Posts

Showing posts from 2010

Beverley Hills, ANOTHER White Party and a Bud House meet up

Hey guys, I had to do a post on Beverley Hills, I could not resist talking about how incredible the area is in LA. It is insane, completely insane. The money in this area is unimaginable. The shops, the cars and most importantly of course, the houses! They are absolutely huge! This is the area where the majority of the movie stars live and the directors and just anybody with vast sums of money. There is a famous street called Rodeo Drive where the houses are renound for being completely insane and it is so true. House after house is just like a dream and makes you want it so much. In a strange way it made me feel like I want to strive to achieve what these people have done in their lives, whatever it might have been. A different area of Beverley Hills was in the Hills itself, which was where the location of the first white party was held. These houses are extremely private with gated off areas that are often patrolled 24 hours a day by security, but the views of the city that they have

Venice Beach and the Gym

Hey, Labour Day weekend, my first weekend in LA and we head to Venice Beach on the Monday for the day. Now Venice Beach is completely different to any other beaches in LA. It is a very diverse area around Venice beach, which made for a nice change to that of the nice place of Santa Monica. There were loads of stools down by the beach front and a lot of street entertainers to keep the thousands of people entertained. We met a friend of mine here too from Bud House, Hilton, which was great for me to see him and made me feel more settled knowing that there are other people here and friends of mine in the City. After a great weekend, I knew I needed to keep myself entertained and busy during the days and wanted to stay in shape too for the meetings with the modelling agencies which I had planned for the following week. So, I decided to sign up to a gym, a gym that was absolutely huge! A 24 hour gym and a 15 minute walk from the apartment in Hollywood, so perfect. Now when I first went down

1st Weekend in LA

Hey guys, Just quickly, I really hope everyone at home is good and that good things are happening to each and everyone of you. Missing my friends and family a lot too and hoping everyone is well. My first weekend was a true welcome to LA. We spent the a few hours at the beach in Santa Monica, which was beautiful. Such a huge beach that seems to go on and on and theres so much space there its crazy. The sun shining and all made for a perfect start to a perfect weekend. We went shopping though before the beach for the most important thing when your in LA, white pants! (or trousers as we English call them) It is a common in LA to have white parties, probably so everyone can show off their Hollywood tans i guess. Something that can’t really happen in England very often ha. We crawled the shops looking for a pair of these trousers that I knew were going to make me look like a sailor! That and the white shoes we were also trying to get hold of! But the trip was successful and the sailor outf

The first few days in LA – getting personal

I have been extremely jet lagged since arriving in LA even though typical me told Natela that “I never suffer from jet lag” ha ha. But I was exhausted and my sleep was all over the place, that with a completely different change of environment and the changes of my lifestyle here made it become stressful. Natela was working hard still and I was in the heart of Hollywood, like a lost puppy, relying on support and guidance, when all Natela wanted was my love. Sounds a bit deep I guess, but became really tough for both of us to adapt to the environment. Now one of the many best things about our relationship is how we think and that we both seem to know what each other is feeling. We reached the point where I was becoming frustrated by sitting around a lot and not knowing where to go and having to wait until Natela was finished with her work, and she was frustrated with me disrupting her routine and having to look after me like I was a child. It was tough I tell you. But like the roller coa

LOS ANGELES, USA - The Adventure Continues

Image
Hey, I’m writing to you all the way from Los Angeles! How my life changes around so much is crazy! So after the adventures of Bud House and meeting the girl of my dreams in Natela over in South Africa, I decided that I couldn’t be without her and to move over to the states and live with her over here. The words brave, crazy, insane, ballsy, were all used by friends and family over my move, but I did not want to live life with any regrets. I worked near enough nonstop when I was back from a little break in Ibiza with friends after Bud House. I wanted to get as much money together so I could enjoy my time in LA, because who knows what will happen and how long I will be here for. One thing about my life is that I never know what’s round the corner and going to happen next. Sometimes this can be a negative, as it often will give me a huge sense of instability, which can be hard to cope with. But on the positive side and the side that I look too, it is so exciting! The unknown. The fact I n

Bud House Continued

Image
Hey Guys, 32 contestants from all over the world being brought together by football in a house full of Budweiser in South Africa! The fun was is clearly on its way! I’m sure some of you would have looked at the link http://www.budunited.com but there was plenty more that went on during this show. Some differed slightly from what was shown too. TV world of course ha ha. There was a lot of drinking throughout the time in the house with only a handful of us who drank every single day! With the drinking came erratic behaviour a lot of the times, silly dancing, a lot of childish behaviour, but was all good fun and a great release from the real world. 32 adults behaving badly! Now the Budweiser itself became a bit repetitive and after many complaints to production, we managed to get some other alcohol into the house. The funny thing with this was that we had to drink these drinks in Budweiser bottles, and every time we got other alcohol, I was there with 2 bottles in my hand! It added to the

