ANTI Management, the agency that defends all, but ALL, models
JULY 10, 2017
Booker Gabriel Ruas Santos Rocha is convinced that there are many things to improve in the fashion industry, and he doesn’t bite his tongue when it comes to listing them
The Brazilian Gabriel Ruas Santos Rocha is a veteran in the world of modeling agencies; he has been a booker at Marilyn, Ford, Elite and Trump Models, and since last March he is CEO of his own agency, ANTI Management, with which he has set out to improve the working conditions of his clients. Santos Rocha believes that the treatment of models has worsened alarmingly in recent years, and the origin of the problem is very clear: “When I started in this business the big agencies still belonged to families or individuals: Marilyn was directed by Marilyn, Ford was directed by the Fords, Beatrice had Beatrice… By crossing the doors of each agency you knew what their values were, the type of work they did and, most importantly, you knew who directed the show. But when they began to withdraw, most of the agencies were sold, and now most of our industry is managed by large faceless corporations in a way that would never have been accepted then.” And what exactly has changed? “Before we promoted careers and supervised everything our models did, from clothing lines to movies. That strengthened the agencies, and generated deeper relationships and careers longer. Some models took 2 to 5 years to get an important contract or make a name for themselves, but we never left them aside after the first season. But today models are often treated as if they were disposable dishes, and I totally disagree with that. I think that by returning the business to its roots, but in an updated and fresh way, we will recover some of the allure that this industry had and strengthen it.”
Your agency’s motto, “our models are our customers,” is a good indicator of the code of ethics that will govern ANTI Management. “The trend now is the power booker. Most agencies today care more about the clients of the models than about them. They are willing to do whatever it takes to take advantage of the money, and that is why – or because of their fears, or their ego… – they often make bad decisions on behalf of their models. Every day a supplier lowers their rates a little more, or adds hours of work without paying extra, or removes breakfast from the set; they do what is necessary to save, but what they do not understand, and what the agencies that bow to it do not understand either, is that this short-sighted vision is killing our industry, and not precisely little by little, but with enough speed. In addition, there is a level of pressure on the agents that escapes reason. If the numbers generated by the team do not meet the forecasts, there are consequences within the agency, so these have tripled the number of models they represent and are operating basically with a production chain mentality. But many of my colleagues forget that our original clients are the models; they forget that it is a privilege and an honor to represent any of these girls; they forget that they have placed their hopes, their dreams and their trust in us, and they also forget that they are the ones who pay our salaries, which is a very important lesson that I learned in Marilyn.”
“Anything you can imagine has happened in this industry,”
Gabriel Ruas Santos Rocha
Over the years, Gabriel has witnessed abuses and injustices towards models, but prefers not to go into details. “Anything you can imagine has happened in this industry,” he limits himself to saying. His last stage in Trump Model Managament was especially hectic; several media echoed an alleged boycott against the agency in retaliation for Trump’s policies and statements as president, and numerous employees and models – Gabriel among them – left the ship. How much truth is there in what is told? “As they say, I refer to the tests,” he points out. What happened to that agency was truly unfortunate. But the past is there, we have all gone ahead and surely in time we will manage to get something positive out of that time. Although it wasn’t really easy at all.”
Headquartered in New York, ANTI already has more than 70 models – many of them, from Trump Models – including Shirley Mallmann or Milana Keller. The agency will not divide them by categories (that is, there will not be the typical tabs of Man, Woman, New Faces, Legends …) to multiply their possibilities and not limit their potential: “For the moment I call it the Anti-Division, but the name could change. I don’t believe in labels, and I think that no model should have to conform to a ‘table’ or a ‘division.‘” The agency also defends an inclusive philosophy that embraces diversity: “Among our models there are gays, lesbians, trans, blacks, Chinese, Jews or Christians. Our job is to represent the talent we believe in with our best abilities, and that begins by respecting who each of them is individually. If we erase labels, we eliminate stigmas, and we are able to see people for who they really are and, consequently, to do a much better job in promoting them.”
On his personal Instagram account, Santos Rocha defines himself as a “writer, model booker and shit shaker.” What else are you determined to shake? “Everything. Believe me, no one can stop me. I always say that all I have is a huge mouth and no shame. And it’s the truth.” We just checked it.
GABRIEL RUAS SANTOS ROCHA 