Sun Jun 6
Alex Wells Interview
Undoubtedly the most confusing interview I’ve ever conducted, I now know the reason I’m completely at a loss when talking to any British tourists. Lucky none of them are short tempered. Alex Wells, one of the cooler, more laid back of the London Bunch (a group of English models whom I’ve dubbed the aforementioned including Alex Dunstan, Ash Stymest, Will Eustace, Thomas Keyes, among others) agreed to put up with my ignorance just long enough to tell me what a kip is. He’s modeled for ASOS, Ilovefake magazine, The Contributing Editor and Fiasco Magazine. He’s a great dude and an awesome model. Read on.
TT: Have you eaten today?
AW: Yeah man, I had a double cheeseburger and some hot wings. Oh, and an apple.
TT: Just to balance it out.
AW: Yeah, got to keep a healthy balance.
TT: Do you like rap?
AW: Not really, I was into U.K Grime for a while but it got shit after like a year.
TT: Oh okay. I was going to tell you to listen to this song, speaking of healthy balances. Lil Wayne + Lion King. But I don’t know if you’d like it.
AW: One second, I’ll have a listen. Man, I’m sorry if you like Lil Wayne but I think he’s a cock!
TT: Well he’s behind bars now so case closed. I see you just did something for ASOS?
AW: Yeah I’ve done a few bits for ASOS. The home page shoot was a lot of fun, the video too. The other dude in the shots is Callum Turner. He’s one of my closest mates in London. He’s an animal so we clicked when I met him out in Paris. I stayed at his friend’s apartment and was asleep all of about a half hour when some drunk French bird comes in and starts mouthing off at me. I wasn’t supposed to be there and she went nuts!
TT: Why not?
AW: All in all it was a pretty fun night. The 15 castings I had the next day were fucking awful though. I felt like shit.
TT: I’ve had some pretty awful nights waking up in pretty strange places, but definitely no castings the next day. That would be awful. Do you put on a face when you model or do you always look like that?
AW: It depends on what they ask, you know.
TT: Like they’ll tell you broody, or 90’s preppy, or like you just choked on a sour grape?
AW: Pretty much.
TT: Not to get boring on you but how did you start modeling?
AW: Well, I got fired from my job packing boxes, so my girlfriend told me to stop being a lay about and get a job so I went to all the modeling agencies in London. I became a model. It was pretty fucking random.
TT: I’m sorry but that’s just hilarious. I don’t know if it’s like an English-ism or whatever like “mate” but I laughed my head off at “lay about”. That was good. I’m laughing with you, though. Cool story. So, you live in London?
AW: Yeah man, all my life!
TT: I hear Camden is a cool neighborhood. That is all I know about London.
AW: That’s where I’m living at the moment, but it’s all about the East End. It’s the coolest place to live in London — it has a great vibe that I thrive on. I lived there last summer and it was amazing. We moved though because it’s also full of crime. A guy was killed on our doorstep and our flat was robbed, pretty grimy. But if you’re an artist or involved in the creative arts its all about the East for sure.
TT: I can’t wait to come visit.
AW: Jokes.
TT: What?
AW: It means ‘that’s funny’.
TT: I better get my lingo down before I come out there.
AW: I guess it could get pretty confusing.
TT: No man, I’m just brutal. So what do you usually do in London? Besides modeling and stuff.
AW: I do a lot of illustrations. I go out a lot! Drinks I guess is apart of that too and I have a very unhealthy obsession for sci-fi.
AW: Arthur C. Clark. The classic stuff. Why, is that so hard to believe?
TT: It’s not. I just thought it was interesting. You just whipped it out at the right time. Like, “yeah parties, drinks… and I’m super obsessed with aliens”.
AW: As we said before keep a healthy balance. I guess that’s my balance. I’m off for a kip sunshine, ill chat with you soon. Keep in touch.
TT: Yeah, for sure! Isn’t it night there?
AW: 11:15
TT: The sun is still out?
AW: At night? Sorry, 23:15
TT: What’s a kip sunshine?
AW: It’s like saying I’m off to bed friend.
TT: Holy. Alright. Wow. Okay, have a good kip I guess.
AW: Sweet laters g Tweet