The life of Kyle Dijkstra (22) from Rolde has been turned upside down in a few months. Last spring he registered without too high expectations with the international top model agency Elite from Amsterdam, the largest agency in the Netherlands. Last week he was allowed to go on the catwalk in Prague.
“I heard from friends and my girlfriend that I do have a model look,” says Kyle, at home in Rolde. “So on a random evening I googled ‘biggest modeling agency in the Netherlands’. And that was Elite. So I thought: you know what, I’ll send some photos.”
And that worked out pretty well. Kyle was immediately invited to a few Elite castings. Of the few hundred registrations, he was eventually declared the male winner.
He was given a contract and was allowed to participate in the prestigious Elite Model Look competition in Prague. “The news was announced via Instagram,” he says. Still as excited as then: “I suddenly saw myself on that page, and then I thought: what!?”
So let’s go to the glitter-and-glam spectacle in Prague, with the whole family. Elite winners from all over the world gathered there. An international winner was also chosen during this competition. “A really cool experience. I had to do photo shoots, and video shoots. But the main focus was how to walk on the catwalk.”
Kyle demonstrates: “There are a few things we had to pay attention to. A straight posture. Look at eye level, forward. And don’t swing your arms too much, just take a natural position.”
He is proud of the photos that have been taken. “You go from zero experience to this. That’s very nice to see.”
The top model in the making did not win the competition in Prague, but did sign his annual contract with Elite this week. And since he has a gap year after all, he can focus on this new adventure in the coming period. “The first few months it is mainly shooting shoots for my portfolio. And when that is completed people can book me.”