John Casablancas Modeling School
To Whom It May Concern:
I am new to modeling, so I am presently looking at an
agency called John Casablancas in Tampa. I have heard
little negative about them.
I do want to know if you would happen to have any information
on them. They charge for classes and quite a lot, too.
John Casablancas works with Elite. They are the biggies,
JC says.
If you have anything I might look at, completely backable
facts I can find, I'd like to read it, and see your sources
about them.
Like I said I'm new, but I would pay for it, not my
parents, and I'm unsure where to look.
D.B.
D.,
You said John Casablancas in Tampa is an agency. Is
that a fact? Do they have an agency license?
The BBB file for the only John Casablancas in Tampa,
Florida, said: "This company offers modeling, acting & personal
development."
Is it a school or an agency?
John Casablancas Modeling & Career Centers
5215 W Laurel St Ste 110
Tampa, FL 33607
The BBB record also said: "Additional Doing-Business-As
Names: Community Vocational Schools Of
Florida, Inc." Sounds like a school!
But then it also had another name under the same category: "John
Casablancas Modeling Agency, Inc."
You have got to be careful. There is a difference between
modeling schools and modeling agencies. There are modeling
agencies which are modeling agencies and modeling schools
(school is free), and there are modeling schools (you
have to pay) which are not modeling agencies.
Any time you pay money up front you are at risk of being
scammed. Does the JC in Tampa require upfront payments?
Or is payment due after you get work, taken from your
first paycheck?
You said: "I have heard little negative about them." Have
you done much research? Have you read any JC letters
on this website? Have you checked usenet?
Why not call Elite in New York? Get the facts you need
to know. It is easy to get their number. Ask them if
they run modeling schools in New York, or if they train
their models free.
If Elite says they train their models free, then ask
them if a model must be trained at a school (John Casablancas)
and graduate before they will sign them.
Don't you find it interesting that contestants for Elite's
annual contest, Look of the Year, do not require modeling
school (John Casablancas) attendance or graduation?
(You can check with Elite during your phone call; the
last thing I read about their contest said nothing about
a modeling school.)
Also ask Elite if they require modeling school (John
Casablancas) attendance or graduation to consider potential
models outside their annual Look of the Year competition.
To summarize, to get the facts, the questions to ask
Elite in New York are:
- 1. Do you run modeling schools in New York?
2. Do you train your models free?
3. Is modeling school required to enter the Look of the Year
competition?
4. Is modeling school required to get signed and represented
by Elite?
Based on their answers you should be able to figure
out what to do. What Elite says it does is worth a lot
more than what JC says it does.
To Whom It May Concern:
When I attended an open call for a modeling company,
I was so ecstatic to hear that they liked me.
They would spend five minutes with each person, who
had to show their pictures, and tell them a little about
themselves. The company would then rate each person,
A, B, or C:
A = eligible for company representation, meaning WORK
B = eligible for classes at the agency
C = not interested at the moment
So the next day they called me back, wanting to talk
a little more about the business. The lady gave me an
A rating, meaning I would most likely get real modeling
work over the next year.
She even told me the company would cover the costs of
my photographs. So, I thought I was in, and they really
liked my look.
I go in for a photo session, get pictures done, and
then they asked me for $1,000 up front if I wanted to
go any further with this process.
Later on I was told that the $1,000 was going towards
beneficial classes which would help a lot in the business,
and look stellar on a resumé.
So I figured it was beneficial and went along with it.
The $1,000 included pictures monthly, in addition to
classes for five months.
Well, I wouldn't use the word "beneficial" for
these classes. The quality was low, and the pictures
taken appeared unprofessionally done.
I was very disappointed, because the company, John
Casablanca's Modeling and Career Center, promised
me work in the first place, and didn't mention any
up front payments, and secondly, with the $1,000 I
didn't get anything to my benefit.
It's been almost two years since that open call day,
and I have gotten no work from them, and haven't heard
from them since they took my money.
I hope other aspiring models know that if any agency
asks for massive amounts of money up front, it's a scam,
no question about it.
I am still pursuing modeling, and still want to become
a model, but now I am even more aware and alert.
J.S.
To Whom It May Concern:
I signed up with the John Casablanca Modeling
and Career Center. It is required with
them to make the full payment of $1,600 before you
graduate from their modeling school.
So I made my full payment before I graduated, but now
they have sent my case to the collectors claiming that
I haven't paid.
Please help me. Any information or advice will be greatly
appreciated.
Thank you,
K.J.
K.,
Do you have receipts? Did John Casablancas not
give you a receipt when you paid? If you paid by credit
card or check, your bank or credit card company should
be able to help you provide proof of payment(s), and
it would then be easy to resolve this matter.
Full payment for the John Casablancas modeling school
should not be due until after you get work, but that's
another story. But they like upfront fees because it
presents no financial risk, and for them it's money in
the bank. Reputable agencies provide model training FREE.
To Whom It May Concern:
I looked at your site because my daughter, who is 12,
is interested in modeling.
I was shocked to find out that after all these years,
John Casablancas Centers are STILL doing what they did
to me 18 years ago!
In 1984, when I was 15, I sent some pictures to
Elite in New York.
Elite then contacted my mother, and told her to call
one of their "branch offices" in Louisville,
Kentucky.
The director of the Louisville office told me that John
Casablancas HIMSELF was interested in me, and wanted
me to spend the winter taking modeling courses, so that
I could come work in New York the following summer.
My mother spent a lot of money on these courses based
on this promise.
Every time I saw the director, she would tell me that
she and John had just been talking about me, and he couldn't
wait to meet me in person.
I took very ridiculous classes in how to put on makeup
and how to walk. After I "graduated" from this
freak school, John Casablancas did in fact come to Louisville,
and the director, Donna Mason, said he was coming to
meet ME.
When I showed up for the meeting, there was a lobby
full of about a hundred faces who were also going to
meet John.
As I talked with other people, I found out they had
been told the same thing I was told. I was absolutely
flabbergasted and embarrassed.
When I met with John, after being told continuously
for eight months prior to this that he was going to whisk
me away to New York, I found out during the meeting that
he didn't even know my name, had never seen my picture,
and had never discussed me going to New York with Donna
Mason.
He told me that I needed to get experience doing some
local modeling (in Louisville, Kentucky?? Please!), and
that he would see me next year, on his next visit.
I couldn't believe it. It crushed my self esteem. Not
only did I feel unattractive, but I felt very stupid.
My mother had told her friends and all our relatives
that I was going to spend the summer in New York modeling.
Friends at school then made fun of me and said I had
lied. I thought maybe I was too fat (I was young and
developing, I was not fat), and, as a result, this was
the start of an eating disorder and self-esteem issues
that lasted years.
I know it sounds insane that after my experience I would
want my daughter to get into modeling. But I have a cousin
who modeled for 14 years doing national commercials and
was on the cover of Italian Vogue... I know there are
legitimate agencies out there, it's just a matter of
finding them.
I can't believe John Casablancas is still in business.
What a shame.
R.C.
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