We recently connected with Teo Santos and have shared our conversation below.

Teo, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?

I always planned on going to medical school and becoming a doctor. So it’s wild that I am doing what I am doing because I never could have guessed or envisioned that this is where life would lead me. I graduated high school with my pharmacy tech and EMT licenses and worked in healthcare since my junior year of high school. From then on and throughout my college education I worked in healthcare fully committed to getting into it. I worked as a phlebotomist, in pediatrics, dermatology, pediatric dermatology, the ER, the pharmacy, and I did rotations in various parts of the hospital in the ICU, surgical unit, gastrointestinal, etc. Once I graduated college with my biology degree I got a job at a cancer hospital doing clinical trial research with stage 1 to stage 4 cancer patients and worked alongside big pharmaceutical companies like Pfizer, Johnson and Johnson, AbbVie, and others.

While working there one day someone reached out to me on Instagram and said there was a commercial happening in a town just north of where I lived, and they needed a person of color on a Saturday for 3 hours and that it paid $400. I had done some freelance modeling work in college but never thought that it would lead to anything. My first paid modeling job was for a local sock company for $50, free socks, and pizza haha. So as a broke, underpaid, recent graduate, I jumped on the opportunity to make some extra money. It was for a supplement company I had never heard of and it was a blast. I left happy and with an extra $400 in my pocket. Later the following week, during my lunch break and amid medical school applications (which are quite expensive), I thought of how convenient it would be to be able to model as a side hustle to help me pay for not only bills but also help cover medical school application expenses. I only really knew of one talent agency in Utah and didn’t know anything about them. I had no idea if they were good or credible, but I knew two acquaintances who were signed by them, and they seemed like they liked it. The following week I called and said, ” Hi my name is Matheus Santos. I’m a local BIPOC model and am looking for representation. Would love to discuss a possible work opportunity.” The lady who answered my now agent Vickie Paneck, was so sweet over the phone and asked me some questions about myself and to send her some photos of myself and a selfie and that she would like to have me come in for an interview.

I sent her the very few and not amazing photos that I had and waited. After a month went by with no reply, I decided to send her an email to follow up. She quickly replied, apologized for the delays, and invited me to an interview the next day. When I went in to meet her, it was as if I was meeting Anna Wintour. She was incredibly nice and asked me to do my poses and then out of the blue she asked me to take some time, read 3 scripts, and then perform them for her. I took a back and told her I had only ever dated a theater girl but didn’t have much interest in acting. She asked me to do it anyway and the moment she left I googled “how to read a script.” When she came back and after I read her the script, she said I needed a lot of work, but that she thought I had talent and wanted to sign me as an actor and a model.

The next thing I knew, I was booking jobs left and right, many of which I had to keep turning down because I was working full-time at the hospital. After 3 months of this and after doing the math I discovered that I would be making the same amount of money if not more doing acting and modeling full-time. As much as I wanted to quit though the lack of stability scared me. A couple of weeks went by, and work up until then had become a very toxic environment and was only getting worse. I took a deep look into my finances, I had some money saved up, and after just 3 months of having signed with my agency decided to just take the risk and jump off the cliff not knowing or having any guarantees that it would work out. Luckily it did. I kept booking work and was making more than I had been previously at the hospital. All the while having the free time to fly out and do medical school interviews.

Fast forward to March 2021, I received my acceptance to a couple of medical schools in the US and was faced with the dilemma of going to medical school or continuing to do what I was doing. I loved medicine and was incredibly passionate about it, but ultimately I decided to not go and continue my journey as a creative. I loved my newfound profession, how creative I got to be, the art of telling stories, the ability to be my own boss, to be an entrepreneur and create my own schedule, travel for work, and take breaks whenever I need.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I covered how I got into my industry quite a bit in the last question since that also revolves around one of the biggest risks I’ve taken in my life.

My name is Matheus Santos, known professionally as Teo Santos. Most recently I was featured as a supporting character in the films, Image of You featuring Pretty Little Liars star Sasha Pieterse, Omaha featuring Past Lives actor John Margo, and a Christmas movie Destined 2: At Christmas Once more now streaming on TV. I have also been in a variety of other local feature and short films, commercials for companies such as Delta Airlines, Peloton, Walmart, Walt Disney, and I have been published in several indie men’s fashion magazines.

I was born in São Paulo, Brazil, but have had the privilege of growing up in various places in different parts of the world. I moved to the US as a kid with my mom and aunt, grew up in various states, and even spent a couple of years living in northern Japan. I am fluent in English, Japanese, Portuguese, and Spanish.

