Maddy Hooton
Maddy Hooton was the Elite Model Look 2011 winner and went to represent United Kingdom in the World Final in Shanghai last September ‘11. Almost a year later we caught up with our EML star to hear her story.
Elite: Hi Maddy. How did your Elite Model Look journey start?
Maddy: Well I sent my pictures to Elite because there are no model scouts where I live in the North East and it was the weekend that I came down to London with my dad that by pure coincidence Elite contacted me after seeing the pictures. They said they were interested and called me into the agency. My dad didn’t know much about it so I just told him ‘this is what we’re doing now’ and so we went in and met the Elite team and they explained everything about the competition. The semi-finals were only two weeks away, and somehow by a long-shot I was put through to the final 12 and a month later I was back in London for the bootcamp and ended up winning! And to this day I still can’t believe it!
E: Was modelling something you always wanted to do?
M: Not modelling specifically, I was more interested in fashion because I never saw myself in that way. But then when I turned 14, I just thought to myself – ‘hey I’m fourteen and 5’10, so why don’t I give it a go!’ so I sent my pictures just to see if anything would happen and next thing I know ALL THIS has come out of it!
E: Where did your interest in fashion come from?
M: There are so many different aspects of fashion that I enjoy – I love jewellery, different styles and variations in people particularly over here in London.
E: Where do you think you’d be know had you never sent your pictures to Elite?
M: Most probably getting ready for college in September!
E: …And what would you be studying?
M: Performing arts. Yeah, back up North - where I am glad I’m not!
E: So how are you finding London?
M: Ah, I absolutely love London! The first few weeks I was down were tough – it was just so overwhelming… The main problem I was having was getting lost all the time, so once I started to sit-down and take time planning my journey it wasn’t so bad – but I STILL manage to get lost at least once a day!!! But at least I’ve learned how to deal with it, whereas before I didn’t. For someone like me who comes from a town that has a three cafés and a rock shop and then coming to one of the biggest cities in the world is just overwhelming!
E: Have you settled in well now?
M: I have, yes. Luckily I got to share an apartment with two other girl models that have kindly taken me under their wing and shown me around, BUT - the biggest change for me was missing my friends and family… We communicate every day through Facebook, but it is tough seeing new pictures pop up every time they’ve gone out together... I just miss them!
E: …Wouldn’t you say that’s just a part of growing up though? Isn’t it like, your time to focus on your own career.
M: Yes, exactly. Also, every time it gets me down I just think – when my friends are studying for A-levels and I could be on the catwalk anywhere in the world… Now I know which one I’d rather do!
E: Too true! So, tell me – winning the EML meant you got to go to Shanghai for the World Final. What was that like?
M: Oh wow. Shanghai was ridiculous – as in, RIDICULOUSLY GOOD. Like, meeting all the girls – I’d say, ‘oh hi I’m Maddy from the UK’ and then they’d go: ‘hi, I’m - name I can’t pronounce - from - country I’ve never heard of!’ – it was so surreal, I’d just smile and nod along… I did make a lot of friends whilst being out there and it is so good to see that most of them are doing really well and that few have even come to the [Elite] London agency – so I am hoping to bump into them sometime!
E: Did you ever think that you’d end up competing in Shanghai so soon after winning the Elite Model Look UK?
M: Never in a million years – even to get through to the semi finals was the biggest shock ever. So never mind winning it!
My dad rang me when I was at the airport in Zurick (basically my mum and dad have gone out to Shanghai for the last four days but because I didn’t get through to the top 15 I had to go home earlier), so as I was changing flights for Heathrow in Zurich I got a call from my dad telling me he’d spoken to Michaela (the woman who is in charge of the Elite Model Look worldwide) and said that I got a worldwide contract across the entire Elite network! That was it; I just broke down and cried in the middle of the Zurich airport!!! It was dead busy, and because I had no sleep and was jetlagged - there I was, sat on the floor with my suitcase crying my eyes out! It was just so overwhelming...
