A Saskatchewan teenager is embarking on a big opportunity in Italy after being offered a modelling contract.
Kylan MacKenzie’s journey to Milan started three years ago in Saskatoon at SHE Modelling Agency and School of Personal Development.
At 14, Kylan’s parents Corridawn and Kevin decided to enroll their son into the program.
“From our perspective, Kylan had a bit of anxiety when he was younger and we thought it would be a way for him to build self-confidence and learn to carry himself with more self-esteem. So I did some research, found SHE Modelling and we went with that.”
Mary Obrodovich has been the owner and director of SHE Modelling for 35 years and decided to open her own agency after putting her two daughters through modelling. She remembers the day MacKenzie came in for orientation amongst other models and instantly recognized something different in him.
“He was 14 then and he was the last one to walk (the runway) and I looked and I thought ‘oh my gosh, this guy is going somewhere,’” Obrodovich said. “I just thought that. I knew.”
Modelling first began as a confidence booster and hobby for the teen, with Kylan taking part in local fashion shows and photo shoots.
In 2017, MacKenzie and his family attended a modelling and talent convention in British Columbia where agencies from around the world first noticed him. During his first trip, the teen won awards in both categories of acting and modelling.
“We were very surprised at the recognition and attention that he got then and we were very surprised to realize he has a lot of talent acting as well,” Corridawn said. “And just watching him kind of do his thing across the runway was really neat for us to see because we didn’t know he is as good as he is at it.”
Kylan attended the Faces West convention in Vancouver again in 2018 where he connected with the agency Major Milan, which eventually signed him to a three-year deal. He heads there at the end of summer.
“We’ll be going there for three months … two months minimum and depending on the type of work I get I could stay longer,” he said. “As for now, I know I’ll be getting a lot of pictures, doing photo shoots and getting my face out there locally in Milan.”
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Kylan aspires to model for the time being with big dreams to head to Hollywood and be on the big screen someday. His mentor Obrodovich doesn’t doubt his ability to get there.
“Once you have a name you can do both is how it seems to work. So he’s like a killer in either one. He’s going to be good in modelling and acting,” Obrodovich said.
“I want him to be where he should be because he deserves to be there and he comes from a wonderful family too that supports him so that’s great. That doesn’t always happen.”
The Grade 11 Holy Cross High School student encourages other Saskatchewan teens to follow their dreams even if they’re from a smaller community.
“Go for it … when I started I started for fun. And you go to Vancouver and you do the class and see all the types of people that can make it. You don’t have to stop because you live in a small town in Saskatchewan,” he said.