We first spotted this stud in Thomas Knights' Red Hotcalendar and book series. It seems Alex Mountain got started by doing Prince Harry look-alike work in the U.K., and things took off from there. "I worked in a pub and people used to say it to me a fair bit, so I got a friend to take some shots of me and I sent them off to an agency," the 26-year-old model from Surrey, England, explained in a recent interview with GuysLikeU.com. "I always had the opinion that I wasn't photogenic! I hated looking at myself in photos so I was kind of nervous about my friends ever seeing the shots."
He does have a day job (a personal trainer and operations manager for Hair For Men, a barbershop franchise), but he keeps on modeling. He went on to explain what the Red Hot calendar experience did for his career:
"Someone once said to me that I looked like Greg Rutherford and was I in the Red Hot calendar. I had no idea what they were talking about so went online and saw what Thomas had been doing and thought I'd take a gamble and message him. I basically said 'I hear you are missing a month in your calendar' and sent him a shot of me. I got a reply back really quick just saying let's book you in.... And it went from there! I love Thomas!"
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Well it seems we all like to look. Also, in case you're wondering, Mountain says he goes for "cheeky" guys:
"The usual guy I would go for would be older than me... Age isn't important to me but I tend to find that what I find attractive in men usually... Not always ... But usually comes with a bit of life experience! I like guys to be confident within themselves. Fit and healthy are a plus but my main attraction is always the person inside, integrity honesty and drive are more attractive than abs in my opinion. But initial physical attractions are, broad frame, big arms, captivating smile and a cheeky/naughty glint in their eye!"
Here's five more things we learned from the interview.
On whether being a red head would hinder his chances at modeling:
People always commented on my hair saying how unique it was so it was always a good thing in modeling. But having red hair gave people the opportunity to take the piss out of me growing up! But being ginger has been a massive bonus for modelling.
On beefing up and being conscious about his physique:
I've always been conscious about how I look from an early age so I think I've always been in relatively good shape. But there is definitely a push from the industry to fall into certain categories of body shape so you do get pressure to look a certain way, be it self imposed or from a critique.
On dealing with rejection:
It's definitely tough being a model as it's purely based on looks, so it can put you in a very insecure place when you aren't feeling your best! But I have been very lucky and got most of the castings I've gone for. But I have found that a lot of models are really insecure because their lively hood is based on something that is constantly changing so it can be really hard sometimes. I mean, I was once told that I had obviously enjoyed the mince pies over Christmas a bit too much, and that for me was like a smack in the face. Consequently I no longer eat mince pies....haha!
On other gay models and homophobia in the industry:
Most of my mates that are models are gay, although I have loads of straight mates that do it, too. I've not come across any homophobia but that doesn't mean when you are out the room it doesn't happen.
On whether being naked in shots means people want to take advantage:
You know what it is ... Being naked gives people the opportunity to forget that you are also human and have feelings. If you bare all, people tend to think they have some sort of right or entitlement to judge you or comment on things that might actually be really self conscious about. It can also sometimes remove barriers that you would normally have between you and a room full of camera crew and complete strangers. Rather liberating actually... In all honesty I love being naked and as soon as I'm home my clothes come flying off so it really doesn't bother me!
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