We recently connected with Brandon Runkel and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Brandon , thanks for joining us today. The first dollar you earn is always exciting – it’s like the start of a new chapter and so we’d love to hear about the first time you sold or generated revenue from your creative work?
My first dollar earned as a creative happened about three weeks after I got scouted and signed by my agent, Ursula Wiedmann. The gig was a half-day photo shoot for Belk’s fall ’18 catalogue and I was absolutely terrified! My hair was much shorter than it is now and I was barely 18 years old with only about two test shoots worth of modeling experience. I remember walking into the studio in Midtown we were shooting at around 1pm and seeing and hearing absolutely zero signs of life. I thought I had gone to the wrong studio and misread my very first call sheet ever and my stomach sank. Then a few moments later I heard someone say “we need music it’s too quiet!” and my heart started beating again once I followed the voice and they confirmed I was in the right spot. I walked into a big, industrial room with seven or eight massive racks of clothes in it. I introduced myself to the stylists and crew who were very kind and and they showed me to the dressing room. As soon as I walked in the dressing room, I froze. Sitting in a high chair in the dressing room was one of the world’s top lingerie models, and here I was about do my high school homework until they needed me. As soon as I introduced myself to this woman who towered over me without heels, the stylists told her she was wrapped and she was gone. The photographer then seemed to appear out of thin air with a huge burst of fun energy and started telling me all the details about the shoot and catalogue and vibe he was attempting to capture. Another model with my agency showed up soon after that, and we all hit it off seamlessly and went straight into shooting. That was the first time I really took direction from a photographer because I was modeling for the clothes and not trying to brand myself in a shoot and I had never done that before. The shoot didn’t take but about four hours total, and about a month or so afterwards my dad sent me a picture that one of his friends took and there I was in the middle of a Belk magazine! I had a fantastic and fun experience earning my first paycheck as a creative, and learned a lot about the industry I was headed into when I didn’t actually receive said paycheck until three months after the shoot…and that I better get used to that industry standard!!!
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I have been a part-time professional model for just over five years now. I started the summer before my senior year of high school, and used my earnings as a model to help pay a portion of my way through film school. Now, I have a BFA in film production and am working on creating my professional modeling a full-time career. I have acted in a few nation-wide released commercials, and many music videos for artists in Nashville and Atlanta. I have absolutely zero professional acting training, but acting is the direction I want my career to head towards. I have written an hour-long drama teleplay pilot script which placed in the second rounder’s category at the Austin Film Festival this year. I have directed a few short films and scene-recreations of my own, and acted in many student short films in the past few years. I play the drums, guitar, and piano and hope to begin producing music for others and myself within the next year. The short comedy films and pilot script are what I am most proud of in my creative career so far, mostly because they were so challenging and rewarding to complete. I think what sets me apart is my versatility and adaptability in the creative world. I can do lifestyle, commercial, e-commerce, and hand modeling as well as editorials, high-fashion, and runway gigs. I have experience on both sides of the camera and have worked just about every position possible on a film set before. My mission with my work is to create with as many people possible, and learn from each and every person I get the opportunity to work with. I want to inspire others how they inspired me as a child watching movies, and inspire myself by diving head first with open arms further into the creative world.
Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?
Matthew McConaughey’s “Greenlights”, Don Miguel Ruiz’s “The Four Agreements”, and Hal Runkel’s “Choose Your Own Adulthood” (yes, that is my father and yes, he is an incredible author) have all significantly made an impact on my perception of myself as a human, as a creative, and as an entrepreneur. I highly recommend these books for absolutely everyone, especially those who market themselves. Next on my reading list is “The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F***” by Mark Manson which my family swears by. There’s a short video of Bryan Cranston on youtube talking at a conference, and he talks about how he auditions and where his mindset is at for auditioning in general that I think about before every audition I get now.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
For me, the most rewarding aspect is getting the opportunity to meet and interact with so many different and talented people. When I do not lean into my art or creativeness, I feel empty because I am not surrounded by people who inspire me and push me to me to be vulnerable. Learning about people’s stories, what makes them tick, and seeing them thrive in their creative flow is hands down the most rewarding thing about being a creative.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ursulawiedmannmodels.com/portfolio/men-mainboard/men/1231894/brandon-runkel
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandonrunkel/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3UYyGtvl3oZXygG0pficuQ/featured
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7qC2lGZY7M https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZGgNwBPt4s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1pGVbI7PIo
Image Credits
Blake Ballard Brandon Hayden