Photo: Jeremiah Thompson
Before hiring one of my assistants, Charlie, I asked him where he wanted to be in 6 and 12 months.
I made him define what he wanted to have and what he wanted to do in both timeframes. At the top of the list was a mini-retirement to Thailand or South America.
Done and done.
Charlie just returned three weeks ago from Buenos Aires. It was there he developed a rather keen interest in Brazilian girls, who were visiting Argentina as tourists. Two weeks ago at around 2am, while preparing the new book launch at my house, he somehow accidentally (riiiiight) got stuck in a Flickr slideshow of Brazilian models.
The photos belonged to someone named Jeremiah Thompson.
Digging a little deeper, it turned out that Jeremiah had an incredible story. Two years ago, he decided he wanted to become a professional photographer of Brazilian bikini models. That, and he wanted to get married. Despite the fact that he was from Montana and had no training, he made both happen in record time.
This is his story…
An Interview with Jeremiah Thompson
What’s your background?
I was born in Missoula, Montana, a small college town in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. My Dad was a colonel in the Army so I grew up all over the place, including a couple of stints in Germany. I definitely have a strong entrepreneurial background and have been in business in one form or another all my life, starting at a very young age. The internet has helped me open up a number of businesses.
Did you have much experience as a photographer?
If I thought I could make it rich taking photos, I would have gone into this profession a long time ago. But really, photography has always just been a hobby.
How did you choose Brazil as your destination?
Learning how to surf was, believe it or not, a real stepping stone in my life. About four years ago, I learned how to surf behind an artificial wave put up by a wakeboarding boat. I really got into the sport and wanted to carry my surfing aspirations into the ocean. I narrowed my choices down to Australia and Brazil. A 15-minute phone call to Hans Keeling of Nexus Surf convinced me that Florianopolis, Brazil would be the perfect place for me to go.
[Editor: Some of you might recall that Hans, a recovered ex-lawyer, is a case study in The 4-Hour Workweek]
How did the calendar idea come about?
Arriving in Florianopolis in January of 2008, I was amazed by the sheer quantity of beautiful women — they were everywhere! I’d always had this dream of photographing models, so it was a perfect opportunity to make that dream come true. I coined the calendar name “Girls of Brazil” and so the adventure began. Then I just needed to find the models.
Photo: Jeremiah Thompson
So, how and where did you find the models?
The first model really set everything into motion.
I was hanging out with Hans Keeling (the owner of Nexus Surf) at Praia Mole Beach, when we passed a super sexy woman working at a fresco paddle rental stand. I had already mentioned my swimsuit calendar idea to Hans, and he happens to speak perfect Portuguese. I asked him if he would help me talk to her and pitch the idea. At this point, I had no product or business cards — just a pair of board shorts, my camera, and some photos of wildlife I had taken in Montana. But that was all I needed. It worked. She agreed to meet me the next day! She was even going to hitchhike to my house at 5:00 AM! I convinced her to let me pick her up, and we shot the next day from 5:30 AM till 8:30 PM. It was a great start to my project.
Photo: Jeremiah Thompson
After that, I found most of the girls on my own, speaking to them in very basic (if not completely broken) Portuguese. I was able to find girls almost everywhere – at the beaches, clubs, supermarkets, walking down the street, and even online. It was too easy. Once I had a few great shots under my belt, I was able to show these same photos to other girls, and most wanted to participate just to get their own pictures taken.
Were they professional models?
The girls were, for the most part, your everyday gals. I did shoot one girl who was actually an international model. I found her while I was driving down the street. I jumped out of my car, chased after her, and asked if she wanted to participate. You would think someone like that would laugh at me, but she ended up making the photos:
Photo: Jeremiah Thompson
Quite a few of the models had experience as event girls. I had the best luck finding those girls online.
But my best photos came from the girls with no professional experience. They always came to the shoots with the most energy. Their openness allowed me more freedom to infuse my own ideas into the photo shoot. This definitely made things more fun, and the results were always great.
Did you pay them for the shoots?
During the first year, I never paid any of the models. By the second year, I started paying a little. I had been dating one of the models and she helped me realize that many of the girls were actually using their own money just to prepare for the photos. They were paying to get their hair done, manicures/pedicures, new bikinis, etc. It was expensive. I started paying them 500 Brazilian reais, which amounted to approximately $250 US dollars. And because I shot many of the girls multiple times, it was a very small price to pay. However, I’m convinced that even if I didn’t pay anything, I would have just as much success or possibly even more. The girls, especially in the first year, really got excited about the opportunity, even though there was no money involved.
Critics might say you were taking advantage of them. What would you say to that?
One of the cool things about this project is the success they’ve had using my photos afterward.
Four of the girls went on to pose for Playboy Brasil. One of the girls got hired on as a dancer for the top television show in Brazil on Sunday afternoons. Many got modeling jobs. And they’ve all appreciated the opportunity, so that’s one of the best things about doing this.
Furthermore, it is not as if I was making money myself. The first few years of this project were big losses. Frankly I couldn’t afford to pay the girls to participate. This was a project I started more out of my desire to be a swimsuit photographer than to make another dollar. The girls loved the project and the photos. Many participated in multiple years. There weren’t any victims here.
Photo: Jeremiah Thompson
For those who’ve dreamed about being a swimsuit photographer but have never had the chance, can you describe the atmosphere of a shoot?
The atmosphere is definitely one of the best things. It starts when the girls come to my house. I need to see them in their bikinis before we head out so I can prepare for the shoot. In the first year, all of the girls used their own bikinis and that worked great 90% of the time. But I started buying bikinis for the girls in year two. So the first step was always to pick out the best bikinis. We would usually find 2-4 bikinis that we would take to the shoot. After that, we either walked to a nearby local beach or took my car to a more private beach.
Usually, we would arrive before sunrise. This meant the girls had been up since 2:30 AM preparing! I typically rolled out of bed around 5:00 AM. Not an easy thing to do, but when the moment comes and those first rays of light hit a beautiful girl in a tiny bikini, it’s worth it.
Posing the girls was always the most difficult part. I wanted to bring out the best in each girl. I would put them through as many poses as possible, mentally noting how they looked best. Then when the best lighting conditions occurred, I would get the girls into what I already knew would be their best pose. This system worked great.
After the shoots, the first question from the girls was always: ”When will the photos be ready?”
They were thrilled to have shots for their portfolio that would otherwise have cost them at least a week’s pay.
Were there any methods you used to produce better results (i.e. humor to loosen up the model, etc.)?
I enjoyed bringing out the genuine smiles of each girl.
Most model photos always have that super serious look, which is supposed to be sexy. I don’t know if I’m different in this regard, but I always enjoy seeing a girl’s smile more. So for half the photos, I would get the girls smiling their biggest smiles possible, and the other half I would let them revert to that serious but “sexy” look you see in all the magazines. Getting the girls to smile was easy: I would just say “mais sexo!” For two years I thought that phrase meant “sexier!” but I guess it really means “more sex!” So it usually made the girls laugh before going into an even sexier pose. That’s how I discovered the girls’ natural smile and how great it looked in the photos.
What have been some of the more memorable moments from your shoots?
I’ve shot something like 30-40 girls now, and there are so many memories with each girl.
Fernanda was my first model and she will always be one of the best memories of this project. Actually, the first photo I took of her is, to this day, one of the best I have ever taken:
Photo: Jeremiah Thompson
Then there was Iris, who showed up an hour and a half late to our shoot. We jumped in my car and she changed into her bikini as I sped off. When we arrived at the beach, I quickly put her into a pose, and we made this photo [below] in about 10 minutes. It was not a minute too soon, as the sun set right after.
Photo: Jeremiah Thompson
When I think about how much preparation goes into a Sports Illustrated shoot and compare it to some of the photos I’ve taken, I’m amazed by the results I’ve had as a one-man operation. It really is a credit to the beauty of these girls and the environment I am working with down in Brazil.
Last but not least, there’s Dayana.
She and I ended up getting married, so how could I not mention this as one of my best memories?! We were really connected right from the beginning. It was a goal of mine to find a woman like Dayana to marry, so having this dream come true as a result of this project was incredible, to say the least.
Photo: Jeremiah Thompson
What sales channels have you used for distribution of the calendar?
I’ve never had the opportunity of getting into the main calendar distribution channels, due to my lateness of releasing the calendars. I learned afterward that most calendars get released almost a year before the calendar year.
