Hot List 2012: Matthew Terry

Photograph by Kristiina Wilson

Before he landed his current job, modeling jeans and underwear for Calvin Klein in a jaw-dropping ad campaign in print and on billboards everywhere, New Jersey native Matthew Terry was a college student and aspiring personal trainer with only a vague inkling that his chiseled features might come in handy elsewhere.

"I had ideas about modeling, and people thought I should give it a shot, but I was always putting it off," Terry explains.

He wasn't the only one with his eye on a career in modeling. Unbeknownst to him, his mother was also sending out his photos--a move that got him his first photo shoot. With lightning speed, he landed his current star-making gig at Calvin Klein. And although the job, which came with a yearlong contract, has put the model's face (and other parts) on display all over the world, Terry -- who lives in Pennsylvania with his older brother -- has trouble believing his success.

"I remember the first time I was in New York City," he says, "I was looking around and saw all these billboards and thought, I really want to do that. And now the sky's the limit."

Calvin Klein Underwear Bold: Calvin Klein, a brand deeply rooted in a streamlined minimalism, is embracing its over-the-top side this summer with the launch of its latest underwear collection, Bold. Tighty-whities, you say? Uh-uh. This assortment of color-saturated briefs includes lemony yellows, cobalt blues, and neon pinks, each accented with a black waistband, to add an exciting pop under your day-to-day ensembles. CalvinKlein.com