We love a good model-scouting story. (Who doesn't?) Here's a pretty great, unexpected discovery: Nicky Libert, a construction worker in Amsterdam, caught the eye of photographer and stylist Danika Magdelena.
The London-based creative stopped Libert while he was on the job, clad in a bright safety-orange vest and a baseball hat, to snap his photo. Magdelena then posted the shot on her Instagram with the caption, "So I randomly stopped this construction worker in Amsterdam and asked him for a photo because he was beautiful. #someonesignhim."
She was clearly onto something. Libert was signed by Elite Amsterdam agency less than a week after Magdelena's post. The agency then posted a shirtless headshot of the accidental model to its account, welcoming him to the Elite family.
Libert posted his own sweet take on the situation, calling the surprise scouting as "like a rollercoaster! Everything changed at once [and] it took some getting used to," he wrote. "I have to say I’m handling it better [and] better." But he isn't ditching his day job for the runway just yet: A few days later, he posted an on-the-job selfie captioned with: "Back to basic...real life starts again."
This isn't the first time we've heard of this sort of modeling trajectory. In 2014, Matthew Noszka, a then-22-year-old in Pittsburgh, posted a shirtless shot of himself while doing an odd job in the construction sector. A Wilhelmina agent spotted the shot and had him signed and in NYC booking gigs less than a month later.
It's a pretty great on-the-street scouting tale, right? Good luck, Nicky!