That meant the calendar had been shot as early as two years before. Since I was doing this more for fun than to make money, I decided to release the calendars as close to the calendar year as possible. The models were happy with this, as they didn’t have to wait two years to see their photos debut. It wasn’t smart business on my part, but again, I wasn’t doing the project to make the most money.
Having said that, we’ve enjoyed being one of the top calendars through Amazon for a couple of years now. We’re giving “Sports Illustrated” a run for their money (at least with Amazon) and I feel a great amount of pride seeing that and knowing how small my operation is compared to them.
Have you done any unique promotions to get the word out?
In 2009, we sent 20,000 calendars to troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2010, we sent approximately 3,000 (I was working with a bigger personal budget in 2009 than in 2010). I hope to get these numbers back up in future years if I stay involved in the project. I always get troop requests and have a list of soldiers who have already requested their copies for 2011. It feels great helping these guys out. Hopefully seeing the beautiful girls on their walls keeps them motivated to stay strong and finish out their missions safe.
What’s the “Girls of Brazil” contest you mentioned to me?
The idea behind the contest is to give someone the chance to live the dream of being a swimsuit photographer. There really is no better place than Brazil for this.
I’d help the lucky winner of this contest along with each step. First, we’ll recruit the girls and find the models he’ll be shooting. Then I’ll give him my camera equipment and teach him how to photograph the girls. The winner will be shooting the girls on his own, but I’ll be around if he needs my help. And afterward, we’ll celebrate the results “Brazilian style”!
The contest doesn’t exist yet, but I’m hoping to get sponsored by a magazine who can feature it. It would make a great story and fill several issues of their magazine with content guys will love.
That sounds like a once-in-a-lifetime experience. If a magazine doesn’t pick up the contest, perhaps we can make it happen 🙂
—
So, how did his calendars turn out? Take a look at Girls of Brazil website or visit Amazon. If you want a taste of his photos on Facebook, here’s your fix.
Question of the Day (QOD): If you’re happily married, how did you meet your husband or wife, and do you think someone could engineer the same? Share in the comments!
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Odds and Ends: Blogging Lessons and New Stickers
This post produced a lot of strong responses. Please see my comments below in orange, as well as Jeremiah’s. Related to that, here are a few guidelines I follow while blogging:
Blog Lesson 1 – Please Everyone to Interest No One
If this post put your knickers in a twist, before leaving a snarky comment, realize this: when everyone is your customer, no one is your customer. This is true in business and writing. Bloggers often make the mistake of trying to generalize every post to every person. This is slow suicide and results in plain vanilla posts that offend no one and interest roughly the same. Expect that blog to disappear within two years, whether from reader attrition or blogger boredom.
I prefer to write posts that strongly appeal to at least a portion of my readers, and simply rotate to hit different demographics/psychographics with different posts. If I perfectly hit the nail on the head by educating (or entertaining) 20% of my readership, and they share it with their friends, does it matter if I lose 2-5%? Not in my experience. From what I’ve seen, this is precisely how you build an uberstrong community comprised of readers who actually speak their minds and show an unusual degree of tolerance (by Internet standards, at least).
If you’d like to read the female perspective on the mating and marrying game, here’s another post on this very same blog.
Blog Lesson 2- Strategic Redating of Posts
Some of you have asked, where did the last two posts go? The posts on GetGlue stickers and book promotion parties?
Here’s the answer: I redated them in WordPress so they wouldn’t appear on the homepage. Once time-dependent promotional posts have been up for 48-72 hours, and my core audience has seen them, I redate them, as these posts aren’t valuable to new visitors. There’s only one chance to make a first impression, so I always want strong stand-alone content to dominate my blog homepage. I’d used redating in this fashion for more than two years. Some bloggers go so far as to ensure one of their most popular posts is always displayed first on the homepage, followed then by their most recent.
Hope that explains things.
Eat drink and be merry. Happy Thanksgiving!
New Stickers – The 4-Hour Body
The 4-Hour Body is almost exactly three weeks away, which means a new sticker from GetGlue! This one is of reader, Nathan. To learn how to get it (and all the others) for free, read this:
The Tim Ferriss Show is one of the most popular podcasts in the world with more than one billion downloads. It has been selected for "Best of Apple Podcasts" three times, it is often the #1 interview podcast across all of Apple Podcasts, and it's been ranked #1 out of 400,000+ podcasts on many occasions. To listen to any of the past episodes for free, check out this page.
Comment Rules: Remember what Fonzie was like? Cool. That’s how we’re gonna be — cool. Critical is fine, but if you’re rude, we’ll delete your stuff. Please do not put your URL in the comment text and please use your PERSONAL name or initials and not your business name, as the latter comes off like spam. Have fun and thanks for adding to the conversation! (Thanks to Brian Oberkirch for the inspiration.)
Well, i’m a girl and I liked this post well enough.
Some of the comments though…
I wish I could get photographers to come up offering to take my photo for free. No one here has heard of trade for print?
Why would you shame girls who take pride in how they look? I know that I am a sexual creature and I feel there should be nothing wrong with showing that side off, AND that it doesn’t mean that I am incapable of anything else. I really think that most guys realize that, the rest are just sad exceptions who probably suffer from some ill-brought up childhood.
There’s nothing wrong with being a guy and wanting to take professional photos of beautiful women, as long as he is respectful about it, which the photographer here seemed to be (minus the house visit, but i’ve never been to Brazil, this could be a cultural difference)
And yes, I find the accusations of these women being “victims” insulting. You’re assuming that since they are from a “less fortunate country” they must be too stupid to avoid creepers.
If anything i’m enjoying how happy and natural they look (well, besides the pubic region, haha) as opposed to the over-photoshopped models that are more common in America.
Now, coming from and artist standpoint, I don’t see much merit in taking photos of such already beautiful models and lighting, the work is pretty much done for you! I could do that with my point-and-shoot.
Though I do admire you for living your dream.
Danielle, “Why would you shame girls who take pride in how they look?”
Have you heard of feminism? In college some women are “taught” to look
for something, anything that just might be against women. And you know if you are looking for something, often you can ‘find’ it. Camile Paglia a level headed feminist warned of this.
Or as I was thinking it could be some of these complainers are either very fearful -as the one who was looked at when she started developing, and also they could be just plain crazy!
John
Tim, it wasn’t broke. Don’t Fix it.
I was invited by a friend to read your book and visit your blog.
I have to admit, I didn’t expect to be dragged so deep into the Cave. ; )
I really enjoyed your philosophy about defying stereotypes and cultural reinforcements that rarely benefit those who desire to reinvent themselves and their lifestyles. Maybe selling sex is one of those things that you feel… just works. Like you said in 4HWW—don’t fix it if it’s not broken. Please, no disrespect to anyone reading this but advertisers have been selling fantasy by trying to boost the egos of men, mostly middle aged—nothing new here—for ages. However, you seemed more creative and on the outside of the status quo. I understand that men like beauty, my female friends, including myself, are very attracted to gorgeous young men as well. However, the 4HWW was different to me, it felt intelligent and all inclusive, not uncivilized. Can’t argue with my feelings….right?
Do you believe that all men are after cheap, easy prey? Reminder: “Question life’s most basic assumptions.” You’re not selling biology here, you’re selling culture. This male centered p.o.v. is ageless and steeped in culture. Biology is only part of our human story. The human story is a complicated and rich structure that would be best examined by the intellectually curious, not the selective ignorant. You appeared enlightened, outside of the cave in a sense. I’m not going to try to convince some men on this blog that I’m a perfect “10” and not some 800lb woman in need of a date. That would be pointless, because they will believe whatever they have to in order to reinforce their position, no matter how flawed or incomplete. Selective Ignorance. But that’s to be expected from the average man; I’m writing this for you.
Tim, it wasn’t broken!! There was nothing to fix. I know things are probably slowing down financially(a normal cycle) but it’s not broke…yet. You don’t have to hangout in the Cave to make a buck. I know you understand what I’m saying, so get back to the real stuff and your true audience, the audience you respect; you had them at “Hello”… ; )
Cheers
The Cliff
Wow.
Has anyone ever read the articles in popular women magazines? They are 10 times worse than anything in this article.
They go as far as to give advice on how and when to give sex to manipulate a man to desire a woman more. They give advice as far as whether to have separate or even secret bank accounts.
This article wasn’t even about that. It had no implications of such matters.
