You are here15 minutes of fame for homogeneity
15 minutes of fame for homogeneity
Update:
I just got a follow-up email which explains a few points. Check it:
ha.
i like your modifications and amendments to the post.
really, this kid can be the real deal or a posseur. he's gotta be a hip austin guy. maybe he wears jorts. either way, he has the kind of bike a messenger would use. he is perhaps multi-cultural. he can smile. he has a personality.
i need to get crankin' on this because auditions are tomorrow at 12:30 and i need at least 7 - 10 good options for the big wig LA director.
thanks for your uber assistance.
So they need 7-10 of y'all. How many "real" messengers does Austin have, anyway? If you're a fakenger and want to get in on this, shoot Erin an email with a picture of your badass self.
Hey y'all, if you're a bike messenger, male, short haired and have NO visible tattoos (or any other marks of oddness or dissimilarity, I assume) then you might want to apply for this tomorrow:
I am an agent assisting a client (Southwest Airlines) in finding a real bike messenger for a national commercial shooting in Austin.
Is there a way you could post this info to your blog? It will be a great opportunity for the right guy!
Looking for a male bike messenger in his early 20s for a national commercial shoot. No visible tattoos. Short hair. Any ethnicity. Auditions are tomorrow (Saturday) at 12:30 in South Austin. (Must be on your bike). Please email a current photo for consideration.
Contact: Erin Franklin 431 3129.
There you have it folks. If you're one of the small sliver of the cycling population that's:
a) a REAL honest-to-goodness bike messenger (not just some dude with a tiny hat and a huge bag)
b) the possessor of a short, well-kept haircut
c) packin' heat of the phallic variety
d) un-blemished by the tattooists needle
e) not been savaged by the harshness of the passage of time, past the point of twenty years or so
f) any shade of the united colors of benetton rainbow
...then this might just be the opportunity of a lifetime. And I'm going to give you no end of shit for it. I swear, about the only thing the ad DIDN'T specify was the subject's sexual orientation...
Lame. Lame.
I think this person showed up at Fast Friday and found a guy to do this ad. He was wearing skinny jeans, he said because his other clothes were in the dryer and he grabbed his girl friend's jeans. I think that may be bullshit. At the time he was riding a BMX. Everybody thought it was a little odd and funny.
At an old job, I used to have to deal with that Ms. Franklin, and she constantly stunned me with her cluelessness and lack of professionalism. I'm sure in her fantasy world, there are plenty of clean-cut bike messengers with no tats, but in ours, young dudes are going to brave the tattoo gun before they brave traffic hours each day.
Currently, 5 out of 10 messengers have visible tattoos (I'm not counting Bret's little ankle bracelet). Different companies have different rules regarding appearance. One company used to make its couriers cover their visible tattoos and wear uniforms. Couriers have been fired in the past (at least partially) for slovenly appearance. My point is the job does require a certain amount of professionalism: since basically anyone can carry something from point A to point B, customer satisfaction becomes very important in retaining clients (especially in Austin where there is so little work to go around).
http://theybar.blogspot.com
...want to comment on this badly but I was thinking yo...my tats aren't visible and with some dental work and sunglasses I look as young as you lil' punks...what's that adress again? AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!
LAMEEE!!! lol@life
... didn't say much about the bike. Fixie? Gears? Single speed? Brakes?
Tall-bike? Pedi-cab? Cruiser? 'bent? (Of course, most of these aren't used
by bike messengers, but still ... I'll bet most of them have more than one bike!)
... didn't ask what you drank, or smoked, or anything else.
... I assume short hair rules out no hair?
... must all limbs and digits be intact?
... how about piercings? scars? scarification? other body modifications?
... must you have two working eyes?
I guess `real' bike messenger rules out the poseurs.