E: It sounds pretty crazy for someone who was only 15 at the time! How did you deal with being told you’d have to wait until you’re 16 in order to work as a model?
M: The wait was the single, most frustrating thing I ever had to deal with in my life!!! [laughs]
Because I was never into school as it was, so getting an opportunity like winning the EML and then being told I had to wait for a year so I could legally work was just so hard! I had only just turned 15 when I entered the Elite Model Look and obviously I had another year to go until I was 16… So yeah – needless to say, turning 16 was the best thing that had ever happened to me! Everyone says that not much changes, but I disagreed; I’d just say, ‘now I can get married, pay adult fare on trains, oh yeah – and I can model!’
E: How did you find your friends reacted to you winning the Elite Model Look?
M: Majority of my friends didn’t even know I entered the competition. I don’t know, somehow I thought that there was this stereotypical stigma associated with models and the way it comes across when someone says ‘I’m a model’ – and I didn’t want people to think that way about me. Obviously, I now know it’s not true! But it was only about two weeks before I went to China that people started to find out through Facebook – and you know, when things get on there EVERYONE eventually finds out about it. And nothing bad was ever said to my face (obviously I know some people would talk, but hey, leave them to it), and to be honest I didn’t care - I was busy being on cloud nine! My friends were very supportive, and still are now. I’d die without my phone and Internet because that’s how we keep in touch!
E: …So, Maddy - how is life now that you are finally a full-time model?
M: Bloody hard! [laughs]
Yeah, it’s definitely hard. But then saying that, within my first two weeks of modelling I got booked on a job so I am hoping that’s a good sign! And hopefully there’s more to come!
Obviously, modelling has its ups and downs – first few weeks being the toughest, but now I am starting to feel more comfortable… Contrary to what most people think, no one can just go into modelling and be really good at it straight away; it takes time & it will take a while to get to that point. Even now I am still working hard to get my portfolio together and the only way to do it is to put a lot of work into it.
E: Is everything the way you expected it to be?
M: In many ways – yes; mainly because I was already prepared for the ‘rejection’ part, because that’s just an everyday part of life. But ‘no’ in the sense that I had never realised how many other agencies there are in London! Like, seriously – I’d be meeting models at castings and they’d say what agency they’re from and it’s always a different agency I’ve never heard of! So, I guess I just never realised the sheer scale of it because I am so new to it… And as well, I was so shocked to find out how nice people are!
E: So where are you hoping modelling will take you in the long run – as in, what are you hoping to get out of it?
M: …I just want to travel. I don’t like being in the same place for too long and I want to see the world, I’ve decided. And so it seems that modelling is one of the best ways to do that! And with a worldwide contract I now have the access to that – I just need to work hard and then I may just be able to travel the world, meet new people and I am hoping I’d get to learn a new language… If I spend enough time in one place I can just start picking up new words! [Laughs] Knowing me, it’ll be more like ‘can I have two burgers’ in Spanish!
- Just send me on the next plane and I’ll be happy!!!
E: What advice would you give to the current EML contestants, having gone through the whole process yourself?
M: I don’t know who said this to me, but – just enjoy it.
Even a year later, I still meet up with girls (and boys) I met through the competition and we always talk about how none of us had even realised how lucky we were to be doing it. It was all truly amazing and I just wish the whole experience lasted longer!
E: Fantastic - glad to hear you think so Maddy!
And thanks so much for your time taken to do this interview. Everyone at Elite is wishing you a world of success, and of course - world domination!
Out of thousands of hopeful Elite Model Look hopefuls across the entire United Kingdom and Ireland, one very lucky girl from a quiet town situated about an hour away from Newcastle (but would like to stress out that she is NOT a Geordie!) had encountered a truly life-changing experience. She had the Elite Model Look.
Sailing through to the National Castings and through to the Finals, it was inevitable that Maddy Hooton had something special going on. The EML judges had without hesitation selected the tall (non-Geordie) goldilocks as their winner who then went to represent United Kingdom in the World Final in Shanghai in 2011.