It was about a man who took charge of his dream of photography, which happened to be in a warm weathered country, where women aren’t as apprehensive about posing as they are in bikinis much of the time as it is a beach culture. The man made friends with some of the girls, dated others, and the story ended with him marrying the one who was his BEST friend. Notice Jeremiah never said anything about getting the best looking or richest girl! One would think after reading some of the comments that you endorsed a mail-order-bride service!
Some people are insecure and need to project that insecurity onto others and into matters where it doesn’t fit.
Next time you post something like this, and I hope that you will, do yourself a favor and disable comments. It will save you a lot of headaches and those who like it will take from it. Those who didn’t can suffer silently.
This is a blog. Be as honest and as candid as you want to be, Tim. I believe that its your ability/willingness to be honest and candid that has gotten you the following that you have. you can’t please everybody, nor should you try to. So don’t let people attempt to censor you or take heed to the threat to boycott your endeavors because you appreciated a story and decided to post it.
These are the kinds of situations that the 4Hour Work Week are supposed to help us avoid/overcome!
Hi Tim,
Will quitting smoking (nicotine addiction) be addressed in the book? I’m a half pack-a-day smoker willing to quit, possibly without resorting to Bupropion or another prescription drug. Also, I’ve tried patches and gum, without success.
If not, would you like a guinea pig for an experiment in quitting smoking :)?
Thanks
Tim,
I’ve just been sent to your site by a friend who has been following your progress and musing for a while now. I recently found myself in a similar situation to the majority of your readership when I realised I was stuck in a dead end job, completely wasted, that that the potential in my life had been spurned.
I set up Challenge Ten to try and motivate myself to get off my ass and make something out of my life. I have committed to losing 30kgs, going on blind dates, learning to cook, travelling the world, starting my savings and loads more, and have been blogging about my successes and the setbacks!
I can’t wait to get stuck into 4HWW once I manage to get my hands on a copy. I’m heading off to my local bookshop now to do just that.
If I can achieve what I have achieved on my own, imagine what I can do with some expert help. I didn’t realise this advice was available to me, but really looking forward to replicating Jeremiah’s success and finding my own path in Life.
It is so absolutely ridiculous that you had to rename the title of this post to appease the overly sensitive imbeciles who felt offended at the notion of a North American traveling to South America to find a potential wife. It is certainly MUCH easier for North American men to meet more appealing females while in South America than in North America. There are a multitude of factors that contribute to this, not solely the economic incentive–but it’s certainly a great motivator for many females while in places like Brazil.
Denying this fact is just plain stupid. No, Norte-Americanos aren’t kings or anything special, but while traveling in Brazil/South America, we definitely have an “edge” on meeting women.
The truth, fortunate or not, hurts. Stop crying about it.
I noticed the change in title from wife-hunting to model photographer.
I am curious how do you assess the readers feedback and change. What was your decision making process. I am sure us, readers, want to see how your mind work. Was it a good decision to change the title?
Do you accept the reader’s protest or stand by what you intended? Was it strategically to spark debate? Or was it a natural process and out of your goodness you made thing better?
I see fair balance of advocating the article’s title while other opposed. Was it the reader’s voice? or your authorized decision?
For context: I am a professional woman with two advanced degrees. I was married to an overweight man with a high school education, until he died. And when I was younger, I was good looking, not that I knew it.
And I say, some of the women commenters who have “gotten their knickers in a twist” need to get over themselves. Seriously.
Anyone who is surprised that men are interested in beautiful women cannot possibly be a member of the human race. You must be from an alien planet. And I’m not talking Venus, here. I’m talking another solar system. In another galaxy.
It makes you uncomfortable? Please. Tell me again how “uncomfortable” you are when your spouse/S.O. tells you that you are beautiful and sexy in that new dress you bought specifically to turn him on.
Any woman who doesn’t know that some men (maybe most) consider looks first has been under a rock their entire lives. Any woman who doesn’t recognize as a fact of life that men are only going to date, sleep with, and marry women that they find physically attractive may very well be mentally impaired. Certainly culturally retarded.
Please don’t pretend that you don’t know any women who are only interested in men with more education than them, more income than them, and (often) at least as much hair. I’m sure YOU aren’t that shallow, but I personally went to college with women who were there only for their MRS degree, and it wasn’t even a particularly good undergraduate school. Many women will not sleep with men who are overweight, so don’t pretend that just because YOU don’t have that prejudice (riiight), no women do.
Genetically, this DOES make sense. To sucessfully spread their genetic material before birth control (i.e., all of recorded time until fifty years ago), men only need to have sex with a number of fertile women (attractiveness in nature IS a proxy for likely fertility). Men don’t have to care what their partners think or if they are smart. Just have a lot of sex, and therefore many babies. Some of those women will undoubtedly raise those children to the age of successful reproduction (attractiveness in nature is also a pretty fair proxy for survival over time). So, from a genetic survival perspective, men are different from women.
For a woman to spread genetic material, she has to raise at least one child to the age of successful reproduction. Pre-1980, lest we forget how recently women in the USA–not all countries YET–became able to protect themselves, this required a man who would protect her progeny and stick with her for at least a few years (the longer the better), and PROVIDE for her progeny (food, clothing, shelter) for which money, success, and education are all proxies today.
Maybe these women commenters are pissed off because they don’t think men being attracted physically SHOULD be true. Or that women marrying for security is politically incorrect. Well, ladies, what you think should be and what IS are two different things.
Stop getting angry with Tim because he discusses the way the world IS, rather than how you think it should be (technically, of course, he just discussed how ONE MAN photographed beautiful women, NOT white slavery–you guys read WAY too much into one article, given that many women believe men can barely dress without some help).
At least, stop broadcasting your ignorance on the net. It’s embarrassing.
I like your summation the most, cheezelouise! A tonic against the vitriol.
What a Great Story.. We are all 100% in control of what we do in life.. The Ups and the Downs.. It is very inspiring to see Case Studies.
Books with Case Studies always kick Ass… Also Hurry Up Tim I can’t wait for your book!!!! Make sure it get to New Zealand.
Tim, I have to disagree with you. First though, I want to add that my english isnt great since I am not american/english, so please no picking on a single word from the haters on here.
Tim, you say (i suspect, due to an attempt of correctness) that there were valid arguments on both sides here, and I have to strongly disagree.
As a hobby (sided to my actual work as an entrepreneur) I work as a model for almost 10 years now, pretty successful on some covers etc, and I very clearly remember the “early days”. In the early days, you are younger, maybe have no car, less money, and especially, are a little insecure, and after the shooting veeeeery curious about the pictures, and you dont understand how it really works. In reality, you are the MODEL. The photographer has a picture in mind, and you are ONE ingredient to it. To yourself, you are the main thing in the picture, but to the photographer youre just one ingredient. So whats gonna happen is, he will let you pose, eventually tell you how to, and take as many pictures as he needs until he reaches what he wants for a BASIC. But the picture isnt fnished then, later he will load it to his computer, then do the skin and shape correction, then the color correction etc, and THEN an image is done. Its very unlikely that you will see an image before that, I have experienced everything from waiting 2 days to 2 years before actually see the finals of the work I did. Sure sometimes you will be shown something on set, depending on how nice the guy is, but its not standard procedure.
So when Jeremiah takes the girls to his place to show them the pictures, thats a really nice thing to do of him. I have gone with photographers to their place or studio some times to watch the images, but guess what, I have never been automatically flown to their bed and got magically undressed. Why? I can tell you. Because its YOUR OWN CHOICE if you sleep with someone. That is reason 1 why I disagree with you saying there are valid arguments on the other side. Because in fact, by making such a big deal out of taking someone to your place, these people imply, that the model is not able to say not to a guy once they are at his place. Do you realize how immensely sexist THEIR actual argument is? Its ridiculous. The implied equalisation go to their place = have sex with them, is not only sexist, its in my opinion, stupid.
So their main argument isnt only sexist, but its also simply due to not having a clue about modeling work and the situation you are in when youre a newcomer model. So it is the old and typical situation, people critisise things they know nothing about. Thats not a very educated thing to do in my opinion.
The second reason I disagree Tim, is because the punch line of most critics is that the article is mysoginist. But in fact, it totally isnt. There is always the implication or even direct blame, that you reduce women to their bodies in this article, or Jeremiah does.
All the critics:
Can you PLEASE point out where that is happening? I dont find it!!??
