading the E-Mail that Danielle Cooper, the TBM Editor, just sent me. The war is going well, and the results of our efforts seem to support the accounts of the models who were smart enough to avoid these scams. It’s one thing for a scam to bitch about us, call us a nuisance, and then continue to rip people off. It is quite another for a scam to lose money over what we are doing. If they didn’t hate us before, they surely do now. Just remember, model scams, that this site is only a facet of the opposition that you are facing. We are the tip of an iceberg. You will never be able to comprehend the number of professional models who are determined to make a difference and to make the industry players accountable for what they do. We’re here to make a difference, but we are not everyone. We are only the few that you can see.
What we are doing here on this site is working, and I feel good knowing that all of our hard work is worth it, especially when a scam loses thousands of dollars in business when they steal the property of reputable professionals in order to bait in models with it, they underestimate those models, and then most of the models walk after it is obvious that the sales pitch was stolen and that the scam became obvious from the actions that the models recognized as scams.
Here some questions for those scams out there who know damn well what they are doing to models and that what they are doing is wrong. Can you be sure who the models are that you are trying to scam? Can you completely trust those who work with you? While I am not actually soliciting an answer, I would rather that the unethical, dishonest parasites in the industry pause and consider their options. You will reap what you sow, and you will one day be accountable for who you associate with, and what you say and do. This is the one chance that these people have to clean up their acts and become reputable professionals. Either that, or the models and the genuine professionals in the industry will close you down (we are working on a resource that will inspire scams to become legitimate operations by instructing professionals about how to make it in the modeling industry).
So, how are we winning the war on Tampa model scams before we have even begun? First, we will not take any risks and will limit our potential liability because we really don’t have to put ourselves at risk in order to be effective at scam fighting.
It’s on, and models are winning. In closing, models, remember that you are what you do. You are also who you associate with.
Oh, and before I forget, there is another reason for me to be happy right now. I’m looking forward to the Independent Modeling 5th anniversary party on Monday, September 4, 2006. It’s going to be huge, and the staffs of Independent Modeling, Tampa Bay Modeling, and a few others will get together and celebrate making a difference in the modeling industry. I can’t believe that it’s already been five years! I’m told that the next five years will be the best yet, and the upcoming year will be better than all five years for Independent Modeling!
~ Model Monica Stevens,
Tampa Bay Modeling Mail Bag Editor

HOT TOPIC FOR OCTOBER 2006
Are you scared? What model industry dangers SCARE you? Also, do you take model consultants and managers seriously when they cannot legally make money by booking models into work in the Florida market? Tell us what you think!

E-Mail us and let us know what YOU think! If you wish to add to one of Monica's answers or disagree with her and want to post an answer of your own, please let us know what letter and month you are replying to and if we see that it is relevant we may add it to that month's archive. Starting in August, we will let you know if new content such as letters have been added to mail bag archives!

E-MAIL: TampaBayModeling@Yahoo.Com

C/O Monica Stevens, Mail Bag Editor

© Copyright 2006 Tampa Bay Modeling. All rights reserved.

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