Elite: Hi Maddy. How did your Elite Model Look journey start?
Maddy: Well I sent my pictures to Elite because there are no model scouts where I live in the North East and it was the weekend that I came down to London with my dad that by pure coincidence Elite contacted me after seeing the pictures. They said they were interested and called me into the agency. My dad didn’t know much about it so I just told him ‘this is what we’re doing now’ and so we went in and met the Elite team and they explained everything about the competition. The semi-finals were only two weeks away, and somehow by a long-shot I was put through to the final 12 and a month later I was back in London for the bootcamp and ended up winning! And to this day I still can’t believe it!
E: Was modelling something you always wanted to do?
M: Not modelling specifically, I was more interested in fashion because I never saw myself in that way. But then when I turned 14, I just thought to myself – ‘hey I’m fourteen and 5’10, so why don’t I give it a go!’ so I sent my pictures just to see if anything would happen and next thing I know ALL THIS has come out of it!
E: Where did your interest in fashion come from?
M: There are so many different aspects of fashion that I enjoy – I love jewellery, different styles and variations in people particularly over here in London.
E: Where do you think you’d be know had you never sent your pictures to Elite?
M: Most probably getting ready for college in September!
E: …And what would you be studying?
M: Performing arts. Yeah, back up North - where I am glad I’m not!
E: So how are you finding London?
M: Ah, I absolutely love London! The first few weeks I was down were tough – it was just so overwhelming… The main problem I was having was getting lost all the time, so once I started to sit-down and take time planning my journey it wasn’t so bad – but I STILL manage to get lost at least once a day!!! But at least I’ve learned how to deal with it, whereas before I didn’t. For someone like me who comes from a town that has a three cafés and a rock shop and then coming to one of the biggest cities in the world is just overwhelming!
E: Have you settled in well now?
M: I have, yes. Luckily I got to share an apartment with two other girl models that have kindly taken me under their wing and shown me around, BUT - the biggest change for me was missing my friends and family… We communicate every day through Facebook, but it is tough seeing new pictures pop up every time they’ve gone out together... I just miss them!
E: …Wouldn’t you say that’s just a part of growing up though? Isn’t it like, your time to focus on your own career.
M: Yes, exactly. Also, every time it gets me down I just think – when my friends are studying for A-levels and I could be on the catwalk anywhere in the world… Now I know which one I’d rather do!
E: Too true! So, tell me – winning the EML meant you got to go to Shanghai for the World Final. What was that like?
M: Oh wow. Shanghai was ridiculous – as in, RIDICULOUSLY GOOD. Like, meeting all the girls – I’d say, ‘oh hi I’m Maddy from the UK’ and then they’d go: ‘hi, I’m - name I can’t pronounce - from - country I’ve never heard of!’ – it was so surreal, I’d just smile and nod along… I did make a lot of friends whilst being out there and it is so good to see that most of them are doing really well and that few have even come to the [Elite] London agency – so I am hoping to bump into them sometime!
E: Did you ever think that you’d end up competing in Shanghai so soon after winning the Elite Model Look UK?
M: Never in a million years – even to get through to the semi finals was the biggest shock ever. So never mind winning it!
My dad rang me when I was at the airport in Zurick (basically my mum and dad have gone out to Shanghai for the last four days but because I didn’t get through to the top 15 I had to go home earlier), so as I was changing flights for Heathrow in Zurich I got a call from my dad telling me he’d spoken to Michaela (the woman who is in charge of the Elite Model Look worldwide) and said that I got a worldwide contract across the entire Elite network! That was it; I just broke down and cried in the middle of the Zurich airport!!! It was dead busy, and because I had no sleep and was jetlagged - there I was, sat on the floor with my suitcase crying my eyes out! It was just so overwhelming...
E: It sounds pretty crazy for someone who was only 15 at the time! How did you deal with being told you’d have to wait until you’re 16 in order to work as a model?
