It was the summer of 1969 or 70, I had been managing a pet shop on the east side of Manhattan and there had been a heat wave for ten days to the point where they had to hose down the bridges because people's tires were melting!

On top of that, the air-conditioning in the shop was broken. I couldn't take it and called the owner to tell him I'm out and the keys were at the deli next door. I had another friend who worked in TV production, I asked him if they had any positions open even if it meant just getting the coffee. They had nothing available at the time, but suggested I go to see another friend of his who was producing a fashion show.

I went up to see him, he fitted me in what was kind of like a frontier Indian outfit (my hair was well past my shoulders at the time), and another outfit that was kinda weird as it was like a chain metal sweat suit.

I turned up the day of the show and when I got backstage and saw all of the frantic activity and half naked people it all seemed really cool. I went out each time for under 3 minutes and collected $350 for 2 hours!!! That was almost as much as I was making at the pet shop in a week!!! I asked a couple of the other guys how to pursue this gig and they were very friendly and explained I would have to have an agent and to go around and see the agents. That I did, and virtually got laughed out of every agency because of my long hair. The last one I tried was Wagner and Ted Dawson at the time was booking there. He didn't laugh and seemed to understand that I did not want to cut my hair. (I later found out that he had gone through the same hair thing.) He had me take some tests with my hair pulled back, they were received well and he helped me understand if I really wanted to do the modeling thing some grooming would be necessary. So bit by bit I cut it. I booked my first editorial job for GQ and ended up on the cover. I wish I could tell you a story of struggle and heartbreak, but after that it was smooth sailing and I thank goodness for Ted because one could not have had a better mentor. He filled me in on all the most important factors about being a professional and how to make things work even if you were not in the mood. Being able to make good use of all the tips enabled me to travel the world, meet interesting characters and almost always have a boatload of fun while doing it!!!

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BOB MENNA

BOB MENNA