Roman Kemp recalls 'soul-crushing' modelling experience
Roman Kemp has opened up about his experiences as a teenage model.
Roman Kemp's modelling experience was "soul crushing".
The 32-year-old TV star modelled during his teenage years, fronting campaigns for the likes of Topman and ASOS - but Roman never enjoyed the pressures and demands of the industry.
He said on the About You? podcast: "I was doing castings ... You’d walk into these rooms with a piece of card the size of a birthday card - it would have your picture on it and your measurements.
"You'd walk in and it'd be like X Factor. You've got a group of fashionistas who do not acknowledge you. They do not say hello to you. They barely even look at you. They make you feel like you're just a piece of s***.
"Then the person running it would go, 'Take your top off!' So you’re just stood there in your boxers while they pass your card around.
"Then they’d tell you to walk up and down. The most soul-crushing bit was waiting to see if they put their hand up to keep your card. Like, oh yeah, maybe I’ll call you back. It was awful."
Roman started comparing himself, and his looks, to other models, as he struggled to cope with the pressures.
He said: "I used to watch people go in and think, he’s better looking than me, what’s the point of me being here? I hated the industry. Absolutely hated it."
Although Roman has subsequently enjoyed huge success in the radio and TV industries, some of his early experiences continue to haunt him.
He shared: "I can't look at a picture of myself if it's on the day because it will upset me for the rest of the day. Because then I know what I look like for the rest of that day. I can look at a picture that was taken two weeks ago.
"Even with The One Show, they'll throw to a video tape of me doing something somewhere else. And everyone will go, you should watch it. I have to avoid the screen. I cannot look at it because it will put me off. I'll be judging everything. It won't be about what I'm actually doing, it'll be about how I look. I don't want to live like that."