What I do find, is that he speaks about his wife in a very respectful way and doesnt speak about her nice breasts as another critic mentioned, but actually speaks about how they felt “really connected right from the beginning” Pardon me, is my english worse than I thought and is feeling “really connected right from the beginning” now something physical that reduces women to that ? Caution, that was a rhetorical question, we all know it isnt, which proves that this argument of the other side isnt any valid either, its toally made up.
Another point the critics raise is that he was using those girls. And again I unfortunately have to realize, these are people criticising something they know nothing about. TFPs ( “Test For Print”, shootings where neither the model nor the photographer get paid in the first place) are highly comon in the modeling world, and there are many different agreements on how the images are used and if money is made how its split etc. Doing free shots and TFPs are -the- way for newcomer models to polish up their sedcards (portfolios). Actually, even when I was photographed by world class photographers that earn more a day than what most ppl reading here will earn a year, the very best pictures ever shot of me were made by aspiring photographers on a TFP basis.
So, all arguments made by that other side are either invalid due to missing knowledge/competence or even highly sexist and insulting themselfs. Thats why, Tim, I have to disagree with your attempt to be correct. Thats also why I would like the critics, to re-think their arguments based on the information they are now given from inside the modeling industry and especially re-think, if what they though was written, was really written or if they just read what they wanted to read when they saw a title they didnt like.
I believe one of the best qualities in a person seeking success (which is why many ppl come read this blog I think) is to re-think what they did and also understand that nobody is perfect and sometimes we act too fast or dont think enough, but then its a good quality to be able to see that afterwards in a retrospective, and understand it, so you can do better next time.
Think about that, people 😉
AK
I read this post a few days ago and something niggled at me for a while after that I couldn’t identify at first.
First let me say that I’m a 32 year old woman and I have no problem with the pictures – I think they look great and the girls look amazing. And Jeremiah and Dayana obviously had a happy ending out of it all.
But here’s the thing: women are hyper sensitive about personal safety. This is a care that crosses all races and all borders because it’s drilled into you as a kid that you have to not take lifts from strangers, always make a friend aware if you’re going on a blind date, etc etc. I’ve done some pretty stupid things, including hitchhiking and going to very dodgy peoples’ houses for parties.
But here’s my niggling problem with this article: that a woman would be willing to hitchhike to a stranger’s house at 5am in the hope that he might take some pictures of her, make her even a bit famous, get her out of the economic situation she’s living in. I chose to be a numbskull and take risks, but would she have done that if she wasn’t living in Brazil, if it wasn’t a Western photographer?
Fact is, Jeremiah sounds like a good guy. But if he wasn’t, at least one of those girls would have been in a very vulnerable position, and I think that sucks. What happens if some sleazebag (or complete nutjob) goes to Brazil spinning tales of modelling glory to women he meets on the beach?
To me, this side of the story is like ones I’ve heard about Western women going to Turkey or the Gambia to pick up young guys. Do the guys have a choice? Sure, if they want to spend their lives in poverty. There’s a power aspect to this whole thing and that left a sour taste in my mouth.
You guys really think this is like interning?
When you intern (and seriously Tim, didn’t you do some internships?), you’re trading free labour for the benefit of an association with a known brand, and for the opportunity to learn skills you didn’t previously have.
(Again, with a KNOWN brand.)
How is that what happened here?
While it’s nice that some of the girls derived indirect benefits, this project was in no way designed to offer equal benefit to the models. If it had been, Charlie would have been upfront about being a beginning photographer. He could have, in addition, offered a contract where the girls would get paid if he made a profit on the project. (Hell, he could even have specified that the project had to make a profit above a certain level.)
There were many ways for Charlie not to be a skeeze about this, and he didn’t make an effort to do any of them. I’m not impressed. And I’m not particularly impressed with you, Tim, for suggesting this as a viable, innovative way for dudes to spend their time. Manipulating ladies into posing in bikinis for you might get you some hurrahs on the internet, but it kind of makes you a jerk.
I very much enjoyed this post Tim.. as a young guy who has time to try the most ridiculous of ideas (one may say), I have found this article to inspire the next possible step of my relativity new blog which you can find clicking my name.
I’m glad I came across you in this months Wired Magazine and you prominently caught my attention on Ted as you have forwarded me to some great content which will hopefully fuel some of my creativity and productivity.
Thank you
Great! I love this quote:
Getting the girls to smile was easy: I would just say “mais sexo!” For two years I thought that phrase meant “sexier!” but I guess it really means “more sex!” So it usually made the girls laugh before going into an even sexier pose. That’s how I discovered the girls’ natural smile and how great it looked in the photos.
Some of the best advice in this post is implicit: Enjoy life, have a light tone, don’t take yourself over-seriously, and just go for it in general.
As a woman, I’m not in the least bit surprised that the majority of women disagreeing with this post are women. In fact, I expected it.
To be completely frank, the reason why women are disagreeing is most likely not because of principle in not paying the girls or whatever (in all honesty), but because this post makes some women feel like they are not enough. It’s a harsh world for many women in that (as you can see from the comments) many (not all) men are so big on this ‘getting a model’ thing.
The reality is that not all women can be models. With men congratulating this guy (Jeremiah I think) on marrying a Brazilian model, well, for some women, they will feel like if they are not a model and not a Brazilian, and not above-average attractive, then…..it makes them feel like crap.
Personally, I think the post adequately reflects the truth of how men are, and just basically how things are in the world. It reflects exactly ho the animal part of us works.
Men want to find the best genes. The best woman. As do women (wanting to find the best provider). And the majority of women are not above average good-looking (going by the bell-curve) – or at least do not consider themselves to be, and feel like they suffer through body-image issues, and issues of not being pretty enough.
It would have been nice to see the male commenters say ‘hey Jeremiah, I’m glad you’re happy and have found someone you love and who is right for you’ – but it was mostly about congratulations on marrying a Brazilian model.
But hey, this post it’s just the truth, and I guess I appreciate Tim for reflecting this truth – I know he means well, wants to deliver what he thinks will be great content, and that’s all that matters.
Thanks, and congratulations on another great post, Tim.
Renee.
As a Brazilian Photographer living in the USA found this post very interesting, like the fact that Jeremiah had two goals, was focused and went after it.
I don’t see a problem at all with these girls working for free because the same EXACT thing is done here in the USA. American girls offer modeling services in exchange for the pictures, very common in the industry as both parties are in portfolio building phases, in fact modeling photography is expensive so many of the models are happy to have their photos taken to have access to the photos to add to their portfolio.
The girls were not being told one thing and offered another, see no problem there, they were not in any way shape or form taken advantage of.
Brazil does have many beautiful women, I don’t like much the idea that people view Brazil as a let us go and find a woman place and not see its other beauties, was is shown is always violence and extremely sexy women and I think we have more to offer but it is what it is.
nonetheless interesting case
A fun article with some very interesting comments! Tim, you do an amazing job of eliciting reactions, making people think.
I moved to Prague, CZ from Las Vegas nearly 7 years ago. The attractive qualities (physical and otherwise) of Slavic women I’d met over the years were the main reason I decided to see what was going on in Central Europe.
Gender difference seems to be a non-issue here, as opposed to what seems most common with many vocal people from the US.
I prefer to think that males and females are very wonderfully different. Some individuals possess certain traits that make them good at cattle roping or painting or pole dancing – and gender can be a factor, depending on the person.
What bugs me is how some folks look at photographs of symmetrical, robust, seemingly healthy and happy human beings and react in such a negative manner.
Physical beauty is a STRENGTH some people happen to have! Why is ok to admire someone for their keen wit, chess savvy, or kindness to children and small animals – all traits the pretty swimsuit model might possess – but
it’s a no-no to admire someone’s physical hotness?
Is it a response springing from unconscious jealousy? Ouch.
To sum up: all things being equal, vive la différence.
P.S.
Tim, The Four Hour Body is kick-ass! I’m looking forward to using your recommendations to turn myself into a total sex object.
As someone in the modeling industry, it’s really easy to find girls to pose for free in exchange for photos. It’s called “Time for Print” (TFP), but more established photographers will refer occasionally to it as “Testing.” (Though testing could does mean more than just that.)
Part of the appeal of newer models is that they haven’t learned “posing” yet, so they’re more free form, and they’re willing to listen to the photographer more. A more established model though will know their best poses, be able to style themselves properly, and will be more reliable than someone without any experience.
hehehe. now that the title has changed for this article, some of the comments seem out of context. maybe it was just the original title: “wife hunting: how to marry a brazilian model” that was really annoying to people. now the article kinda just makes sense.
