In their heads

MANILA, Philippines - SUPREME: How do you feel now being the new faces of Solo?

MEHRAN: I feel happy and blessed that this opportunity was given to me. Since I started modeling it has been my dream to have a big project such as this. It showcases my passion and love for my work.

PHOEBE: It feels awesome! I have always been a fan of Solo and I have never imagined that I’d be modeling for them some time in my life. Haha!

Did you expect to win? Why or why not?

MEHRAN: Not really because I know that everyone who joined the contest worked really hard for their entries so I knew the competition would be tough.

PHOEBE: Not at all! I was already ecstatic when I was called for an interview as one of the finalists, for me, I was a winner already. It was past January already and I didn’t receive any callbacks or anything so I thought someone else must have won already. But lo and behold, that faithful day of February, I received a text from Solo. I was practically jumping around after that.

When you saw all your contenders in the Solo Model Gallery, what were your thoughts?

MEHRAN: I found their entries artistic and each of the entries stood out in its own unique way.

PHOEBE: I enjoyed browsing through the gallery because it goes to show that Pinoys are really creative. I love the concepts that my contenders presented. Some of the models, too, were exceptional, which is also why I did not expect to win. Anyone of us finalists deserved it.

What do you think about an Online Model Search vs. an actual model casting search?

MEHRAN: It’s good because in today’s generation knowing the influence of the Internet many people would rather go online than attend a model casting search. Nowadays, people have more time to go online so an online model search is more exposed to the public.

PHOEBE: I think an Online Model Search is a good platform for us aspiring models. It gives us a chance to show what we got. Plus it gives the public a voice — they can comment and vote for the models they want to see donning Solo clothing.

How did you go through the process of submitting your entry? Who conceptualized?

MEHRAN: Louie and our friends conceptualized the shoot and they chose me as their model. Louie was the one who submitted the entry.

PHOEBE: I’ve been working with Em before we decided to join Solo. She’s a good friend and a great photographer, one of my favorites. With conceptualization, basically we wanted to emphasize the Larry Alcala clothing item from Solo since the point of the competition was to model and look great in Solo clothing. We kept that in mind with the styling and the graphic design. We wanted to make it simple but still edgy. The location of our shoot was actually in an empty swimming pool. I was sitting on the stairs. It worked pretty well.

Tell us the story of your entries.

MEHRAN: Me and Louie thought of the name The Soloist because in our photo entry there is a piano and the name solo is in the word Soloist so we thought that it would make it catchy.

PHOEBE: Slice of Glam gives us a peek of the modern Filipina lifestyle. It shows the modern Filipina on top of her game. She is confident, independent, and of course, glamorous.

How did you get into modeling? After winning the contest, do you really want to pursue this career?

MEHRAN: Before this contest, I was already into modeling, since I was 19. I was really skinny at that time so I started to workout at the gym and started my career in modeling. It took awhile for me to bloom as a model, but if you really love what you are doing, you will succeed in it if you really work hard and put passion into it.

PHOEBE: When I was in my last year of high school, my friend invited me to model for his school project. He posted the pictures online and someone else saw it and invited me. The rest is history. It’s basically in that cycle — through connections. That’s one of the key things in the modeling industry I believe. Yes I really do want to pursue this career.

Your greatest dream?

MEHRAN: My greatest dream would be to be successful travel agency business owner so I could take care of my family one day, especially my mom. She risked everything to take care of me and I love her so much.

PHOEBE: To become an epic filmmaker.

What do your consider your greatest achievement? Your greatest failure?

MEHRAN: I achieved my greatest achievement when I saw my mom proud of me for the first time because of some of the modeling projects I did. She would always tell her friends about me and how proud she was to have me as her son. When she also found out that I got to be the new face of Solo she cried and was so proud of me. I felt so happy and I had another greatest achievement, thanks to Solo =)

PHOEBE: My greatest failure… Haha I don’t have a major major failure but... haha! Just kidding. It would have to be not being physically active enough, with sports or whatnot. I never tried to pursue any when I was a kid. A few years ago, I dislocated my knee. I can’t do or play any sport at all. I can’t even run. I miss it.

My greatest achievement would have to be me being able to finish my education. It was a long and faithful journey and here I am now trying to be independent, doing what I can do.

Share with us your hobbies and interests

MEHRAN: I love to play sports. I play basketball, swimming, soccer, badminton, wakeboarding, billiards. I’m a varsity swimmer in our college department in school. My passion is my work which is modeling. I’m an adventurous person. I like to do a lot of outdoor and recreational activities like trekking, hiking, sight-seeing, snorkling and of course I really love to eat!

PHOEBE: As I’ve said I like making films. There’s a part of me that always wants to play with ideas and stories. I want to capture my ideas with films or videos. Other than that, I like reading and collecting books, blogging… I’m very much into fashion, and I’m also a business-minded person.