meet Alejandro Corzo.... the triple threat

“Don’t settle for random events, seduce your attendees, be unexpected and exceed expectations!”

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Those are the first words you encounter when you reach your destination on his website. (Link below)

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Once again, I can never stop thanking the internet and social media for allowing me to seek and discover some of the most beautiful and fascinating people who inhabit the so called “Ethernet.” Today my focus is Alejandro Corzo who began his career as a model and eventually has morphed into a journalist/newscaster/television personality on the evening news. As if all this is not enough Senõr Corzo is quite literally the master of ceremonies,  forgive the bad pun, but he  maintains an event planning  business that organizes large scale events ; anything from weddings to conventions to red carpet after parties. I would say that Alejandro is one in a million on many planes; rare is the person who can do one job well let alone three at once.

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These interviews happen as I not so randomly peruse, sift through and pursue people of the internet via Instagram and Facebook.  (Yes I read hashtags and explanations of images) Truth be told, I am attracted to beautiful images; whether of people, places or objects. I am fascinated by photography and lighting as well as the subject matter which is all reflected in my daily Instagram posts. Oh yes, and one more thing, there is always some aspect of fashion, style or creativity involved in all those who I essay to “chat up’” but not all of my efforts meet with success. In this particular case, as is stated in Corzo’s opening quote on his website ... he exceeded my expectations and especially for being so much more than just a genetically blessed man whom the camera seems to love.

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So, rather than any more of my blah blah blah from me, here is some insight into the triple threat who is Alejandro Corzo and what makes him tick… 

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Jeffrey Felner: Can you give us a sort of resume as to how you arrived at your present station in life?

Alejandro Corzo: I got where I am now by studying really hard and working since I was very young. I truly believe a person can reach his or her goals only by working hard and being always focused in the same direction. Luck exists, but without effort nothing comes to pass.

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Jeffrey Felner: You are involved in several different careers; would you please elaborate and tell us why you chose to maintain one more than the other?

Alejandro Corzo: I worked as a model since I was a kid, I traveled the world working as a model and that gave me many beautiful experiences, but also the hard lessons which showed me life isn’t easy. Right now, and since 2 years ago I have my own company, I organize events, mostly international medical congresses and I supervise the different suppliers involved (catering, hostesses, technicians…).

Besides of my events company I work as a journalist. I report the most important news happening in Castilla La Mancha and Spain as well as in a magazine called Estando Contigo in Castilla La Mancha Media. If I would have to choose,  I would like to continue working as a journalist and on television as that has always been my passion.

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Jeffrey Felner: If you could invite any 5 people to dinner, who would they be and why?

Alejandro Corzo: My father who died when I was 6 years old, my mom to give her the opportunity to see him once again and then I would choose 3 more people who I most admire; they would be Princess Diana, Teresa de Calcutta and Michael Jackson. 

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Jeffrey Felner: Let’s talk about the age if Instagram; how much importance do you place on it and do you believe that the attention translates to real life situations that affect your life? Care to share?

Alejandro Corzo: For me Instagram and every social media is important to show the real you. Many people, I could say, most of the people nowadays use Instagram to show the life they want, not the life they really have, pretending to be someone else. For me, it is a place where I can show who I really am,  also I always try to make people understand that while  being a model you can also do proper jobs. I’m very tired of people who think that models have no other interest other than vanity, beauty or fashion. I also use Instagram to let people know that showing our bodies doesn’t mean we are narcissists, for me it is called FREEDOM. 

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Jeffrey Felner: If you could choose any collaboration or project who might it be with or what would it be?

I always wanted to work as a TV anchor on the daily news or in entertainment on a national TV channel. 

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http://www.alejandrocorzo.com/  http://www.alejandrocorzo.com/

PS … when is the last time you tuned into the news and saw an anchorman  who could double as a model or leading man?

Meet Chris Young... the triple threat

What do you get when you cross Bruce Lee with Jackie Chan and the boy next door? Well , you are going to get a man named Chris Young who combines martial arts with dance with modeling and then to ice the cake ... acting!

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The discipline of martial arts is apparent in this man’s demeanor and yet he is totally at ease and very well spoken on all subjects concerned. To say he is a rarity within the business of fashion would be an understatement or possibly an anomaly and yet he fits right in with the flock. He is the essence of athleticism meets esthetics.

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Chris is one of many who fights against the stereotypes and ill-conceived notions of what makes a model. He is dedicated to all his crafts and skills and as he duly pointed out to me that they are not always inextricably linked; one is learned and one is honed. That is a rather astute and a telling observation for a man whose intelligence belies his professional choices or maybe not!

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So in his own words and with some prodding on my part  …  in his own words please allow me to introduce you to Chris Young.

