Confessions of a model booker: listen in as an agent dishes the cutthroat, so-bitchy stuff that goes down in the beautiful-people business. Hold on-this could get ugly.(ONLY IN COSMO)

* You hear about models being discovered while they're walking down the street, and trust me, it happens. I know because I'm a guy whose job it is to pluck people from obscurity and turn them into stars. Everyone thinks modeling is a glamorous business ... and it is. But things can get crazy In the six years I've been a model agent, I've seen it all--backstabbing, diva demands, drug problems, and more. Since I can't damage my models' reps by talking publicly about them, I have to get it all off my chest by telling these anonymous tales.

Getting Started

When I was in my early 20s, I quit my job as a fashion illustrator in New York City, moved to Miami, and soon became a model agent. Basically, an agent's job is to discover and groom models. I guess I had a knack for it, because after two years, I was hired to work at one of the top agencies in town. We represent about 100 girls and 30 guys (stars and up-and-comers), and of the 200 or so pictures I receive each day from aspiring models around the world, I call about 2 a month. If I truly believe the guy or girl could be the next big thing, the agency will fly them in and arrange a professional photo shoot.

But I've discovered some of the best models when I wasn't even looking. Once I was eating at an outdoor restaurant and spotted this tall, beautiful 13-year-old girl walk by with her parents and some friends. I pulled the girl and her mom aside and explained that she had the potential to be a great model, and they could come in to the agency and talk to us (I say us so people don't think I'm some random creep) if they were interested. Another time, I was at the beach and noticed that a male lifeguard was gorgeous. Both of those finds are going to be successful--I just know it.

Babysitting the Babes

The majority of the models I represent are between 14 and 25 years old. Some of the really young girls stay in their hometowns and travel to castings or shoots. The ones who are 18 or older usually move down here, and we put them up in "model apartments," which are typically nice two-bedroom units that we rent for four or five models to share. You can imagine the catfights that erupt in those close quarters. Since I'm under 30, the girls can relate to me, so they end up calling me to complain, and then I have to mediate.

I'm astounded by the lengths they'll go to to get a leg up on the next girl. One tactic: sleeping with each other's boyfriends. It's like You may have gotten that magazine cover over me, but I got your man. The weirdest complaint I've received was from a girl accusing another girl of stealing her underwear. And I've gotten that more than once.