MMAS: T Lo Interviews Sandhurst

Hi Sandhurst, what a pleasure to be finally talking to you!
The pleasure is all mine, I’ve been religiously reading your blog.

You thought you had it in the bag, huh?
I’ll be honest, I did. I had tied with Jonathan for the most weekly wins, and unlike Jonathan, I had been in the top three in eleven of the thirteen weeks, so, in my calculation [laughs] I had a good shot at winning, and I didn’t, and that’s how it went.

It was tough this season to pick a winner, don’t you think?
That’s true, I mean, c’mon, between Jonathan, Branden and I, you could send us to three completely different castings and we would rock, but competing against one another in the looks department was different, we are too different. The judges definitely had a hard task, a hard decision to make. I can’t fault them for choosing anyone. We had all performed well up to that point. I think Branden, at this point, I think he needed it and that was the deciding factor if you understand what I mean.

As Tyson said, in a female-dominated industry, it was nice to see a finale with three male models.
I agree, definitely. We went into the competition knowing that there were some extremely strong female contenders, like Jordan, Mountaha…c’mon, Mountaha was excellent. I will say this and may be putting myself out there, I actually thought she was robbed of the spot in the final three. Salome…she won half of the pictures, she too has extremely strong claim to the final three. So, for us to make it there; you know, some people may say that some of us didn’t deserve it, other people should have been there, three guys making to the final three, I mean, we really work hard for it.

You’re a classically trained ballet dancer and one would think that that would be an advantage in the competition, but somehow the judges saw it differently. Shimizu even said, rather negatively, that you were too aware of how you move.
[Sigh] You know, I’ll be very honest with you. I’ve gone over, over, and over since November what exactly it was that I did or didn’t do that made me lose. When she said that, I said to myself, you know what? Some people may think that one of your qualities is a strength and some people may think it’s a weakness. The thing about modeling is that it's based off of a select group of people, their likes and dislikes. I’m not going to please everyone, so whereas Perou loved the fact that I could do so many different shapes, Jenny might not; sometimes they like long hair, sometimes they like short hair. I’m not going to change, that’s a talent that I have and next time I just have to find someone who likes movement.

They also kept talking about how built you were, most of the sample-size clothes didn’t fit you and you had to struggle with that on top of everything else.
I’ve done a lot of research about the industry and I knew what I was getting into before all this happened. I knew that male models run from 5’11” to 6’2”. I was beyond those proportions; however, I still wanted to do it. A lot of people want to do things, but they never have the courage or listen to what people say ‘no, you can’t do it’ because this and that and the other or they never try. As I said, I knew that, so I was never frustrated when it happened because that’s the industry. I’m just hoping that one person likes me so much that they’re willing to look beyond sizing. I’m not going to let them say ‘no’ or say ‘no’ to myself, I’m one of those types of people.

And it’s kind of tough to hear that argument when Tyson is standing right next to you and he is no skinny model.
The difference between Tyson and I is that he is a supermodel. Tyson comes from the age of supermodels when the guys were big. In the 90s the guys were built, they had bigger bodies. They looked like men [laughs], big men. The aesthetic has changed, now we like youth, we like young, slimmer frames, the sleek look, and I may not be able to pull that off because my natural frame is larger. People make concessions for Tyson because he is Tyson. They want him in their collections because he’s Tyson. I’m not Tyson yet.

Right, and that doesn’t shut every door in the industry for you. There are many photoshoots and runway shows that require your type of body.
No, it doesn’t shut every door, except that on the show for example, they were bringing sample-size clothes and that’s just not my size. I’m mega size [laughs]. Someone will find clothes for me, I’m not worried.

You said that the competition helped you get over your insecurities. How so?
It’s so stupid but when I was growing up I had really bad acne to the point that I had keloid scars and I always felt that everyone was looking at me, looking at the scars, that kind of thing, so that was my problem going into it and that prevented me from pursuing modeling when I was younger, when I was 18. Being on the show and having cameras in your face 24/7 broadcasting every little feature, every flaw, imperfection to the world made me get over it really fast. It’s all out there now, get over it and grow up [laughs]!

How was meeting your sister coming from so far away just to see you? Are you guys close?
I didn’t think they were going to bring my sister. When Branden’s mother came through the door I thought that I was going to see my friend who lives in Philadelphia. I thought, she’s probably going to come. I really didn’t think that they were going to fly my sister from another country. It shocked the hell out of me. My family is extremely close. I call her almost every day. We call ourselves the twins but she’s four years older than me.

What was favorite photoshoot?
My favorite photoshoot was the fire one. I must admit, I really enjoyed it. I think the picture is not model-esque, I’m not going to sit here and say "Oh, my god, I can see this in a magazine," no, I think it looks like a still from a movie. I like that; I like the action, the drama, the excitement, the craze of it. My favorite photo was the nude one. I love that shot.

Are you still in touch with the other models?
I think I may be the one model that actually speaks to everyone. I try to call most of them every week. Shawn and I are always contacting each other. Jordan and I talk every week, Jonathan, Mountaha…I speak with everyone. You have to think, the experience was amazing, from beginning to end, it was excellent. I had an amazing time and I would do it again in a heartbeat.

Are you excited about moving in with Branden when you both move to NY?
Yes, Branden and I are thinking of moving in together. It’s just a matter of when because I’m still in school, graduating in a week, and Branden and I just have to coordinate when it’s the best time to move to NY. I’m excited about that. Who knows? Maybe a spinoff?

Well, good luck to you, Sandhurst.
Thank you, thank you.


[Photos: BravoTV.com/Tarrice Love/sandhurst-tacama.blogspot.com]


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