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Jeffrey Felner: What is your most prized possession and why?

Chris Young: I would say my health and physicality. I know that isn't exactly a possession in the way, say, my favorite sword or an heirloom is, but I derive a lot of my peace and happiness through movement. To me, it is as much spiritual as it is physical. So my health and physicality is central to my happiness and the way I live my life.

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JF: If you could invite any 5 people to dinner who would they be and why

CY: I have to admit I’m a little torn, so I am going to cheat and give two scenarios.

First is very simple: it would be fascinating to me to have my teachers and mentors together at dinner. That would actually be six people but I’ve never been good at math. I believe that despite the obvious differences, there is an underlying type of thinking and discipline that is in common with all these arts in which I engage.

Then there is a more fantastical ideal of having historical heroes of mine at dinner. For that,  I am inclined to choose Liu DeKuan, who was a great martial artist and who is part of my martial lineage,  Mestre Pastinha who is often considered the father of Capoeira Angola, Richard Bolislavski the actor, director and teacher who to my mind really first made acting technique understandable to the actor with all due credit to Stanislavsky, Herb Ritts, the photographer,  and Rumi the founder of Sufism which is a joyous spiritual tradition so profound you need not be a Sufi to benefit from it.

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JF: You are a triple threat ... actor, model and martial arts professional; would you tell us how this all came about to bring you to this point?

CY: It was all very unplanned since I was actually on track for a career in artificial intelligence (AI) research and development. I had been engaged in martial arts and gymnastics most of my life. While I was pursuing this career in AI, I started a Chinese lion dance team, which is based upon kung fu skills. Eventually the guys on the team wanted to learn to fight so I started teaching these guys a martial arts, specifically a style called Eagle Claw. Then my Sifu (teacher) suggested I start teaching an additional style, known as White Ape Connected Back. While all that was happening, I was scouted by an agency in Pittsburgh which  I actually thought was a scam, but eventually signed with them; it never amounted to anything but another agency found me and signed me  and started sending me out. It was a lot more fun than I expected and As I started to explore modeling, I discovered that taking it to a higher level required a lot more skill and understanding than I had expected. On the advice of a friend, I started taking acting lessons to enhance my performance as a model. I was fortunate enough to have an acting teacher from Carnegie Mellon who helped me develop a love for acting as well as modeling. During all this expansion of martial arts, modeling and acting, I found the tech industry was not a good fit for me, whereas martial arts was a much better fit. I continued to increase my martial arts skills and established a school and eventually became a master. Serious martial arts, in addition to skill development, requires and benefits from solid physical conditioning in almost the same way as modeling. I was already attracted and fascinated with movies involving plenty of action so physical conditioning was essential for those types of roles as an actor. Additionally acting requires good physical coordination with one’s body, as obviously does martial arts. So they all have overlapping components.  I really love all three of the crafts and skills. When I was a kid I watched Kung Fu movies with my grandfather and loved them but I also remember seeing models in magazines thinking “man, that’s pretty cool”. I never seriously considered the possibility I could do it … But…. here I am where life has lead me.

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JF: If you could choose any collaboration at all … what or who would it be and why?

CY: Man this is tough. I think for modeling I’d love to shoot a campaign including video and print with an athletic bent, maybe some martial arts even, with Rick Day for an underwear brand like Jack Adams or CN-2, maybe GNC or a sport brand if he was into that. That guy produces some of the coolest video campaigns I can remember… I think I recall some for CN-2…. And of course his still photography is amazing.

For a movie, my ideal is to bring together really good writing, acting and martial arts worked into a single movie directed by Ang Lee. I actually have a story idea but I’m still working on it so I don’t want to give it away right now, but I think Ang Lee would be the ideal director to pull together a project like this.

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JF: If there is any part of your history that you would “rewrite”… what would it be and why?

CY: There are some specific things I would do differently… for instance, I had a chance to go to China with my grandfather and see where he grew up but I didn’t because of a new job, and never got another chance… but overall, I don’t think I would really rewrite any part of my history. I have made plenty of mistakes and have lived through some quite difficult and miserable periods, but I feel I am in a pretty good place in my life right now and headed in a good direction.  I think lessons learned from the difficulties as well as the fortunate, happy times all helped to bring me to this place. 

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JF: Where would you like to see Chris Young in 5 years ... what’s the end game for you ?

CY: I would like to be booking regular work in film, print and television and also seeing my martial arts students advance in their skills. In addition hope that I will be continuously honing in my own skills as an actor, model and martial artist.

Photographers: Rey Romero, Alahn Brezan, John Falocco, Rodney Logan,  Jason Paluck,  Alejandro Jesus and Thiek Smith.