Brad Alphonso and Skylar McCartney were two aspiring talents from New Orleans who took iPOP! by storm to win Mr. and Miss iPOP!
It’s an experience that grows more excit- ing, intense and magnificent each year. When scores of promising and eager young actors, models and entertainers flock to Las Vegas for the International Presentation of Performers, it’s not just a glimpse into the future of the industries or a cascade of fresh faces auditioning for their big breaks. It is, first and foremost, perhaps the most important educational experience these children, teenagers and young adults will have.
But when it comes down to the discoveries that are made at iPOP!, there isn’t a more unique honor than the titles of Mr. and Miss iPOP!. For Brad Alphonso and Skylar McCartney, the education and networking of iPOP! was reward enough in itself. However, their budding careers received an extra boost when they received word that they were chosen as the 2009 Mr. and Miss iPOP! recipients, respectively. It’s an honor that they both respect and are incredibly gracious for, but most of all it’s an opportunity they won’t soon forget.
Brad Alphonso: I was in the military and
a guy who worked at John Robert Powers
in New Orleans heard about me through a
girl who works for him. They contacted
me when I was still in the military and
then, the first chance I got, I went and met
with them, and they wanted me to come to
Las Vegas.
Skylar McCartney: I learned about iPOP!
by going to John Robert Powers in New
Orleans. I’d been there a few months and
they asked us to go, so my mom and I
agreed and decided to go. I went to the
classes and did the training.
PM: What does the title of Mr./Miss.
IPOP! mean to you?
BA: It’s a big deal because there are people
competing there from all over the world.
To get that title means I was the most ac-
complished at the convention, and it
meant a lot to me because it helped boost
my confidence.
SM: It’s someone who goes out there and
does the best they can. They know why
they’re going to iPOP! and they know
what they need to do, so they do it.
PM: Are you still in school or are you ac-
tively modeling?
BA: I’m in Los Angeles now. I’ve signed
with Wilhemina here. I went to three years
of school at Baton Rouge Community
College and LSU, and I have a year left. I
was in the National Guard to pay for
school, and then the hurricane (Katrina)
hit and I was activated with Air National
Guard, patrolling New Orleans.
SM: I’m in my first year of high school. I
won pretty much everything in my catego-
ry at iPOP!, so I’m taking a little time off
from JRP while I get settled in school.
PM: What school or training center did
you attend and for how long?
SM: John Robert Powers, I was there for
two or three months before the first time I
attended iPOP!. The second time I told
JRP that I had changed some, and got my
braces off, grew my hair out, and they told
me they were going to take me again.
PM: Name one important thing you
learned while attending iPOP!.
BA: I learned different networking skills.
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