Name: Gabriel Vaughn
Age: 31
Height: 6’2”
Hometown: New Philadelphia, Ohio
Agency: Taylor Kelsaw Management
Instagram: @Gabriel_Vaughn
1. How did you get into modeling?
I was in high school when modeling first piqued my interest. America’s Next Top Model was very popular at the time—and while I didn’t watch it, amateur Next Top Model competitions (NTMs) were pretty popular on MySpace. The site moderator would choose a cycle of about 12 models that applied to compete, and each week they would give out assignments to the selected models. For example, the theme that week might be “Colors,” and then each model was assigned a different color to take a photo to represent it. Once everyone turned their photos in, they would go up in a special album where anyone would be able to vote for their favorites, and the model with the least amount of votes would be eliminated. I ended up getting second place in the first NTM I entered and I was hooked since then. A model I had met through doing these competitions expressed to me that she thought I would have a good shot at modeling professionally, so shortly after I got to college, I made a profile on ModelMayhem.com. There I started connecting with real photographers and building my portfolio before I eventually moved to New York City to pursue my career further.
2. What are you doing if you are not modeling?
If I’m not at the gym, I’m playing video games. My Nintendo Switch goes everywhere I go. I’ve been a gamer my whole life and I’ve always been a huge fan of Nintendo games—like Super Mario, Pokémon, Animal Crossing, the Legend of Zelda, etc, etc.
3. The most spontaneous/difficult/strange thing you’ve ever done?
This is a tough question to answer… I was very much a wild child when I was younger. Once in high school, a group of friends and I went streaking, and then before putting our clothes back on, we decided to break into a house just to look around. There was a family asleep inside and we were still naked, but that didn’t stop us! After exploring for a bit, I ended up kicking a radiator and bleeding all over the carpet and my friend Jessica thought it was so funny she started peeing on the floor. We got out of there pretty quickly after that. All completely sober, by the way. I think that’s the craziest thing I’ve ever done, but it’s also a pretty long list.
4. What’s your life motto?
To enjoy it. I believe we are put in this earth to experience and enjoy as much of it as we can in our short time here. To explore, make friends, play sports, create art. To have fun.
5. Describe your personal style – Favorite Brands/Fragrance/or?
I like to describe my style as masculine, but like, in a peacock way. I’ve always been a fan of bright colors, and bold prints and patterns, and I love mixing and matching them to suit how I’m feeling. I take a lot of inspiration from maximalism—so I don’t often place any emphasis on any one brand. You can find great pieces anywhere.
6. What genre of music best describes you?
I feel like I have to say pop music. I’m generally pretty upbeat and fun, but pop is such a wide genre, and I also take inspiration from everywhere. Pop is made up of a little country, punk, r&b, disco, hip hop, and every other genre mixed in, and I think that translates to me well, too.
7. Where are your roots – The best thing about/to do in your hometown?
My roots are in a small farm town in Ohio. There honestly isn’t much to do, but I still enjoy visiting when I can. Aside from my family and friends there, it’s just a nice quiet town nestled in the lush forests of the Ohio Valley. It’s a beautiful area and I’ll get lost driving along back country roads. Though as much as I love it there, I’m definitely more comfortable in NYC.
8. Do you have one celebrity you would like to get busy with!
No, not really. I’m very happy in the relationship I have now 🙂
9. Do you have any special talents?
I have a lot of random talents. I ran the hurdles on my college’s varsity track team so I’m good at that! But I also play piano, I’ll ride my longboard from time to time, I love to cook. Oh, I guess I can stand on my head, is that a special talent?
10. What do you think is the most interesting engaging thing online at the moment?
I was actually lamenting recently about how much less fun it is to be online now than when I was younger. I used to be able to get online and see posts from my friends; their thoughts, feelings, opinions, jokes. Now the only thing you see online are viral posts, one after the other. It’s interesting how the internet has shifted over the last decade from emphasizing the connections you have with people you’ve met over the course of your life, to now just a big open space full of people you don’t know and will never meet. Being exposed to content from outside your usual realm does make for pretty interesting, engaging online discourse I suppose, but it feels much less personal than it ever used to.
Photo credits:
Sean Watters
Bobby Augustine
Teai Warner
Marlee Cumbee
Terry Smith (Americ’s Finest Kids)
Jesus Baez for Carolyn Rowan menswear
Dani Venen (TheEditorialStyle)
Eden Estes featuring designer and designs by Street Stains