Hi Tim,
I wanted to ask you if you can do a post on the possibility of fat distribution ex. these models are slim but still have normal breasts and derriere. Is this possible at all, like the Victoria’s Secret Model ?(they don’t seem surgically enhanced.)
Thanks a bunch!
(Love your new book, 4 hour body!)
Barbara
I’ll see what I can find! I think athletic is the goal. The derriere is trained muscle with a nice thin layer of cushion. Brazilian women train their butts off, literally. It can be built!
Best,
Tim
You Tim are a good man. May you help Barbara and women of the world get such nice asses and chests.
I’ve never been able to follow an eating plan until following the $HB slow-carb diet. Put on two kilos of muscle in two weeks and I’m a tall “hard-gainer”. Sure to update you with a success story later on.
Not much to say about this post that hasn’t already been said… That (in the U.S. at least) model release forms would have been appropriate, that it’s not uncommon for individuals who haven’t become established as models to work for free, that it is challenging for a lot of women to gracefully accept/embrace being a sex object… whether due to insecurity and body issues or the opposite… afraid of the power inherent in being desired.
So rather than chime in on that further… I want to share a little feedback on a parallel topic raised here… That of there being a disconnect at times between what your core messages are and the marketing techniques you use to sell them. It’s not my intent to force a conclusion – I obviously don’t have access to your A/B testing data, understand your publicists/publishers expectations of you, nor do I know what your goals are in terms of attracting new followers vs. maintaining old ones – but I figure I’ll at least share my individual perspective as best I understand it myself.
This is the first time in months I’ve been on your blog (or twitter feed for that matter). I came tonight to do a search for ‘whey’ because I’m performing a comparison between kefir and whey protein – trying to understand if I need any of the unique benefits that whey offers (I currently don’t think I do, as neither recovery nor mass are concerns for me, and kefir tastes a lot better plus it’s a whole food with probiotics). Anyway, I never made a conscious decision to stop being ‘a follower’. I guess I simply lost interest over time – in large part due to what I described above as a ‘disconnect’.
I’ve met you on multiple occasions, as you well know, and believe you to be a sincere person who truly wants to change the world for the better, while shaking things up and having some fun doing it. For the most part, that belief in and of itself makes me interested in what you have to say. However, I think you at times do yourself a disservice by short-selling your own sincerity. Case in point: The 15-Minute Orgasm Spiel. I didn’t order your new book, and don’t intend to. However, a friend of mine did, and I briefly read the chapters on injury rehab and female orgasm. The disconnect is especially evident in the way you marketed the orgasm bit (in a competitive, goal-oriented, pissing contest sort of way). Meanwhile, the actual chapter is sensitively aimed towards individuals who are barely out of the starting blocks in exploring their sexuality, and is decidedly non-goal oriented and nearly nurturing. In other words, the chapter was executed almost diametrically opposed to the way it was pitched.
New followers might not pick up on these sorts of things. But those of us who are already paying attention do. I’m sure you’re constantly entertaining decisions on how to shape your future work, and I’m sure it’s not easy managing all the different expectations and goals. I hope this tidbit helps your evaluation process as you move forward. And if nothing else, at least this well-meaning criticism will be countered by the fact that Christmas is your favorite time of year! 🙂
Quick follow-up thought:
Not sure if this level of controversy is inline with your marketing intent or not. Also unsure how much of a desire you have, if any, to grow your female audience into a larger, broad-spectrum one. If you do want to grow it, I suggest hiring one of your intelligent female friends as an advisor to run these things by before posting. There’s no reason a topic like this can’t be outsmarted and delivered in a way that is broadly appealing while still sufficiently provocative for the male contingent to thoroughly enjoy. A single editorial pass from the right person would probably do the trick.
Best of luck!
I almost feel ashamed for sounding off beat – but my question is rather practical. Jeremiah – can you tell us what camera and lenses you used ?
Just curious …
Thanks
Tim, just a heads up — the Amazon link right after the NYT list cellphone pic is broken; the URL is repeated twice.
Hey Tim,
Thanks for taking care of that Books-A-Million/Living Social issue. Awesome! Got the book and fantastic so far! Have devoured the first 150 pages today alone. Obviously going back for a reread! In any case, was wondering if it was possible to exchange the book for a Kindle version (wow, it’s quite a heavy book and huge to tote around with me). If not, cool, but figures it pays to ask. It would just make reading it a hell lot easier. Thanks in advance, Tan
iIteresting post and comments. As an aspiring photographer I kinda know where he’s coming from.
The attitude of the author is light and it appears as if he decided to do something and went and did it with a ‘get up and go’ attitude. I have no issue with the models not getting paid initially. I’m sure that many people if asked would pose for a photographer for free if his portfolio was strong.
If the girls wanted to be paid, all they had to do was ask.
Contrary to popular to belief Brits are social, just not self-indulged like many Americans
I always had a feeling that there was more to life then the repetitive 9 to 5 and until I read your book I was stuck in that rut. Being at college and taking 6 classes while also working more hours than my father who owns his own business. I realized that I needed a change and set about searching for what I can do that would allow myself to get out of this rut.
I started asking all my older friends, colleagues and professors what they regretted most about college. They all said, almost eerily unanimously, “that I didn’t study abroad”. I took their advice and a few months later I was on a plane to London for the semester. I didn’t enjoy the work experience I had there so I dropped it in the first week and spent a semester pub hopping and indulging with the locals. I made sure I didn’t hold back in offending anyone and challenged myself to be myself. If I offended someone I tried to work my way back out of it and then establish a relationship. British people are notoriously “difficult” to reach but after reading your book I said I’ll give it a shot. Sitting in a bar once I turned to a guy and said “Excuse me do you mind if I ask you a question?” He was a little unsure at first so I started asking him about something that was going on in the news (I believe it was the student protests in London) from there I got to talking about what he did and where I was from and before you knew it we were buying each other a couple John Smiths (best bitter beer in London!) and having a great conversation. Contrary to popular to belief Brits are social, just not self-indulged like many Americans.
Now I am determined not to get into another rut that I would have to utilize the NR model to prevent myself from working a 9 to 5. Thank you again for putting together the NR life-model. Now that I have had a taste of the unconventional lifestyle I refuse to go back.
Maybe I will check out this Buenos Aires that you speak so highly of.
Thanks,
KVL
P.S. Their best food in London is Pub food. The conversion rate is a killer but you can definitely find some great meals for 12 to 15 bucks (USD) . I would recommend checking out the areas outside of Inner city London. If you take a 5 minute tube ride outside the city you can find some real nice stuff near Hampstead Heath, and other non major tourist areas (http://www.amazon.com/Time-1000-Things-London-Guides/dp/1846700124) . Feel free to shoot me an email if you ever need a recommendation vanloank@gmail.com
Wow these women are beautiful it’s hard to believe he just found them randomly because most of them look like they could already be professionals.
I can see why I need to learn to use a camera now 🙂
Tim,
This is an awesome post! I would definitely be in the 20% that really liked the ideas behind it. Granted the hot women did not hurt the article, but that was obviously not the main point of posting this. Instead, it was about going after your dreams.
Andy
Just a note on a correction you might want to make to the 4-Hour Body. In the chapter on Ultraendurance I:
“Had she not stopped, Brian estimated her truer finish time at 3:30, a 7:28.8 per mile pace.”
To be accurate, a 3:30 marathon is about 8:00 pace.
Thx, Peter! On it…
ok so I bought the 4hour body. and I am dying to find any kind of actual forum that actually TALKS about the book. everything on this website is tied to every ADD thing you’ve done or thought about or the 4 hr work week book.
what I am interested in is connecting with other REAL people who are trying this diet/exercise program. I walked away with a lot of questions and a lot of frustrations because there is a) no designated area on your blog other than your promotional stuff about the book and b) you do realize that none of the links in the book work, right?
anyways, I’ve committed to this for 30 days but I gotta tell you, I am not impressed so far. I feel like I am flying blind. And I can’t tell you how hard that is for someone who is trying to lose weight….I guess if my pants stop fitting, I can take that as a sign that I am doing something wrong. 🙁
Funny how the people supposedly speaking out for the women are usually the most insulting to them. They always seem to assume the women are stupid and cannot make decisions for themselves. They give them no credit or respect.