Bud House - Living in the House

Image
Hey Guys, So I am writing you a continuation from the previous post as I attempt to catch up with everything since I last posted 3 months ago! We all entered the surroundings of this beautiful house knowing that the adventure was about to start. The buzz around everyone was crazy, the cast and the crew knowing what an exciting roller coaster lies ahead of us all. The crew knew they had a long 5 weeks ahead and the cast knowing exactly the same, but as cast we didn't really know what was going to be happening for us all. First things first and a lot of production needed for the opening shots of everyone arriving in the house, which was something that everyone had to get used to, as although its called "Reality TV" there still needs to be many different areas created to ensure that the shots look structured. We were all really excited and it became known to us by 3 casted bar staff (who were there to make announcements to all of us during our time in the house) that we woul

Bud House - The start

Image
Hey, So, its been a long long while since my last update, 3 months!!! And an incredible amount has happened since my last update. So, I'm going to start with the Bud House experience and detail how it all was from my eyes. This will include production details, details of my expectations and the details of what I really thought about the whole experience. I arrived in Cape Town after a long flight and through customs and into the arrivals lounge. This wasn't a normal experience as there were lots of people hanging around and people in all different colors of different nations being represented in the world cup. And yes these people were my fellow contestants in the reality show. First thing all of us wanted to do was to talk to each other, get to know each other, as in every day life this is a natural thing to do when you meet people. Now the scene is this, all contestants sitting around, bored, excited, nervous, absolutely full of emotions, with the age range being from 25 to 4

Packing up in London and preparing for South Africa

Hey Guys, It's amazing how your name is mentioned in the papers and then lot's of views on my blog ha. But it's good and anyone is welcome to read what I put up on here, always a bit of fun and giving an insight into what I get up to work wise. So, my last day in London today I have been packing up all my things as I will be away for 7 - 8 weeks. Been stressing a bit (no shock for me), but steadily getting everything done and by the time I'm on my way to the airport Sunday it will be too late by then ha ha. Got to take a variety of clothes for different conditions in Cape Town, but should be fine. Though I have been told not to take any clothes with big logos on, which for guys is often a lot tougher than it is for girls. You name it got to bring it, but will be absolutely fine I'm sure........aaaarrrggghhh. I have not a clue what will happen when I am out there, how the show will work, but I do know I will be staying in the "Bud House" the entire time I a

Leaving on a jet plane, don't know when I will be back again...(15th July)

Hey Guys, So the count down is on now until I fly to South Africa, this Sunday!!! I have been slightly apprehensive, somewhat nervous at times but most importantly ridiculously excited about the whole experience. Once in a lifetime!!! The links are all up everywhere. Check out the home page to Bud United, where you will be able to watch the show live, http://www.budunited.com The rumours are continuing to circulate that I am going to be on Big Brother and I promise you it's so untrue. Those clever people have seen the link on my blog and searched out this reality show in South Africa and know the truth. Funny how rumours start circulating so quickly and the Sunday Star were completely wrong when they printed that in there. Not too great to see my name being linked to that show though and does worry me that I could get this opportunity taken away from me if more rumours and anything bad comes out at all, so you can imagine how stressed that makes me. So details of my trip. I fly out

IM GOING TO SOUTH AFRICA!!!!!! - Not on Big Brother

Hey Guys, Big Big Big apologies for a week and a half without an update! And what a crazy week and a half it has been as well! So as you can see by my last post I was awaiting news about taking part in a reality show out in South Africa called the Bud House. And I'm sure you can tell by the title how happy I am right now as I got confirmed!!! Amazing! So unbelievably excited at the moment and when I found out I was going crazy and jumping around the flat going mad! Its like a dream come true! I love football, I love Beer and I love new experiences and here is one heading my way again! I am so incredibly fortunate to have the opportunity to go out to the World Cup in South Africa and to represent England out there. 32 nations represented by 1 person for each country, living together and also getting the opportunity to go on excursions and to go to some of the games! Going to be absolutely amazing! I have been getting frustrated with London and finding myself desperate for another ad

