Bobby Brazier is the boy next door if the boy next door had an agent. When he’s not posing in Prada or taking selfies with his teenage admirers, the seventeen-year-old model is mixing up milkshakes at his local café or playing football for his college.
Despite the café job, Bobby Brazier’s success in the entertainment industry seems genetically predetermined. Brazier is the oldest son of television presenter Jeff Brazier and the late Jade Goody, a Big Brother contestant, whose fiery personality and hard-fought battle with cervical cancer were widely covered in the British press. Bobby Brazier is proud of his parents’ legacies, accepting the attention that comes from being the child of TV stars. On more than one occasion, Brazier has been recognized in public by admiring fans who grew up watching his parents’ escapades on reality programs like The Farm and Celebrity Wife Swap.
But Brazier is ready to prove to the world that he’s a star in his ownright. Bobby Brazier, who stands over six feet tall, has found his calling on the runway. He recently walked for Dolce & Gabbana at Milan’s Fashion Week. Otherhigh-profile modeling offers have followed, cementing Brazier’s place as one of the most sought-after new faces in the business.
Unwinding from his milkshake job, Bobby Brazier sat down with Joey Essex to discuss his whirlwind rise to fame, working with Dolce & Gabbana, getting scouted on the way to the headmaster’s office, and being a teenage heart-throb.
JE: I’m Joey Essex, and today I’m interviewing Bobby Brazier for his first-ever Ting’s Magazine’s interview. What are you saying, Bobby?
BB: What up! I’m excited. I’m pleased that it’s my first time.
JE: It’s mad. I can’t believe it’s your first interview.
BB: Yeah, I know. I’m still young, though. Seventeen. It’s good. I’m excited.
JE: That’s mental. Alright, you are seventeen. Tell me what’s going on in your career? What’s going on?
BB: Well, when I was sixteen, I went to Paris and Milan for their fashion weeks. Paris was a bit slow. Being a model is not the glamorous work that people think it is. It’s hard graft. You go to castings, and sometimes people don’t look at you for three hours. It’s literally a mosh pit. You go there and walk in front of people, and they are like, “Cool.” But Milan was better. I ended up with Dolce & Gabbana, which was a dream come true.
JE: Wow, you are seventeen years old. When did you walk for Dolce?
BB: It literally started this year, when I was sixteen.
JE: That’s crazy, man, walking Dolce and Gabbana at this age. You’ve come so far already.
BB: It has been quick, but I did know that was going to happen, Joe. I did know that it was going to happen.
JE: Yeah, of course, mate. When you think something that strong, that’s what happens. You know what I mean? You’ve always got to be positive. You got the look. You got the hairstyle. I feel like you are trying to take over as the king of Essex.
BB: Haha. I’ll take prince.
JE: So how do you do your hair?
BB: It depends on the day. When it is hot, it’s that humid that my hair turns into an afro. And it’s like, “Bobby, what do you do?" I need to have a shower before.
JE: So, what’s your routine? You get out of the shower.
BB: I get out of the shower.
JE: How do you slick it back?
BB: With my hands. I get a bit of gel in my hair.
JE: Absolutely. What would you say your favorite hairstyle is?
BB: I’m versatile. I’m not going to lie. Sometimes the curly afro, sometimes slicked back. Sometimes, I tie it up, mate.
JE: So, what have you been up to recently?
BB: I work in a café. I make milkshakes. I might become a milkshake man, rather than a model. think I’m better at making milkshakes.
JE: That’s alright! You are keeping it real. You can be a model and a milkshake man. It’s all good. You're keeping it real, keeping it humble. When did you start working at the milkshake factory?
BB: Haha. I’ve done about five shifts. It’s only temporary. I start playing football in September.
JE: You are going to leave the milkshake factory and start playing football?
BB: Yeah, I start playing football in September. It’s a college thing. Since I’m still young, I have to go to college. That is what I’m doing.
JE: Do you want to play football professionally?
BB: Not really, to be honest. I didn’t want to go to college and do any academic writing, and football will keep me fit. And it goes along with the modeling.
JE: Of course, it will keep you fit. Are you into football, Bobby?
BB: I haven’t played in a year and a half, but I used to be.
JE: Who do you support?
BB: I’m a Spurs man, you know.
JE: You know who I support. Haha. Let’s get back to modeling. Growing up, were you always tall?
BB: I’ve always been tall for my age, and I also always wanted to model. I’d see boys in River Island and Zara and be like, “I want to be like you one day.”
JE: Were you always quite tall in your year?
BB: Yeah, I think I have been.
JE: Your brother’s quite tall, isn’t he?
BB: Yeah, he’s broad as well. He makes me look quite skinny. I’ll tell you what, he’s more of a man than I am.
JE: And you’re older than him? He’s the younger brother.
BB: Yeah.
JE: And he can skip, can’t he?
BB: He can skip. He can do a bit of everything. He could be a comedian one day.
JE: So when you started modeling, when you say you knew this was going to happen, what was in your mind?
