Today we’d like to introduce you to Robert Casey.
Robert, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started at the agency as an unpaid intern between my sophomore and junior year at BU where I was a PR major. I thought it would be a fun internship for one summer where I’d get into cool parties and clubs for free and get to meet and hang out with models. It became a lifelong career, I’ve been with the agency for 18 years as of May, this is the only job I’ve ever had in my adult life.
I certainly never thought I’d spend my entire career at one company, I believe I gave notice to move on at least four times, but circumstances always led me to stay put: first financial reasons, then a death in the family, and ultimately because Maggie was diagnosed with cancer. She was first diagnosed with lung cancer in 2004, and subsequently diagnosed with four other types of cancer over the course of the following 5 years. She is a survivor and healthy today enjoying retirement. With her being in and out for treatment all those years, I increasingly took on a greater role in the agency and, when it became apparent that she would never be able to fully come back, we made arrangements for me to buy her out and I’ve now owned the agency for five years.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Maggie was a formidable figure and engaged in every aspect of the business so, when she was first diagnosed with cancer, her absence was conspicuous and immediate. My rise during her absence was a quintessential case of fake it until you make it. We covered up her absence in the beginning, and she wasn’t really in a position to give me much guidance while consumed with treatment. I became a diligent student of the industry and the agency, reading everything I could get my hands on, pouring over old files and invoices, and imitating Maggie’s behavior that I had observed over the years.
I was very aware that I was assuming a role in charge of people primarily older than me, and with more experience in the business than me. I always made sure to portray a calm demeanor and never let on that I was up to my eyeballs pulling 12-14 hour days including weekends trying to figure it all out. Over the course of time, it became more comfortable, I did learn how to do the job, well and efficiently, and clients and models became so used to dealing with just me, that by the time Maggie came back and we did reveal what she had been through, it didn’t have an impact on the business or our reputation. Over the subsequent years, I continued to build relationships and a reputation of my own separate from Maggie’s, so when ownership changed hands, it was a very natural and organic transition.
Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Maggie – what should we know?
Maggie Inc is a model and talent agency. We represent models and actors ranging in age from teens to seniors. We book models and actors for print, runway, and TV/film.
We promote a family atmosphere here, most of our models become good friends with each other, with everyone at the agency, and with the local industry community. I’m most interested in developing long term relationships with our talent, and many people have been with us 20 or 30 plus years, we’re now representing the teenaged children of some of our older models who we started here as teens themselves!
How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
I think we are very directly in the midst of a great transitional period of the overall industry. Instagram and social media in general has greatly impacted the industry and I don’t think we yet know how it will fully be incorporated into the industry long term. Many of the agencies in the major markets have started specific Influencer divisions of people they represent specifically based on their followers, and there is now a new source of work with clients booking influencer collaborations.
I think it’s made the industry a bit more democratic, where you now have people of all types, shapes and sizes with potential to book work who previously didn’t have a place in the industry; but I’m concerned that the potential for great breadth or longevity in a model’s career is increasingly compromised. The hallmark of a great model has traditionally been diversity, someone who can transform themselves to look a lot of different ways and subsequently work for a lot of different types of clients. Increasingly, I’m seeing the industry become more niche, clients aren’t as interested in styling an accomplished and experienced model to look like their brand, they’re looking to use people to model who already live and breathe the brand, and they have access to find them directly online if necessary. And more than ever we’re seeing clients constantly turn over the models they are using, expecting a steady stream of new faces to consider, and this has shortened the already short shelf life of any model. What it’s translating to is more potential for different kinds of models to find work, but less potential for anyone trying to model to really turn it into a lucrative or long lasting career.
Contact Info:
- Address: 35 Newbury St.,
Boston, MA 02116 - Website: maggieagency.com
- Phone: 617-536-2639
- Email: info@maggieagency.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/maggieagency/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MaggieAgency
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/maggieagency
Image Credit:
Melissa Mahoney
Luana Sam
Rob Van Petten
RLR Studio
Peter Mellekas
Jessica Weiser
Cory Stierley
Kolby Knight
Hive Studio
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