He's known as the "wealthy silver fox" in many of the adverts he models in, however, that's literally dress up for Mark Reay, who has been homeless for most of his modeling career, according to a profile in the New York Post.
The 56-year-old Reay is the subject of a new documentary, cleverly titled Homme Less, that follows the model who got his start walking in shows for luxury labels like Versace, Moschino, and Missoni, but never earning more than $10,000 a year. Over his career, Reay played a small part on the first season of Sex and the City, and has also been on The Good Wife and Men in Black 3, however, as he tells NY Post, "As anyone in the fashion industry knows, the six- and seven-figure paychecks are only for the lucky few."
After having to resort to a $30 per night youth hostel in Williamsburg that he left after it gave him bed bugs, he used the keys he had to a friend's apartment to unknowingly sleep on their building's roof. Reay spent the next six years sleeping on that roof. He used the money he earned to buy a gym membership, cell phone plan, and health insurance and would get ready for modeling jobs in public restrooms while storing, ironing, and washing his clothes at the YMCA. Recently, Raey moved into his mother's house in New Jersey, but his willingness to do whatever it takes to continue living his dream of modeling and traveling remains.
Watch a trailer for the new documentary Homme Less above.