2 Days to go...I could be going in the house!!! The Bud House

Image
Hey Guys, A month or so a go I received a phone call from my agency asking me if I liked football. Now liked is an understatement and those who know me well know what I'm like with regards football and the opportunity to do anything in football, to watch every game and go ridiculously mad when either Arsenal or England do well. So a calm yes and I listened to more of what it entailed. It was described as an opportunity to go out to the world cup in South Africa and to represent your country in a kind of reality TV scenario, watching the games, meeting the players, you name it! You can imagine from that point how excited I got about this. So my response was a quick yes!!!! Next step was to fill out an application form online which was ridiculously long and then do a 2 minute video to send off to the production company. The application form was very long and asked a lot of questions about football and how I feel about certain teams, what I'm like watching football etc etc. Sent i

Back at Smartlive Casino

Hey guys, Been a few days since an update so thought I would quickly tell you what has been happening with me, but unfortunately it's not very exciting ha. After about a week and a half off, I have been back in the studio presenting on channel 869. Thursday, Friday and now tonight until 4 am. Couple of late shifts mixed in, but feeling refreshed when I'm in now. With this job, it's important to have a little break every now and then with it because it can become very repetitive doing the same thing over and over again. Talking about registration and then the website, promotions etc etc. Recently though I have to say I have been talking about very different things, which seem to be ok. Talk a lot about what has been happening with sport, politics, and things that I've been up to as well. Passes the time quicker ha ha. I'm here until 4am and then I am driving back to my parents house, as I have got a hospital appointment in the morning near there about my knee. So, co

Russell Athletic Presentation and Shoot

Hey Guys, Been a good week and bumped up my start to the month of May. Got confirmed just yesterday for a job for Russell Athletic. Did not know too much about the job as it was very last minute, but knew there were 4 of us on the job, 2 guys and 2 girls, all from the same agency. The one thing that stood out about this job was the distance to travel to it! It was North West London at Elstree, now bear in mind I'm living South East London at the moment, it was a long way. And add to the distance I stupidly made the mistake of walking from the tube station to the location (about a mile and a half, up hill!) I didn't make it easy for myself I have to say. Ha Ha. Finally arrived for the job, half an hour late! Now I am never late for shoots cause think it's a sign of unprofessionalism, but because of the long walk I was. Very apologetic when I got there, but there were no problems at all. I wasn't the last model to arrive and also the one main thing about working with girl

M and M Direct Catalogue shoot

Image
Hey Guys, So, after a very unsuccessful nights sleep it was time for the job this morning. As you saw by yesterdays post, the bed was literally from the 30's and had all the dents in the mattress to show for it! Lovely hey?! ha. The evening before did go to a lovely Indian restaurant where myself and the make up artist had a huge meal, so was fully prepared for the shoot and the 104 different outfit changes I was due during the day!!! That's what catalogue work is like, loads of different outfit changes, but very easy work. I have worked for M & M Direct a lot in the past and have shot for their catalogue continually for the last 6 months. They are an excellent client as the work is easy and the client and all the people on the shoot are great. It's kind of like a family with us all, and I know how corny that probably sounds, but its very true. We all get on extremely well, banter flying around all day even if people start getting a bit tired, never too tired to throw a

Living the high life

Image
Hey Guys, Feeling in a very sensible mood today, I decided to drive up to Leominster in Herefordshire early today for my job tomorrow. I thought I would get myself settled in the hotel and ready to put the football on my laptop and watch that for the rest of the afternoon. What an error that was!!! Being sensible just doesn't ever seem to work out for me one bit. I arrive on time to the hotel in the town that I call the "ghost" town, and walk in and theres no lights! The power has gone from the entire hotel! No sign of it coming on again so another hotel seems to be the point of call. Now there's one over the road that's pretty awful but looks the next best option! So, after a call to the client, who I've worked for a lot and their all really nice, he meets me and books me in. What a hole! Room is spacious (no sarcasm for once) but the corridor to the room seriously smells like they've been keeping goats in there!!! Its unbelievable! That horrible smell th

Quiet week then - James Green is a Cowboy!

Image
Hey guys, So extremely quiet week for me this week, happens sometimes in the industry and when it does it gets increasingly frustrating I have to say. No castings at all for over a week now, which is never a good sign and always means I'm relying on my regular clients to come up trumps and book me for a job of some sort. I have been told it could have something to do with the elections....hmmmmm I'm unsure on that one myself, as companies still need to advertise and there is certainly other guys I know still modelling so not too sure how that works. Anyways... This quiet week involved me being struck down with a stomach bug, caught off my Dad who suffered from it Sunday and the whole family has had it too, we're dropping like flys the Green's!!!! Never pleasant, but on a quiet week not the worst timing I have to say. I had a small job though on Friday for a book cover. This is something I have done before, last time as a vampire, and this time as you can see by the titl

