Male and Female Model Winners Both From Salt Lake City Win Coveted Award
iPOP! (International Presentation of Performers) Headquarters announced today the winners of their Teen Model Division for both male and female. Stephan Hampton and Valerie Monson were among 1,100 teens and young adults competing for agency recognition at this year’s iPOP! held in Los Angeles from January 6 – 9, 2006. Competitors from the United States and the United Kingdom came to compete in acting, modeling, singing and dancing. Stephan and Valerie won the teen model competition for teens between 16 and 19 years old.
Stephan Hampton, 18 years old, is currently attending Brigham Young University and originally comes from Orem, Utah. Stephan was discovered by the John Robert Powers school in Salt Lake City last fall on www.myspace.com. Owners of John Robert Powers contacted Stephan informing him of his great potential to model. Stephan met with JRP and started an intensive training that would allow him to compete in this year’s iPOP!. He was flown to Los Angeles and competed in the runway, print, swimwear and interview skills categories. Stephan had always had an interest in modeling but was not sure he wanted to follow through with it, until John Robert Powers found him on the internet. “I received this huge opportunity that I could not pass up, as it afforded me the chance to follow my dreams and gave me the expertise and training that I did not know where to find. I am a freshman at BYU, and my education is my priority at the moment but look forward to being able to work as a model through college and continue full time after. Thanks to iPOP! I can now see that as a real possibility”
Valerie Monson, 19 years old, is from Lake View, Oregon and currently resides in Salt Lake City. John Robert Powers also spotted Valerie on www.myspace.com and found that Valerie had always wanted to act and model and had been booking many local jobs in Salt Lake City, especially working with local salon Lunatic Fringe. Valerie was also flown to Los Angeles to compete in iPOP! and won the Female Model of the Year award. When John Robert Powers contacted Valerie and gave her this opportunity, she knew she had to take it in order to take her career to the next level. “Modeling is my passion as it combines all that I love, from hair and make-up to fashion. Eventually I would love to take my modeling experience and leverage it in the fashion world, where I can continue to focus on my dreams”.
Billed as a unique training program, iPOP! provides participants hours of one-on-one training with top professionals in all mediums of entertainment. iPOP!’s goal is to prepare aspiring performers to meet perspective agents, managers and casting directors. Last year’s attendees successfully landed lucrative modeling assignments and performance bookings across the country. Participants also gained representation by the biggest agencies Hollywood and New York has to offer.
Performers who are passionate about their talent and are driven to acquire the experience and training needed in preparation for an agent were all welcomed to participate. Students encountered the critical eyes of over one hundred of the entertainment industries’ most influential agents, managers, and casting directors who attended the audition and coaching sessions. A final night awards ceremony included a Talent Showcase and Fashion Show. Performers were selected for this showcase throughout the week based on their coaching and audition sessions. VIP judges selected the overall Top Female & Male Model as well as a Top Female & Male Talent for the event.
John Robert Powers is one of many modeling and acting schools that fully supports iPOP! and its vision.