Living in a variety of places and learning various languages has greatly influenced the person I have become. I believe that traveling, getting to know new cultures, and learning new languages have helped expand my worldview and connect with others on a deeper level. I love that language and culture enrich self-expression, connection, and storytelling. It’s cliché, but it’s true that when you learn to speak a new language you learn how to express yourself in ways you can’t in others. You learn a lot not only about yourself, but you get to connect with others in a much more meaningful way. You can relate to them, empathize with them, and ultimately develop deeper and stronger bonds the more you know about a person, their culture, and their language.

At its core culture, language, and especially acting and modeling is the art of storytelling. Storytelling is really what connects us all. It is the heart of humanity and as an actor and model, I am allowed the opportunity to depict, live, and breathe life into stories and evoke powerful emotions. I get to touch the hum of what it is to be human and I love that I get to call that “work.”

I attribute my success in part to my upbringing. My mother did a stellar job in raising me as a single woman. She always encouraged and pushed me to work as hard as I could in everything that I did and like most immigrant parents expected near perfection. Despite the demanding expectations, I appreciate the high standards she set for me because it solidified my strong work ethic and set the bar for what I can achieve. They say that in the entertainment industry, hard work outlives talent, and although I want to become the best actor that I can be, I believe this principle applies to a variety of industries. I’ve learned and often say to people that no matter what you do, always give it your best and work harder than anyone. That’s what I did when I was pursuing medicine, and that’s what I continue doing as I pursue my career as an actor and model. No one will ever stay up as late as you, hustle as much as you, or work harder than you, to achieve your dreams.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

What a lot of people don’t know, including creatives before they get into the industry is that being creative means taking on the role of an entrepreneur. You become your own boss, responsible for investing in your portfolio, handling marketing, conducting research, responding to emails, and managing web design. A lot of actors and models think that their agent or manager is their boss when in reality they’re your partners. Therefore, you need to know how to read and negotiate contracts with possible partners, with brands and companies you collaborate with to make sure you don’t get taken advantage of or sign your rights away.

I was one of those people who didn’t know and certainly didn’t expect to be my own boss and running my own business and brand. Luckily I had the experience of starting and operating my mother’s hair salon back in high school/college which equipped me with the essential business skills I needed to run my modeling and acting business. For those who haven’t had similar opportunities though, discovering relevant resources such as books, podcasts, or information on business is incredibly beneficial. Business skills will exponentially aid anyone in navigating their creative career.

Now, reflecting back on my journey as an actor and model over the last three years, there are numerous resources I wish I had known about earlier . When I started I lacked a clear understanding of the industry, how it works, and essentially learned through trial and error. In hindsight, One of the resources that I knew about, but wish I had tapped into earlier was the value behind a mentor. Seeking mentorship and guidance from someone experienced in the field would have been very helpful in navigating the ins and outs of the industry. It would have certainly saved me a significant amount of time and would have provided valuable insights so I wouldn’t repeat similar mistakes.

One of the hardest things for me in navigating this career was finding true and accurate information about the industry. With the sheer litany of content on social media, the prevalence of false and misleading information online, often shared as click bate for money, likes, and follows, misled me a couple of times. Often times these accounts not only share misinformation but convince individuals to invest in their unnecessary classes and seminars that don’t teach you how the industry actually works.

Once I combed through all the filth and after a lot of trial and error and just learning through experience how the industry works, I found trustworthy accounts that provide genuine and reliable information. Sources that I believe have been instrumental in my career growth.

Recognizing the need for more accessible knowledge in the industry, some friends and I established a small modeling school called Pose and Shoot. We have tried to make it an affordable way to help people get into the industry by not only teaching them how to model, but also teaching them about the industry and the business side of modeling.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

One of the most rewarding aspects of being an artist or creative, for me, parallels the fulfilling experiences I had in the medical field. Working in healthcare, I constantly felt like I was making a tangible impact on people’s lives, albeit not always a huge impact, but an impact nevertheless that left me with that warm, fuzzy feeling that you get from helping others. A feeling that I was really making a difference in someone’s life no matter how small.

When I was transitioning into a career as a creative I doubted that I would continue to feel that warm, fuzzy, feeling as much. Surprisingly though, I’ve discovered that feeling persists as an actor/model, especially when I’m immersed in projects that hold personal significance or that I feel will make an impact on those who see/watch it.. Although it might not occur as frequently as in my medical days, the satisfaction lingers and pushes me to keep going.

Contact Info:

• Website: ItsTeo.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/ItsTeoSantos
• Other: TikTok @ItsTeoSantos

Image Credits
Blue suit: Brittany Junelle Stairs: Ashley Westenskow Delta: Delta airlines The rest were me.