Guest Ghost : Yuri Pleskun, model @ Request
[Ed. Note: Yuri Pleskun is a model born in Russia and raised in The Bronx. He was discovered riding the subway, and since then has modeled for Topshop, Marc by Marc Jacobs, cK One, and Balenciaga among others.]
“I got scouted on the subway in New York very early in the morning. In the beginning, I didn’t want to model, but I did it because of the money. There have been so many great experiences I’ve had, I couldn’t name just one. I like traveling and meeting people, and the spontaneous part of the job, the non-routine like ways of this job.
I’m born and raised in New York. I really love the genuineness and the rawness in Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx. You tend to find more real people there than you do anywhere in the city, just because people are more isolated there. In the city, the career choices are more about people helping you get on whereas in the hoods, as I say, you don’t have the opportunity for someone to reach out to you and bring you up, so everyone fends for themselves. Because of that you see more of reality than of the façades of people’s imaginations of themselves or their perception of how people should be. “ – Yuri Pleskun to Shop Ghost
Yuri’s Tips For Summer in the Bronx:
1. Comfortable
“I dress comfortable– jeans and simple tee shirts with no graphics and sneakers all year round. It’s cool to look at other peoples’ style and see different things, but I couldn’t imagine myself taking another person’s style because it’s not me.”
2. Look at a Rap Video
“My friends dress like they’re from the Bronx. They wear the occasional Prada sneakers, the Gucci shades, you know how it is. Just look at a rap video, and you’ll see exactly how they look.”
3. Pack Light
“I spend my money on my friends the most. I’m actually planning a trip for all of us. I want to go to an island maybe, somewhere outside of America because my friends have never left New York…. I’m only packing swim shorts. That’s all you really need.”
4. Show Some Skin
“I like girls to wear nothing. Aboslutely nothing! [laughs] I like stilettos, short skirts, anything that shows little bit of cleavage. Anything that shows skin, I like.”
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