Dressed in black from head to toe, with his hair gelled and his feet in wingtips, Gene Markin looks every bit like the model he is.
"I like the attention, I like the spotlight," Markin says.
But tonight, he's not being a model -- he's picking them.
Although he's only a freshman in Wharton, he's there in Irvine Auditorium's Cafe 58 with Impresa Group Model and Talent Management, which he modeled for in March. As potentials straggle in, Markin jumps up to greet each one.
He's enjoying being "the guy who's running things."
"I want to own my own business," he says. "I can't sit in one place and do nothing. I need to have a project I'm working on."
He's certainly worked hard to get this project underway -- after discovering that posting fliers was slightly ineffective, he went straight to Wharton's top administrators and eventually got permission to e-mail the entire school. And then he did the exact same thing again, this time with the College.
But Markin's potentials aren't all as enthusiastic as he is, and many don't even know why they're here.
"Putting myself in the spotlight isn't the most comfortable thing for me," Wharton freshman Laura Hotaling says. "I don't think I have what it takes."
Two girls who requested that their names not be used both said they were there simply because boyfriends dared them to come.
"I'm just trying to validate the fact that I'm a giant," one says, hovering just under six feet tall. "To say, 'Oh, I think I can be a model'... it's obnoxious, especially in a university where we're supposed to value intelligence."
"I wanted to do it, but I always had a bit of a stigma about it," Hotaling adds.
Others still are just looking for an easier way to make a living. Take Nick Chan, a self-labeled "lazy" Engineering junior.
Chan says that he'd quit Penn if only he could land a job modeling, but adds laughing, "If a shot in a million comes."
And he's not the only one with the idea -- Chan brought his friend, CGS sophomore Pete Meyers, who in turn brought his friend, College junior Josh Latourette. All three are from the same high school in Cherry Hill.
The boys head downstairs to have their pictures taken. Impresa's photographer poses each in front of a window.
"Bring your head down a little bit," the photographer orders Latourette. "Kick out your legs a little more, you're just like 'fooo,' exhale. Give me a smile there, perfect, you're a natural.'"
Of the three, only Latourette has had any experience modeling. The summer before college, he was scouted by a modeling agency, but never did any work with it because he was going to school full-time in New York.
Now that he has transferred back to Philadelphia, he's ready to give modeling a second try.
Chan and Meyers have no experience at all, only interest.
But the lack of experience doesn't faze Markin -- he's willing to work with anyone who's tall. As his "Model Search" flyers state, 5'9" and up for female runway models, 6'0" for males.
"If you're interested in modeling, we'll take a look at you, see what we can do," he explains.
This time, Markin is scouting models for a fashion show in mid-May. A clothing store in New Hope, Pa., hired Impresa to manage this show, the proceeds of which will be donated to the orphans of the Sept. 11 tragedy.
Today, they are going to call back the people they loved and take some professional shots. "Today is just to take a look," Markin says. "Tomorrow is professional."