M: The wait was the single, most frustrating thing I ever had to deal with in my life!!! [laughs]
Because I was never into school as it was, so getting an opportunity like winning the EML and then being told I had to wait for a year so I could legally work was just so hard! I had only just turned 15 when I entered the Elite Model Look and obviously I had another year to go until I was 16… So yeah – needless to say, turning 16 was the best thing that had ever happened to me! Everyone says that not much changes, but I disagreed; I’d just say, ‘now I can get married, pay adult fare on trains, oh yeah – and I can model!’
E: How did you find your friends reacted to you winning the Elite Model Look?
M: Majority of my friends didn’t even know I entered the competition. I don’t know, somehow I thought that there was this stereotypical stigma associated with models and the way it comes across when someone says ‘I’m a model’ – and I didn’t want people to think that way about me. Obviously, I now know it’s not true! But it was only about two weeks before I went to China that people started to find out through Facebook – and you know, when things get on there EVERYONE eventually finds out about it. And nothing bad was ever said to my face (obviously I know some people would talk, but hey, leave them to it), and to be honest I didn’t care - I was busy being on cloud nine! My friends were very supportive, and still are now. I’d die without my phone and Internet because that’s how we keep in touch!
E: …So, Maddy - how is life now that you are finally a full-time model?
M: Bloody hard! [laughs]
Yeah, it’s definitely hard. But then saying that, within my first two weeks of modelling I got booked on a job so I am hoping that’s a good sign! And hopefully there’s more to come!
Obviously, modelling has its ups and downs – first few weeks being the toughest, but now I am starting to feel more comfortable… Contrary to what most people think, no one can just go into modelling and be really good at it straight away; it takes time & it will take a while to get to that point. Even now I am still working hard to get my portfolio together and the only way to do it is to put a lot of work into it.
E: Is everything the way you expected it to be?
M: In many ways – yes; mainly because I was already prepared for the ‘rejection’ part, because that’s just an everyday part of life. But ‘no’ in the sense that I had never realised how many other agencies there are in London! Like, seriously – I’d be meeting models at castings and they’d say what agency they’re from and it’s always a different agency I’ve never heard of! So, I guess I just never realised the sheer scale of it because I am so new to it… And as well, I was so shocked to find out how nice people are!
E: So where are you hoping modelling will take you in the long run – as in, what are you hoping to get out of it?
M: …I just want to travel. I don’t like being in the same place for too long and I want to see the world, I’ve decided. And so it seems that modelling is one of the best ways to do that! And with a worldwide contract I now have the access to that – I just need to work hard and then I may just be able to travel the world, meet new people and I am hoping I’d get to learn a new language… If I spend enough time in one place I can just start picking up new words! [Laughs] Knowing me, it’ll be more like ‘can I have two burgers’ in Spanish!
- Just send me on the next plane and I’ll be happy!!!
E: What advice would you give to the current EML contestants, having gone through the whole process yourself?
M: I don’t know who said this to me, but – just enjoy it.
Even a year later, I still meet up with girls (and boys) I met through the competition and we always talk about how none of us had even realised how lucky we were to be doing it. It was all truly amazing and I just wish the whole experience lasted longer!
E: Fantastic - glad to hear you think so Maddy!
And thanks so much for your time taken to do this interview. Everyone at Elite is wishing you a world of success, and of course - world domination!
Out of thousands of hopeful Elite Model Look hopefuls across the entire United Kingdom and Ireland, one very lucky girl from a quiet town situated about an hour away from Newcastle (but would like to stress out that she is NOT a Geordie!) had encountered a truly life-changing experience. She had the Elite Model Look.
Sailing through to the National Castings and through to the Finals, it was inevitable that Maddy Hooton had something special going on. The EML judges had without hesitation selected the tall (non-Geordie) goldilocks as their winner who then went to represent United Kingdom in the World Final in Shanghai in 2011.