La Habra, CA, by Py -
Big Abe's Kuya Model Expo 2 is the first major import model expo of the year and it lead with a strong showing of lots of models, packed crowd, awesome show cars, and cool vendors. The venue was held at the
R1-Concepts company at La Habra, CA, where cool brake rotors and pads are made.
Instead of being inside a hotel conference room, this time it was chosen to be at an open air venue at R1-Concepts company. The weather could not be more perfect for an event. At first, it was sunny, a little bit hot, but then in the afternoon, it turned with a cool overcast. Both provided great photo lighting for us. We could not be happier with this arrangement which the nature gave us!
R1-Concepts location is inside an industrial district with sprawling warehouses and manufacturing shops. The place is in a cul de sac area, which is perfect for lining up cool and heavily modified and decorated cars. The drive way is straight and about a truck width wide, which is ideal for setting up two rows of model lounge and vendor tables. After you entered the gate, you would immediately greeted by the gorgeous models, and if you turned left, you then see R1-Concepts busy models, Melyssa Grace, our cover model, and Amber Alvarez, our feature model!
It's so great to see both of them again.
Melyssa Grace has been busy with her charity work for the Haiyan Typhoon relief events, as well as her drifting activities. She always looks so amazing and has created countless amazing photos with us! She is indeed at the top of the industry!
Amber Alvarez just came back from Taiwan of her international tour for her highly famed go-go dancing talents! We asked if she had any jet lag from the trip, and she said that she has a magical way of preventing it with a smile. She looked super refreshing and happy as a lark! Our cover model,
Brie Williams, was also at the expo for
Spocom. Brie is a super rising star and many great things are happening or are going to happen to her. We are very proud that our magazine is her first magazine cover feature! We could not wait to see how far she can go and how high she can jump! She is definitely very talented and deserves all the great recognition!
At the two model lounges separated by a catwalk stage, there were many models who we were super happy to see again or have never seen before or sometimes we were scratching our heads at... It's totally awesome to see
Marie Alvarez, Serena Su, Raquel Estralla, Ashley Clark to name a few... They are the prime representatives of the golden time that we enjoy over the last couple of years. Not only they look amazing, they are fun to chat with, and the photos are always so stunning! Definitely check out the photos in the full article as well as our individual coverage of the models!
As predicted in our
2014 Top 6 Trend and Forecasts article,
new models are coming up like bamboo shoots in the spring time. We applaud this trend and are glad to see the new talents showing up in the scene. However, we do have some
modeling advice for the newbies who are serious about this path of fame or nominal monetary rewards:
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make yourself presentable, and super package yourself, especially in this picture-first industry
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learn some basic modeling skills, like how to pose and how to give memorable smiles
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be likable and interactive, because nobody feels the love if you are perceived uninterested
We understand that some of you may feel shy about being in front of the public. We say this; just treat everybody like a friend, and they will become a friend to you immediately.
Vendors and food stands joined the expo as well, making this expo a fun time for a sunny Saturday afternoon!
As the season opener, Kuya Model Expo 2 is a great success. It provided a floor for models to warm up to the big games, and photographers to rekindle their admiration to their beloved personalities and search for the next top models, and media people to have contents to report to their faithful readers, especially after a long drought of show period. Big Abe did a great job pulling together a great platform for models, fans, professionals and media to get together again in a huge way. We say "Great Job!" We definitely look forward to the next one!