Halloween interview Part 1: Brian Dickie

TAMD: You're new to TAMD, so please tell us a little about yourself. 

Brian Dickie: I'm 32, live in Chicago with a girlfriend, and a dog. At night I manage the longest running nightclub in the country, Neo. I fill up the days with as much as I can, whether it's being an extra on tv shows or movies, photoshoots, fixing Harleys, or finding time to get tattooed.

TAMD: Do you find it's hard to be a male model in a generally female dominated industry?

Brian Dickie: By no means do I pay rent off this, it's a hobby - at best. But, I can definitely see it being "more accessible" for females. The other side to that though is, there are fewer of me doing it. Tattooed or Alternative modeling is such a niche anyways, I might not even notice a gender discrepancy so much as a lifestyle one. Alternative Male Model is kind of a pocket, within a pocket. Would it be easier if I were female? Probably...but it would also be easier if my hands weren't tattooed. I see it, but it doesn't affect me much.

TAMD: How would you define your style?
BD: I don't think I've been doing this long enough to have one really. I know what I like shooting, and looking at, but not how to define it. Still working the whole style thing out.

TAMD: Tell us a little about your tattoos? How many do you have, meanings, etc?
BD: The last time I counted it was around 20, but that was a few years ago and I now just consider it one big one that isn't done yet. But they're all stories, and all mean something. Where I'm from, where I've worked, things I can't forget or don't want to. A few memorials, some demons, some advice, and some guardians. A few silly ones, but even the stories for those are a few pages long.

TAMD: What do you think is the biggest misconception about those with modifications?

BD: I think inferiority.

TAMD: Speaking of modifications, besides tattoos, what other modifications do you have?

BD: I have stretched ears, at about an inch. a 6 gauge septum, 8 gauge labret, and 10 gauge barbells in my nipples.

TAMD: Were do you want your modeling career to go?

BD: Wherever it does. I don't ever expect to be on billboards or bus stops, but a tattoo magazine or two would be cool.

TAMD: What was the story behind your shoot with Jim Sorfleet?

BD: Jim is an old friend I've had a working relationship with for about 5 years. We've been involved in a lot of the same things and have a lot of the same interests, but never shot together. It was kind of a first for both of us, he doesnt usually shoot males, and most of my work to that point had been "just standing there" kinds of shots.

TAMD: How will you be celebrating Halloween, if you celebrate?
BD: The bar I manage in Chicago is for lack of a better word, a "goth bar" so Halloween for me is the busiest night of the year. And has been for the last ten years. I celebrate Halloween usually around November 3rd or 4th.

TAMD: Is there anything you'd like to add, or promote?
BD: The Alternative Model Directory

All photos are used with permission, and are the sole property of Jim Sorfleet. Do not copy or use without consent from the photographer or model.

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