Page 30 - Tattnall County

When they got back home, Duston had received some good news! He was the recipient of a scholarship from the New York Film Academy from when he was at The ARTS in Orlando! Duston was back in school and doing the things he loves…playing football, running track, any outdoor sport such as hunting, fshing, surfng, wake-boarding, skateboarding, four-wheeling, mud-bogging, paintball, dirt bikes. In January of 2011, Duston fnally got to go to LA to meet with his agent, Joe, at Vision LA, who had made the Abercrombie shoot happen and several other jobs. He really likes LA and said, “It was so laid-back compared to New York, I felt a little more at ease and could get out and go places.” While in LA, Duston had three major photo shoots: Richard Pier-Petit, Christian Rios and Andrea Marino, more pictures for the ever growing book and to update his look. He also met with clients and went on castings to establish a relationship with clients in LA. This was a very successful trip!

Once they were back at home, Kohls called and wanted him for a shoot. In February they went to Milwaukee, WI, where they have the home offce and do all their shoots, commercials and everything. Duston did an editorial and print ad for them to put in stores and in papers. A day or two later, after returning home, one of the people he had met at the Abercrombie shoot called and said they saw his picture on the website, had selected him and put him in the stores nationwide! Duston was really surprised he got picked; his frst big job with well-known photographers and a great company!

They went as soon as they could to the nearest store, which was in Jacksonville, Florida. Duston was a little overwhelmed to see his picture hanging in the store. For his parents, “it was a thrill and seemed almost unreal, but we could not be more proud of Duston”. The pictures were for a spring

campaign, but they ended up using them for spring and summer! Duston fnished his track season getting the MVP award, the frst time a 9th grader had received this award in over 15 years! He did wonderful in all his events…high jump, long jump, 4 x 100 and 4 x 400. It was a great school year.

Duston and his mama were off to LA for the summer. They stayed in West Hollywood, choosing to drive to LA and making it into a road trip and making quick little stops along the way. They stopped in New Orleans and Duston wanted to see the Alamo so they made a stop in San Antonio! In three days they were in LA and settling into an apartment, a big change from small town Glennville to West Hollywood! Duston met with his agent the next day and started go-sees and castings. Over the summer he worked with their acting department to see if he would like acting, but this also helped with interviews and builds character. Duston stayed busy while they were in LA doing three to four castings or go-sees a week, but in between they managed to have a great experience seeing the beaches of Malibu, Venice and Santa Monica. They also enjoyed going to the Hollywood sign, Walk of Stars, Rodeo Drive, and doing what they wanted, which included walking around the wonderful little neighborhood off the corner of Melrose and North Broughton and discovering many hidden treasures! Duston and his parents are now in talks with an agency in Paris for Fashion Week in January and also Chosen Management in Atlanta, Georgia. Duston says it has been fun traveling and meeting people from different parts of the world and that modeling has given him great experiences. He wants to remain in school and continue doing modeling jobs and looks forward to college, with his eyes set on Mercer University! Duston attends Pinewood Christian Academy in Bellville, Georgia. His parents, David and Alicia

Rogers, are “just so proud of Duston and his ability to make great decisions for himself, he is a very smart young man and knows what he wants for his future. We will continue to support him and are excited to see what is in his future.” -------------------------------------------- Imagine being 15, active in high school sports like football and baseball, and then one day you get a phone call from HALO, a modeling and talent agency in Savannah. Would you accept the chance to become a model or would you shrug it off?

Dylan Gravley and his mama, Michelle, had often talked about the idea of Dylan becoming an actor and/ or model. But that was about all they did…just talk! Dylan was a very sports-oriented 15-year-old that stayed busy playing football and baseball during his freshman year at Pinewood Christian Academy. A typical teenager, Dylan enjoyed sports, friends, and school. Dylan, the son of Michelle Anderson-Lands of Reidsville and Bobby Gravley of Glennville, received that phone call and decided to attend what is called an “open call” at Halo Models and Talent in Savannah. Dylan had to walk the runway, tell a little about himself, and answer some questions for owner/ mother agent, Stephanie Duke-Andrews. All of this had to be done in front of everyone that was attending. If the agency was interested in working with the person, they would be in contact. SUCCESS!

In February 2011, Dylan received the agent’s phone call and so began his working with Halo! He would go to Savannah and attend training classes once a week. Halo was preparing Dylan to attend a show in New York City in May. Dylan accepted the challenge and began training in runway, interview and acting skills needed for the show, Connect NYC.

Connect NYC is an elite meeting of actors, models, and talent scouts in the heart of New York City. This