Recently I had the opportunity, nay, privilege, to be a model for Chance. This is something I wouldn’t have dared even think possible a couple years ago, but the triathlon training finally got me to a point physically and mentally that, when the opportunity arose, I went for it.
I was nervous, of course, as I’ve never done any kind of modelling before. I did a little theater in high school, sure, but that was ages ago. My fondness for karaoke may have helped a bit, but I’m generally fully clothed during that. No, I think what really helped the most was putting myself in the same mindset I had for my first triathlon: there is every chance that everything will go horribly wrong, and I’m OK with that.
In thinking about it the past few days, I’ve realized there’s more to it. It’s not so much that I’m OK with things going wrong, it’s that I’m confident in my ability to overcome any challenges that do come up. I know that I’ve trained and rehearsed and visualized and made lists, and done everything else I can to reduce the possibility of things going wrong to a bare minimum. I’m also viewing the entire experience as a learning opportunity, removing any ego from my success or failure. Win or lose, I will have learned, and therefore, I win.
Putting it all in this light was very calming, which took nerves out of the equation (well, mostly… Jameson took care of the rest). Then it was up to me to just do the best I could in a friendly, professional manner, and hope the crowd cheered for me as much as they did for the “real” models. It was very strange to have lost all this weight and then find myself to once again be the fattest guy in the room. But then I realized several of the other guys were just as nervous as I was, if not more so. Curiouser and curiouser…
In the end, I had a damn good time, and I hope to do it again. Maybe some day I’ll have a six pack and get to be in the underwear lineup, but until then I’ll just stick to saucy bow-ties…
photo courtesy of Camera Guy Studios