“I’d help the lucky winner of this contest along with each step. First, we’ll recruit the girls and find the models he’ll be shooting. Then I’ll give him my camera equipment and teach him how to photograph the girls. The winner will be shooting the girls on his own, but I’ll be around if he needs my help. And afterward, we’ll celebrate the results “Brazilian style”!”
I’m sad that you chose to limit this to *he* and *him* as I’d love to be a Brazilian bikini photographer and I’m not of the male gender.
🙁
Total typo. This — if and when he does it — would not be limited to men!
Hey Tim,
This isn’t just a general praise, there will be some valid questions at the end of this but I love your book. I read half of it Monday afternoon (first book in my life I that couldn’t put down). I’m confident that this e-mail will be worth your time.
I’ve been trying the cold showers and it got me thinking is there a minimal effective temperature at which to take these showers? I would imagine from a thermodynamic perspective that water would only have to be marginally colder than body temperature to facilitate that response. Just curious if you have experimented with this yet.
I’ve been trying the diet and I’m always tempted to try unprocessed brown rice, corn tortillas, and corn in the raw in the diets, how do these hold up? I’ve also wondered how does mayonnaise hold up in the diet? I’ve found some good artichoke dips that mix really well with vegetables for snacks. Hot Sauces are my savior, you have got to try Marie Sharps hot sauce, best thing that has ever happened to me (referred to me by the owner of the hot sauce store at the farmers market in LA). Also, are there any dark beers that might be OK in the evenings? I have to say that when using your diet, I am not hungry after I eat!
I’ve looked at a lot of cinnamon supplements, most of which contain Cassia. How did you arrive at Cassia not being supportive at reducing your glycemic index?
Also wondering why Brazil nuts aren’t included in the list of great potassium suppliers.
I look forward to my first binge tomorrow, but I’m curious to know what the greatest binge you’ve ever had was, while still remaining effective in the diet. I was a little disappointed when I saw that some of your binges were better than my diet on a good day before your diet (minus the croissants), but also relieved to see that eating horribly on one day was actually OK.
One interesting effect I didn’t expect, is that for the FIRST time in my life I wake up early and refreshed. This might be due to the green tea extract I take in the evening but I purchased the mildly caffeinated brand. I have struggled with waking up in the morning for years, and have tried every alarm clock there is, including one that robbed me blind by donating money to a charity if I didn’t get out of bed and deactivate it. I have undergone some personal research when it comes to the field of sleep and waking up. My greatest success was putting a heated mattress pad and full spectrum light on a timer, both would phase in in the morning based on 1.5 hour sleep intervals. It would be so bright and hot that I sleep wouldn’t be an option waking up in a sweat. The best sollution I’m unhappy to say came from binge drinking, where I’ve read that you wake up with adrenaline once your blood sugar levels drop from the alcohol consumed the night before. Have you come across anything with a similar effect without disrupting the diets that might facilitate the same response?
Thank you so much even just for reading this. I’m sure a man of neuroscience knows that it’s not all about statistics and that it sometimes only takes one person to change the paradigm of understanding. Take Care!
-Mike Podevin
Thanks, Mike! Brazil nuts are in the book, but overeating them can cause you to OD on selenium. The best solution for waking early that I’ve found is a timed light clock, or using melatonin the night before and then leaving the shades up.
Good luck!
Tim
Tim, I love the book and everything in it…I’ve read it cover to cover twice and a few chapters four or five times…
One question…I’m three weeks into the weight loss and not fairing well. the first week I lost three pounds and the subsequent weeks, zero. The only item that may be hurting me, help me here, is I have tbsp of half-in-half in my coffee in the morning, I know it’s not cream…but is it possible that’s holding me back? I’m also eating 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of getting up too. What am I missing?
Keith, did you get your bodyfat and composition tested? It’s HIGHLY likely that you’re gaining muscle. The scale isn’t enough to track progress!
Best,
Tim
I’ll tell you why this post made me feel uneasy – it gives me this fear-based idea that if I’m not as beautiful (in an impossible to achieve airbrushed way) as bikini models then I’m unworthy of love. I also feel guilty having devoted so much of time to my hobbies and work then to striving to be as beautiful and perfect as possible.
I understand men are attracted mostly to a woman’s looks but if I devoted most of my time to enhancing my appearance then I’d be a very shallow person. Yet, the guilty feelings stick, and it hurts.
I just got 4HB this week and I am thoroughly fascinated. It is a great piece of work. So far, I noticed one logical error that I wanted to point out. On page 23, the GA box values an hour on a Stairmaster at only 7 calories after subtracting the BMR of 100 cal/hour. The problem lies in the fact that the 107 calories on the Stairmaster only consider the amount of energy expended in moving a person up 27 flights of stairs. Your body still produces heat and uses energy to keep the vital organs functioning, so in actuality this person would have burned 207 calories in that hour (100 BMR plus 107 on the Stairmaster). By your logic, if an exercise only burned 70 calories in an hour, after subtracting the BMR, you would actually burn 30 more calories sitting on the couch. While the value of rigorous exercise is not nearly as effective at burning calories as one would like, it’s not as bad as 7 calories per hour. Minimizing exercise in this way is not accurate and doesn’t lend the level of credibility to your concept that I think they deserve.
Hey Tim,
I just have to chime in. These American women on here are just plain jealous!! Why? Because most of them let themselves go for there career, poor eating habits, or whatever other excuse they want to make up for there ever growing size(see 2/3 of the country severely overweight), and it is hypocritical, because most of them are extremely vain and superficial(see plastic surgery in U.S. highest in the world) and growing more so by the year(see astronomical under reported divorce rate), they have turned into such gold digging human beings, it is disgusting(consumerism run wild), they can never be satisfied….you get the picture. It is always something out there made me feel________fill in the blank, because they won’t look in the mirror at how disgusting they have become inside and take full responsibility for it, they would rather get on a blog like this and bitch and complain, because it could never be them, right??. They get on here and rip on these beautiful girls, who are beautiful inside and out, which they would know if they ever got off there large assets and went to Brazil. So they have the typical American attitude that they are superior to the rest of the world and everyone needs there help while they waddle around pointing fingers. Lol! I know this because this post never ends, it keeps emailing me like no other. This must have really hit a nerve in these American women lol!!! I am a photographer and I will tell you when my Eastern European swimsuit calender comes out Tim. I laugh at these caddy girls whining that it makes them feel guilty or not good enough. That will always be their personal choice to feel however they choose too. Most live these fake, material, consumerist, pill popping lives that are a total joke, not to mention unrealistic, and that the rest of the world cares nothing about. They keep it a lot more real and closer to nature. Did I mention that we only have 1/3 of our population is thin, not to mention a very small number of those are actually pretty. So guys we have no choice but to spread our wings outside of the country. That’s where the naturally thin girls are, because they aren’t plowing down preservative packed artificial food products, which then is washed down with piles of fast foods and then they wonder why they have weight problems , divorce problems, gilt problems, pill problems etc.. Sweet! I was in chez Republic in November and there are NO FAT PEOPLE or FAT CARTS anywhere….This guy is a Rockstar who shot this calendar!! High five one thousand times!!!!!!!!
@Rossmore: And the top prize for dumbest comment possible goes to…
Really, this nicely sums up the dumb attitude of the many responses from people who clearly have no clue what they’re talking about.
I applaud the many women who stood up to these bullies and spoke their mind about what was wrong with this post. It’s about more than whatever the silly title was before. I’ve only seen this post with the modified title and I still find the content of the post disturbing. Why can’t women (and a few enlightened/open-minded men) express dissenting views on this post without automatically being called ugly, fat, a “middle class American woman” (is this a new cowardly code for something?), bitter, etc? And the sad thing is, many of the responses from the women then came with qualifications about their education levels, attractiveness, etc., when none of these ignorant bozos had to justify themselves in any way.
There are so many (valid) issues this post automatically conjures up for many women that you (clearly) can’t even begin to imagine. This could have been a good opportunity for an open and thoughtful discussion, but many of you have shown you don’t think women are “intelligent enough” to comprehend issues they are more intimately knowledgeable about. To relegate any dissent to simple personal insecurity about “not feeling attractive enough” or “feminist brainwashing” is really lazy. What are you so afraid of that you can’t listen for one second to the concerns of the gender most directly affected by this? Now I wonder who the really insecure one is…
Easy, easy…
Hey Ali,
I want to thank you for your dedicated comment:)! You’re definitely entitled to your opinion….I stand by my comment. It out is of control here in the U.S. with marriage and women. It is pure business lol! We are all to blame on some level for the monster we created. I wish you only goodness…Peace
@Ali…I want to thank you for your dedicated comment:)! You’re definitely entitled to your opinion….I stand by my comment. It out is of control here in the U.S. with marriage and women. It is pure business lol! We are all to blame on some level for the monster we created. I wish you only goodness…Peace
Awesome and inspiring! Thanks for taking the time, can’t w8 for the competition!
