The Lirfon’s team comes together once more to showcase their latest collection in a piece entitled Paranoid. Styled by Iren Lirfon’s and photographed by Olga Lirfon’s, model/designer Michael Tintiuc opens up his world for a closer look at the new arrivals to hit Lirfon’s online store.
What's your full name?
Michael Tintiuc
How old are you?
I’m 22 years old.
Where are you from?
Born and raised in Chisinau, Moldova.
How/When did you start modeling?
I turned 18 in 2007. I was a teenager who was skateboarding, playing video games on my Sony PlayStation, drawing and listening to Pink Floyd and The Ramones. In my country the fashion industry and modeling are not well developed, that’s why I decided to go to Moscow, Russia. While being geographically the nearest well developed city to my home country, I thought that it’s a good place to start. My friends at LIRFON’S design group convinced me to try myself as a model. We shot my first book and I had no success whatsoever for the first six months. The look of a tall, skinny, long-haired skater in tight pants was not in demand and looked quite different in comparison to big, muscular men that are successful in the Russian modeling scene. On one of such castings I met another model – Kiril Vychkin, at that time his look didn’t fit among other guys as well. He took a look at my book and invited me to his friends fashion show, the label was called “White Trash For Cash”. Within several days after the show I received a phone call from my future first agent. We shot a couple of new pictures and polaroids for my future agencies and within a month I moved from Moscow to NY, represented by Public Image, which at that time was one of the best, if not the best agency in NY.
Did you ever think you could be a model?
Before I became one, no. When I was younger I dreamt of becoming a professional skateboarder or an actor. Within time, skateboarding became more of a hobby to me, as growing up I understood that one of the most important things in my life is art, in all of it’s shapes and forms. I started studying painting, took private classes and I was diving into music, fashion, design and esoteric knowledge as deep as I could. But I’m still moving forward to my dream of becoming an actor.
What agency/s are you with?
NY @ RED
Paris @ SUCCESS
Milan @ WHY NOT
London @ FM
Barcelona @ UNO
What's your daily routine?
That’s a good one. To be honest, I don’t remember the last time my day was planned out, probably school. I personally think that if your day is planned out by other people or any circumstances rather then by your own will, it’s cutting your feeling of freedom in the first place. And such condition would not dispose a man to any kind of inspiration or creativity by any means. I’m not a fan of planning out my day; I’m not a robot or a machine. But I respect those whose success was achieved due to their ability to correctly plan their day and life. According to Gandhi, only every-day self-discipline builds the correct order, which afterwards affects the outer events. My job implies frequent flights to different countries of the world and I have no choice but try to get used to the time difference. That’s why any kind of routine or plan that I could have would be completely destroyed at any given time. But most certainly, if I have a job I will surely be there on time. Considering my every-day life…I eat when I’m hungry, I don’t sleep for days if I want to spend that time composing music and if there’s a possibility, why not spend 2-3 days on a healthy rest afterwards.
What are your hobbies?
Not considering skateboarding, all of my hobbies eventually became a part of LIRFON’S. I also play guitar, harmonics, compose music and write lyrics, I do photography, shoot videos, practice web design and programming, designing custom shoes. I might say that reading the following writers is a hobby as well - Carl Gustav Jung, Sigmund Freud, Carlos Castaneda.
What were you like at school?
I think that I was the student that either was loved or hated, both by teachers and classmates.
From the entire spectrum of subjects I enjoyed English and Chemistry the most.
How did LIFRON'S come about?
LIRFON’S is an abbreviation. The name and the group was created in 2003. We were teenage friends, different but united, united by love for art, music and belief that if there’s anything to do in life than it’s something that’s considered impossible. We wanted to merge our ideas into something worthy and dignified. The words of Omar Khayyam are the fundamental rule that unified us then and still keeps us together: You’d better be starving rather than eat whatever there is and you’d better be alone rather than with whomever.