Today we’d like to introduce you to Tyler Rudd.
Hi Tyler, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Every small town has at least one kid that wants to be a star and never shuts up about it. That was me in Batesville, Mississippi. Being told to pursue a “realistic” career path countless times made me believe that my creative passions were to be ashamed of until 2017 while on my lunch break at work. I have always been passionate about creative writing and filmmaking. I wanted to learn every aspect of both. So, I moved to LA the summer of 2018 and enrolled in film school. During school, I met a working model that suggested I should model as well. Modeling was always a curiosity of mine. Yet, I never saw myself as one. In my mind at the time, you had to be insanely attractive to succeed in a modeling career. I felt I was far from that.
October of 2018, I had my first photoshoot with a friend from school and I knew I could succeed in the modeling business. So, I decided to take the angle of many successful celebrities such as: Keith Powers, Broderick Hunter, and Robert Pattenson. They started out as models and later branched off into different areas of success. That is why I am on such a heavy pursuit of a modeling career. It has become another passion of mine and I will not stop until I get it.
It took me annoyingly long to get on the right track of how to properly go about it. However, I feel I am closer than ever. LA fashion week, awesome photoshoots, etc. I get constant Confirmation that I am on the right track.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Figuring everything out on my own. I did not know anyone that could point me in the right direction of how to execute my plans. Therefore, I had to take many L’s and waste my time in some aspects. I was a background actor for a year full-time. The unpredictable/ bare-bones schedule was so stressful. I lost so much weight. I only had time to focus on that and before I knew it, a year flew by of struggling to pay rent. Not eating properly. Constantly at the Red Med for dehydration. I also met scammers that prey on peoples’ dreams. I fell into some modeling contracts of startup agencies that had no clients.
I will say that I underestimated how hard it would be to even sign with a legit modeling agency. Ultimately, there’s a lot I had to learn and still learning!
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a creative writer (short stories, scripts, poems). I am an aspiring director. I am an independent model. In film school, I was known as “The horror guy” because all of my scripts fell into that category. Horror movies are fun. However, I am so much more than a potential Jordan Peele Jr. I can write and have written any genre and they’re certainly interesting.
As a director, my only experience (currently) is in film school. Having a psychology degree certainly helps with directing. It’s all about making the actor comfortable and steering them into the angle you envision. It’s not manipulation, it’s actually a partnership. It’s putting your minds together to bring a fictional character to life.
As a model, I still am not sure what my angle is yet. There are so many categories: editorial, runway, commercial, fitness, etc. I just be myself. I do photoshoots that show different sides of me and go from there. All I know is, somebody likes it. Hell, I’m constantly noticed by people in the industry. I’m flattered, but one of them needs to go ahead and send me a DM on Instagram so we can get this show on the road!
What are your plans for the future?
I am blessed to have met people in the fashion industry such as successful black male models and well-known photographers. However, most of these people are based in New York. I face the haunting question of moving there to get my career off the ground. Since writing and film are my true loves, I find conflict in the thought of leaving LA. Especially since I’ve never been to New York and I hear it’s a totally different ball game of survival. I plan to continue to put myself out there with the knowledge I have gained and to go with the flow (as scary as that sounds, it’s worked for me to not worry so much because YOLO).
Contact Info:
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: Guy_nextdoor
- Twitter: TylerRudd15
- Youtube: Tyler Douglass
- Other: TIKTOK : Tyleridus
Image Credits:
Instagram Usernames: Second photo @Rodhimself & @the0nlyfish Third photo @losxangelo Fourth photo @enfoque_lumiere