Hi Tim,
Indeed an excellent blog right there for aspiring models and photographers like me.This is an inspiration to anyone who would want to start out a profitable and challenging career in the future.Jeremiah Thompson and his wife is a great combination.
I believe Modelling and Photography goes together.A Model can develop its talent and skills in Photography if his/her interest is there, or even it goes the other way around .
Modelling came into a realization for me few years back. Just like those Brazillian girls. I was discovered by a Photographer and owner of a Photo Studio.I was in High School back then. There it started my Modelling career locally until 2008. I was an Image Model and Ramp by few companies, designers and Botique owners in my country. Through time, my exposure in media, pageants & fashion increment my confidence. It has been inate in my whole persona since then .
Brazillian Women are beautiful and I do hope Mr. J. Thompson would explore other beauties as well in other countries most specially in Asia.
More Success to your company Tim. Your Blog Site is very Informative, Educational and Inspiring.Cheers!
I sincerely plan on visiting Brazil sometime between June and Sept. I”m very computer literate and can’t seem to find any contact information on Greicy of Mocambique or Mahara of Campeche.
I’m 6’3″ 220 lbs, caramel, funny, and very athletic, and indeed as fine and handsome as they come. I’m often described as a romantic r & b jazzy type with a touch of hip hop in my swagger.
I’m very financially established and looking for a young beautiful woman as Greicy or Mahara to spend the rest of my life with.
Help me out if you can. Surely it would be appreciated! I have my personal reasons for not posting myself fully on Facebook, but I can break it down to both or either of the young ladies once we share and discreetly exchange some things.
Somebody holla at me. I’m gone be where I’m at.
A lot of people have figured out in recent years that you can go to a less developed country and date better quality women. No big news here. The thing these people often don’t focus on is preparing themselves to be a decent partner.
A success story, great news! I’m getting your book tomorrow Tim.
I don’t get the negative jazz. Life is short, be happy!
These models are so gorgeous, I still check em out once in a while
Wow, great idea for the calendar and the way to get beautiful women to pose for you.
Do you think I can make a calendar of the Beautiful women of Montana and get it to work as well?
hmmmmm
Hey Tim!
Great post, and I read it at the right moment.
I am working on moving to Brazil, to reboot my life.
I started considering it a year and a half ago, and finally got to the point of getting serious!
Your book gave me a lot of practical advice and inspiration!
I really hope, I can contribute to spread your insight.
What would you say, if your blog would be translated into some other languages?
Just to help all those who don’t have a good command of english? (I’d be honored to participate in such a project)
Does it sound reasonable? 😉
Best
Andras
I have always love photography. I wanna do fashion shoots and get creative with models.
Thanks Tim for this post, it fueled my passion for photography. I hope someday i’ll be able to do it and share it to the world.
This is a great story. I love how Jeremiah took his passion for learning how to surf and his hobby as a photographer and essentially created a new chapter in his life.
I liked this article very much and, unlike some american women, this hasn’t offended me, instead it made me very happy! It was like a kind of personal justice to me because I also was born in the State of Santa Catarina just like those gourgeous girls on those pictures. I remember one night at a bar one man speaking out loud that there were only ugly women in Santa Catarina. His comments offended me because I’m from Santa Catarina! And I am not ugly I know that! His lack of respect let me upset. And then I finally see my vengeance day has come! This american photographer is showing the world how beautiful the catarinense women are! And I like when someone tells me how beautiful I am, I don’t feel myself down, I feel myself flattered indeed! But I must say it’s been very hard to find flirtatious guys… I don’t like to be compared when I’m approached.
There were no victims there and then! And brazilian women are correct and they have morals and ethic, they are not whores!
i am a commercial photographer in India, rather more like a cook in mc donalds, i shoot the same kinda of stuff everyday, 26 days a month, money is good, but after reading this article, and going through images of Jeremiah Thompson, inspirational work, and for a photographer like me, something very new.
its more like a breeze of fresh air…..probably i need to find my way to brazil…..
Brazil, here i come!
Sheyi
I made a comment over a year ago on this post, and have made a shift since then. So I thought I’d share it with you.
If you read my comment (just do a ctrl-F and search for “Cassandra” if you like) – you’ll read that I was feeling guilty about not devoting more time to my looks and concentrating more on my hobbies and adventures, etc.
I no longer believe that beauty is something to “work” on. It can come naturally with the right frame of mind wherever you live in the world.
What I’ve come to learn in the last year is that, here in North America, we live in a very commodified culture that emphasizes earning money to buy things that are supposed to make us happy, etc. etc. etc.! …and as a result the advertising, media and whatever else have filled our brains with negative thinking and memes that give us stress and affect our thinking.
Candace Pert says that “your body is your subconscious mind”. This is what I learned in the last year. If you think ugly thoughts, feel ugly, and are negative, then you will look ugly.
That picture of Dayana made me smile. She looks so very much in love! I think that if we focus on beautiful things like this we can feel more beautiful and therefore look more beautiful.
One perhaps need not travel thousands of miles to Brazil to feel paradise. Yes, these warm countries are wonderful (I lived in Greece for six years) but there’s a lot of positivity to be found here as well. Perhaps by embracing beauty (and allowing it) you too will meet your Dayana on the way to the grocery store tomorrow. I am almost sure of it.
Best of luck to everyone 🙂
On the subject of mini retirements, I’ve been a little late on the Ferriss train, but have been getting great results with the methods found in the book and shared by the extended family here. I’m working less at the jobs I don’t enjoy and spend more time doing what I love.
My question is about having newly freed time. I’m not sure if anyone else has experienced this, but I’ve arranged to only have to work a few hours a day. The rest of my time I try to fill with interesting hobbies.
What do you do about your friends? I’m the only one of my social circle and family that has made efforts of lifestyle design, so now I’m always free when they’re not. This might be one of the best problems I’ve ever had. I understand it’s like someone complaining that they’re sleeping with too many supermodels, but I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced this.
Thanks to Tim and the 4 hour peeps for the constant quality of blogs and comments.
Great example of going beyond the existing paradigm, the supposed “rules” about what’s ok or what is believed to work. If I hadn’t already met the woman of my dreams I would most certainly consider this approach (I know how the story ends – read the original email ages ago 🙂
Wow there has been a lot of controversy over this post.
I believe that many of the women feel this is creepy because PUA’s do use this tactic in North America to try and have sex with women.
When I still lived in Edmonton (Alberta, Canada) I was out at a friend’s birthday party at a club called Vinyl. Near the end of the night a fairly intoxicated man approached me and said something to the effect of: “Hi, I couldn’t help but notice that you are very beautiful. I am a photographer and was wondering if you would like to pose for me?” I am not a model and had never been approached like this before. My reaction was to say no that I was not interested. He persisted so for interests sake (and also to be slightly rude and perhaps prove what I already was thinking – creep alert!) I asked him why he was trolling the bar for potential models at this hour and what kind of photos he was taking. He replied “lingerie photos, I am working on a calendar.”
He did not answer as to why he was looking at a bar at closing time (when people usually look their worst) for his candidates.
I can only say – CREEPY!
That said: Legitimate models ARE discovered in diners, on beaches and at shopping malls. The difference is that the photographer is not drunk or trying to sleep with a woman/man.
You can find people willing to model for you for a variety of things (for FREE) without taking advantage of them or using them.
For my final runway show at Fashion Design College this is exactly what my friends and I did – approach people on the street. Cariwest (A festival) was happening in Edmonton at the time and three of us went out on the streets with our phones and contact numbers in hand and approached any girl we saw that we thought would work for our show. We then invited them to our model casting, took their phone numbers and gave ours (if they were willing).
If you are professional and act professional people want to participate. Any aspiring model/actress/designer/artist knows that there is a give/take relationship in the creative world.
*I do agree with Jeremiah though that the part about seeing them in their bikinis before the shoot could have been left out as it seemed to offend a lot of people. In a teeny bit of defense for Jeremiah: Before our show (at the casting) all of the models had to try on outfits for the runway show. We did this at our school so perhaps what made it creepy was that he said his house instead of his studio?