Works Drying Up - bad times

Image
Hey Guys, I had a comment saying that I sounded a bit down in my last update and have to say its true. Work has dried up a bit the last couple of weeks and it always gets me down. Sometimes it gets really hard when I see other people on job's especially jobs abroad and when you don't even get sent to the castings is really tough to take and becomes frustrating to my agency. However, there is always a reason for not sending me as they have been absolutely fantastic for me, just with nothing else going on makes u start thinking and thinking. Starts affecting my whole life at times and certainly has done especially the past week. Anyways, just got to knuckle down and my plan is to just work hard in the gym to keep me in shape so that I look as good as possible for when I do eventually have castings. Plus got my presenting to keep me busy and its about time I started to use the free time I've got productively to plan for the future, the boring stuff like finances and receipts a

My Birthday

Hey, So this week I celebrated turning 26. Yes the later half of the 20's and edging closer to that magic 30 number! It's so different when you get older and it's just not the same to have your birthday anymore and to celebrate in style. Well I don't think so anyway. Day started like a completely normal day, quite lonely, no one special to spend it with, which if I'm honest was very tough. But I tried hard to forget about that and start worrying how much I had going on in the afternoon, preparing the night out and a casting and an audition for a new show (which I will keep quiet about until I find out if it will happen, which I will know by May 20th). I was very happy to spend my birthday lunch with my Dad for an hour, just a flying visit but that was all I could do as was rushing around town after that. I had a nice evening though and was very grateful for my friends for turning up and much appreciated them being there. Had fun I guess which was the main thing and

Mattys Stag do in Sheffield - What a weekend

Image
Hey Guys, What a weekend! Quite possibly one of the best weekends of my life! And that's saying something trust me. Back to University city of Sheffield. It's been just under 5 years since we all were leaving University in 2005. Seems a lifetime ago! We have all kept in touch, not as much as always, but still had a couple of catch ups a long the way. But absolutely none were like this. I think it's definitely a sign of getting older when your mates start getting married and it's the first one out of the mates I had at university to do so. But obviously hasn't happened yet and we had the joy of the stag do before the real thing. But my weekend started on the Friday and I made my way up to Sheffield, remembering the whole way up there without the tom tom, and arrived in the afternoon. The city looks a lot different and there have been a lot more buildings been put up and the city is ever growing and turning into a really nice city. I started by meeting up with an old

Jeff Banks Presentation last Thursday

Image
Hey Guys, I am extremely sorry for my week off on the blog front, been a ridiculously hectic week I tell you, and about to get even busier too! Anyways big updates today and going back into a job a had last week on Thursday evening. Booked for a Jeff Banks presentation in Birmingham on Thursday. I have done one of these before in Bristol, which was extremely quiet, but a very easy job. Jeff Banks uses these presentations to sell custom made suits to people and offers special offers for people at the event inside Debenhams. My role in this is to stand in a tailored suit to my sizes and be on hand for Jeff to show potential clients certain aspects to the suit. I do this with one other model who happens to be Stuart who I was on Shipwrecked with those many years ago. So, for us it's nice to have a catch up. Arrive on the train and sit with the hair stylist who is absolutely lovely and have worked with her many times before, and the hair stylist, again a really nice person and very fri

Problem with Planning and the week ahead

Hey guys, Can you finally believe the weather has finally got better?! It's amazing! Not good for how my flat is which is like a Greenhouse when the sun is out! Anyways...so I thought I would write about a certain problem with my job and how it affects all parts of my life. It's the simple thing called planning. It is near on impossible to plan anything when you have my job, as things keep cropping up left right and center. I have to check in with my agency between 5pm and 6pm every day, this is to see if I have any castings for that day. Now some of these castings could be worth a lot of money if I get lucky and get the job, so it's vital that I go to as many castings as possible. This often means messing up plans made for the day afterwards, whether with friends, a girlfriend, even hospital appointments to do with my knee (which I have been referred to for an operation which completely sucks). It can become increasingly frustrating, but it is a sacrifice I have to make if

John Lewis Presentation - Friday

Hey Guys, I realised I had a good old moan about Gilette and the job I had on Southend Beach Wednesday, so here's me very happy with the job I did on Friday. It was a John Lewis presentation and the easiest job I think I have ever had. Paid on an hourly rate for this job as its usually 2 hours that they need you there for as I've worked one before. This time they wanted me there at half 9 (2 hours before the proposed call time), and I wasn't actually needed for my role in the presentation until 1pm!!! Simple. Result!!! And certainly brought about a big smile on my face. I had a small run through of what I had to do and it was extremely simple. Music plays, I walk down with a little girl in hand on one side and the female model walks down with a little boy in hand, all dressed in John Lewis clothes. We have to weave our way through all these people as it was a very big presentation and then stand on stage. Walk forward each in turn so the presenter talked through our clothes

Gillette - All the issues!!!