Either way I don’t think (I hope) the post wasn’t meant to encourage men to go and pursue women by lying to them nor that it was meant to objectify women. I think it was meant as a study of how one person took an idea and turned it into a business and a lifestyle.
To answer your question: I met my husband in high school and my mother and father instilled in me from a young age that you should chose a life partner very carefully based on a set of predetermined criteria, not based on whim or infatuation.
When I began dating my husband they sat me down and asked me really important questions about him, the most important of which (in my mind) was this: “Think of the most annoying thing that he does. Can you live with that for the next 70 years?”
They knew that you should marry someone for who they are. Not who you hope they will become.
I think that if more people would approach their search for a life partner in this way the divorce rate would be much lower.
We have been together now for close to 12 years, married for almost 7.
My sister also followed this advice and has been married to her husband for close to 5 years.
I did not intend for my comment to be so long! thanks Tim for opening both of these discussions.
What I love about this post is that this guy had a dream, and he went after it. You have to be a hustler to have that kind of drive, and it’s admirable, whether he was photographing beautiful women or starting an orphanage in Africa. Neither one is “better”, and we’re not here to place judgements on other people’s dreams. He saw something he wanted and he went after it – good for him.
MY STORY
I read 4HWW under protest in June 2008. Based in London and was running a one day course in Perth Australia, I was staying with the guy who organised the course, he gave me the book to keep and read; I passed it back to him and told him I have been reading self-help books for 25 years and I had not read anyrhing in the last 15 that taught me anyrhing I had not already learnt in the first ten.
He insisted, and I read it on the plane back to London.
In eight months I went from 50 to 20 hours work per week without dropping a penny in income.
The timing was right: my wife (Paris)was recovering from cancer treatment which was going to get her one day- she was a strong girl so we hoped not for some time and I wanted to free up the time to spend with her doing stuff.
I always had a plan to reduce working hours every decade from when I was 20 (100 hours a week) but at the age of 49 was wondering how to get it down from 50 hours;
And I always from the age of twenty aspired to the concept of mini-retirements but never found or learnt the tools to permanently achieve other than on a sporadic basis.
I will cover the business side on another comment, but on the personal front my wife’s demise was quicker than expected; in March 2009 the cancer had gone to the brain and after nursing her for a year she passed away peacefully bathed in love with very little pain.
I have absolutely no doubt that the intervention of reading this book allowed me to free up my time without financial distress to take care of her 24 hours a day: I now know I would have done it anyway but without reading the book, severe financial distress would have ensued.
Now because of my 4HWW model for work, I take the time out with my now13 year old son to have extended holidays; in the summer of 2010 after his mum passed away we spent eight weeks travelling Cornwall, Devon, Portsmouth, Isle of Wight, Wales, Shropshire and Norfolk.
He feels better loved for me having read the 4HWW.
What an amazing story… well from a guys perspective. Tim everyday i read one of these mini retirements and everyday i get more and more excited to start my own… cannot wiat to share mine
Thanks for sharing your info. I really appreciate your efforts and I am waiting for your further write ups thank you once again.
great inspiration.
I live in Thailand, many pretty girls here.
Calendar with cute Thai Girls, wow, I’ll do that.
Thank you guys.
The photos are amazing, I think the decision to go to Brazil instead of Australia worked for you.
Jeremiah! I love this! How do I learn more about you? I am a beauty/ boudoir photog in Denver who is looking to get my husband and 4 kids into a more flexible lifestyle a la 4HWW. I can only find your Flickr account. Would love to learn more about you and your biz! Thank you, Erin
Thanks for sharing your info.Your pictures are amazing, so the models.
I can’t believe I missed this post. Just reading it now and I love it. Did you get a magazine to pick this up yet?
As a guy who has been all over Brazil and Buenos Aires, I will at least inject my comment on the kinds of girls in those various areas, for those who are interested in the girls, at least a little more so than photography.
Most will agree that Brazilian girls in general are much easier to hook up with than Argentinian girls. In the Northern areas of Brazil you will find the darker types, and it gets lighter as you go down south. Florianopolis, the area mentioned in this article has a very strong presence of attractive girls, mostly because its generally a luxury area (Brazilians dont consider it to be authentic Brazil, presumably because the lack of similarity to other cities, crime, etc). Porto Alegre is the other largest city more south, with Parana and Curitiba within hours. The south coast of Brazil bears some resemblance to the coast of California, as there are many cities sharing the same name (Santa Monica, Sao/San Francisco, etc).
One common mistake foreigners make is that they think just because a girl will sleep with you, she has interest in you with a relationship. Keep in mind that they dont have the same culture base taken from Puritans and other extremely religious types that considered sex taboo and had strong marital principles. While most guys will think this is a great concept, try not to catch feelings with the girl who is a 9/10 and isnt interested day 2.
In Argentina, its considered much more difficult. They are known for their sense of pride and put a lot of value in themselves, and less often have the “sex is just for fun” attitude. Additionally, you wont find too many dark girls in Argentina, the darkest usually being a tan shade and not black. The guy on the 100 peso note wiped out most aboriginal and African descent people 150 some odd years ago, and is now known and well regarded there. Although its pretty terrible from an American point of view, expect to see racism tolerated much more over there.
As with all cultures, there are always skanks afloat. People in Argentina party a lot harder, you will see clubs start to empty when the sun comes up, whereas in Brazil its hard to even find a bar (the actual bar table, plenty of drinking places) to sit against, its all tables mostly because people drink to socialize a bit more, go home not too late or drunk so they can have sex with each other. Holding hands will be a culture shock, you will meet a girl in Brazil and she will hold your hands like you guys are still in middle school or something – just go with it. The girl in Argentina will want 3 dates.
Again, all generalizations here, but most would agree. I prefer Argentinian girls in terms of looks, Brazilians in terms of attitude.
Tim– I am offended. I demand you follow this post with the success story of a small-town guy who dreams of being a female scientists’ brain photographer, comes up with a plan, acts on it, and ends up at MIT, where he shoots photos for his wildly popular female scientist’s brains calendar, before marrying one of them. For her brain.
Seems like an excellent plot for…”The Outer Limits.” muah ha ha haaaaa
I met my husband while I was on a date with someone else (and actually dating 3 other guys at the time). I had just gotten out of a very damaging relationship and was seeking a respite from the obligations of exclusivity so I when on a date with anyone that asked because why the fuck not. Anyway, our relationship isn’t your run of the mill marriage. We have engineered it from day one and modify it as necessary. We have 3 kids, we have freedom to see other people, we participate in BDSM and kink. We have effectively designed the marriage that is most enjoyable for us. So if someone wanted to adapt their marriage, I would say it’s possible, it just takes work (which every marriage does anyway so you may as well get some extraordinary results from all the effort).
Good article
I am from Brazil and my opinion from Brazilian giro is
The beauty of Brazilian girl is distributed the same way wealth is there. The majority is not that great and below average of any minimum standard, however the to quartile is something fenomenal out of this world amazing crazing hot beautiful
I have being living in Australia for 10 years and the average girls is ok and gorgeous but the top quartile is not as good as the Brazilians.
My 2 cent
Give a note if someone agree
Cheers
Pedro
It was probably 5 years into our marriage when I realized why it works so well between us. We stick to the rules of improv theater. Most important: Don’t deny or turn down offers made by your partner. And we both would give away our last penny for travelling.
It is so simple to agree on our top priority in life.
Seems like lots of readers here would be served very well by doing a little more, enter “The subtle art of not giving a f*uck” by Mark Manson. Many an unconventional and yet profoundly wise word to all those offended at something so small and absurd. “Don’t let the fears of your past, blackmail your present, and rob you of your future.” Unknown
Excellent Stuff! Absolutely stunning pictures and great story!
I know somebody who went into modelling at 17, and I remember that the hardest thing for them was finding photographers and people willing to get her career started (I’m guessing some people are a bit skeptical when somebody is younger, because it’s taboo [not too crazy as I think about it]). It’s good that you’ve giving advice to people to getting started in Brazil, because when this woman I know started her website [Moderator: link removed.] she focused on targeting not just a local area, but a global audience, including people in Brazil. In a way, I wish she hadn’t to find all the information for her manually. Since she first started modelling, the world wide web has really kicked off and articles like this would have been a huge asset for her (it probably would have saved her loads of work too).