Hey Guys, So, as I said yesterday I had an interesting casting and it was for a Gilette commercial. Its worth a lot of money, a 5 figure sum which is unbelievable. However, Gilette, who are a world wide company and absolutely huge, are not very good at organising shoots, or making their mind up about who they want for a job. The reason for all this is that Gilette have TWICE confirmed me for a job and cancelled me. Now this is the most frustrating thing ever as they have all been commercials. And as you saw at the start of this post the sums of money we're talking are life changing (seriously can be). The first one wasn't too long after I started modelling. Big commercial, worth a lot of money. Confirmed for the job, sent all the details, hotel and flight details as it was a job in Prague for a week, told everyone about it (which is a lesson I have learnt to not do now) and all of a sudden on a Sunday afternoon day before the job I get a voice message left on my phone by the cl

M & M Direct shoot - Southend Beach!

Image
Hey guys, I'm going to be careful how I write this because I know that some people do not like their jobs, some people get a bit bored being stuck in an office and others just can't stand it. My job has so many ups to it I must admit, traveling round a lot, sometimes very good pay and get to meet some amazing people. BUT....................... This job was hard work!!! Southend Beach, when the wind is blowing and its freezing cold, modeling summer outfits, shorts t-shirts and flip flops, was such a nightmare. Honestly, when you work when your hungry its hard to get through. Same when your thirsty. Lastly, when your tired it's probably the 2nd worse feeling. But working when your freezing cold, shivering is ridiculous. To be fair the crew were all very nice and helped to cover me in a blanket at times, they were all very cold too. Was tough for everyone though must admit, as it was typical English weather and at the end of the day we needed to get the shots done. We had like

So Busy - sad weekend for me - but more work

Hey guys, Apologies for the delay in posting something. I have seriously been unbelievably busy since Friday. Went home for the weekend to see my family and more importantly play football. Which unfortunately for me has meant my season is over too as I have damaged my cartilage in my right knee and may require an operation. This has really brought me down I must admit and means I cant to any running on it at all at the moment either. This makes it hard going to the gym and exercising to keep myself in shape, which brings me down even more. Anyway, I know I need to look on the bright side, but its not too bright apart from presenting work being busy and the job I've got on tomorrow at the glamorous Southend on Sea ha ha. I was absolutely gutted to miss out on going to Majorca as my previous post said, but who knows maybe something big is just waiting to happen you never ever know. I've had an extreme lack of sleep the last few days, which is no good for anyone and certainly turn

Castings Update

Image
Hey guys, So today I found out that unfortunately I did not get the Sony job in Mallorca. Very gutted cause would of been a great trip and a really good job to do as well. But good thing is one of my mates I model with who is at the same agency got it, so happy for him, would certainly rather miss out to a mate than to someone I didn't know. So its Southend bound for me on Wednesday! Slight problems with my job on Wednesday. This is where the industry at the moment can be very frustrating and where the problems of the credit crunch last year are continually showing their affects. A year ago I did exactly the same job for this catalogue and was paid a certain amount. Now, they are trying to make me take a cut for the job because their budget has dropped. Now, this is a tough situation to be in, because yes it's still a job and it's good to keep working, but its like someone in a full time job taking a pay cut to do the exact same job as they were doing a year ago, you wouldn

Thank you for all the messages

Hey guys, Just want to quickly say thank you to those of you who have messaged me saying they are enjoying reading my blog. Means a lot to know people are interested in what I'm writing. If there is anything you would like me to answer or talk about then feel free to put a comment on, or send me a message on fb or twitter as a lot of you have done. Thanks again James

3 Castings Today - Mixed Bag completely!

Image
Hey guys, As I spoke about castings a couple of days a go and what to expect, well I had 3 of them today. 1. For M & M Direct. Now, I have worked a lot for M & M before, and recently quite a lot too. I have done a lot of work for their catalogue recently and if you ever saw the March issue, you will see when I say a lot, I mean a lot! I was fortunate to be stuck up at their offices and studios in Leominster, Herefordshire, when we had all the bad weather. This meant I stayed up there for a few days extra and shot loads for the,. Really nice people to work with as well. Ive also shot the front cover and a few pages inside on locations for them before as well. And this is what the casting was for. The good times to casting is when you get there, know the people casting as I've worked with them before and you can talk on a much more personal level with them. The shoot is going to be in Southend -on-Sea (glamorous hey?!) ha. After trying on some clothes and chatting about what