BB: It’s a funny story. I don’t know if I should say it. I was scouted. I had a meeting at school about my placement. I wasn’t sure if I was going to be allowed back. Me and my dad went to a café. We had a little pep talk about what I was going to say, how I was going to charm the headmaster. I step outside, and some Brazilian geezer sees me, and he says, “Your skin is beautiful, so beautiful, take my card.” I was buzzing. I had to go to the meeting, and I was high as a kite. They were like, “Why are you so happy. This is a serious meeting.”
JE: Who is the Brazilian guy?
BB: Cesar, my manager.
JE: That’s the guy that works for Unsigned?
BB: Yeah, you know Cesar.
JE: Yeah, yeah. He randomly just saw you?
BB: I was dressed quite nice. I had to dress smart for school. I had to get serious for school, and the next thing you know….it was like, “yes, finally it’s happening.”
JE: That’s mad. Obviously, you are still with the same manager?
BB: Yeah. I certainly am. It’s my mother’s agency, which makes everything so much easier.
JE: Yeah, and they are based in London?
BB: They just moved to Norfolk.
JE: Oh, Norfolk.
BB: I stayed there because I had to shoot there. I was convinced the gaff was haunted, so I slept with the light on.
JE: You slept at your agency?
BB: Yeah.
JE: So, Bobby, tell us what’s coming up?
BB: Modeling-wise?
JE: Yeah, or anything.
BB: The thing with modeling is, everything is so last minute. You don’t find out until a couple of days before. You are kind of left in the dark; you don’t know. So that’s why I’m trying to keep myself busy with football and things like that.
JE: You got to keep yourself active all the time, don’t ya?
BB: Exactly. Modeling, you can be active for six months. Job after job, but then go missing for six months.
JE: Yeah, I’ve done a lot of jobs. You just have to be patient, especially with the madness that is going on.
BB: Yeah, exactly.
JE: Things will pick up. What have you been doing during quarantine?
BB: I was telling myself I’d get in good shape by staying active.
JE: Yeah, even me, I’m a fitness freak, but I had no motivation.
BB: Yeah, I lost so much motivation. But I have this football thing coming up, so I’ve started doing runs to get in shape for that. It’s on Thursday. It’s on Thursday, and I can’t even run 5K.
JE: No way. You got a gym, don’t ya?
BB: Not really. We got a CrossFit rig in the garden. So, I don’t really have an excuse to be fair.
JE: Who do you think will win a race? Me or you?
BB: Me, mate. Easy. We’ll get it sorted.
JE: No way, bro. Trust me, mate, I’m fast now. I’m a proper good runner.
BB: You might be good at skipping and all that rubbish, mate, but I’ll rap you.
JE: We should sort it out one day, maybe do a race. Going back to modeling, what excites you? Anything that you think “I’d like to do that”?
BB: Louis Vuitton, them kinds of shows. I love doing shows. They are my favorites. They are so fun.
JE: You like doing the walks?
BB: Yeah. I’ll be honest; you get treated like a princess. I’ve had people give me a manicure. That’s my guilty pleasure: a manicure!
JE: What, were they doing your eyelashes as well?
BB: Yeah, curled my eyelashes, gave me a manicure.
JE: I should get into modeling. Reckon I could be a model, Bobby?
BB: Probably. Haha. But that’s my thing. You keep your thing. That’s my thing.
JE: Yeah, yeah, yeah. How tall are you?
BB: Six-one and a half. I might be six-two now.
JE: I’m about that.
BB: What did you call me the other day, an ironing board. Like a lamppost.
JE: Who called you a lamppost?
BB: My dad. He called me a lamppost.
JE: Don’t your brother ever say to you to come train?
BB: He don’t train. He’s just lucky. He’s just blessed.
JE: He just randomly benches?
BB: Yeah, he’s Fred the tank.
JE: Fred the tank, that’s crazy, man. You’re quite slim, aren’t you? There’s nothing skinnier than an ironing board, is there?
BB: Haha. Shut up. If I wanted to, I could bench. But with the modeling, I have to keep slim.
JE: That’s true. I think, personally, it’s better being slim. You looked ripped, but you don’t want to be big, do ya?
BB: I don’t know. I think there’s too big and too slim. I'm closer to the too slim side, but I’m not too slim yet.
JE: You’re seventeen, mate. When I was seventeen, I was a proper ironing board.
BB: Yeah, I imagine.
JE: You were watching me on telly then, weren’t ya?
BB: To be honest, I never actually watched it.
JE: You never watched TOWIE!
BB: No, I’ve never sat down and watched it. I’ve seen clips on YouTube.
JE: Did you never watch me on TV when I was younger?
BB: No, not really? But I did like you. I used to have your hair products, and wear bandanas when you wore bandanas.
JE: You liked the fashion?
BB: Yeah, and now you are following me.
JE: Haha. And now I’m interviewing you.
BB: That’s crazy.
JE: How are you finding the spotlight? I guess you get a lot of attraction from girls.
BB: I do like that. I was saying to a friend yesterday, they’re always young. Young, excited girls. They send me their photos and say, "Me and my friends just met the love of our lives. "It’s like, “Alright, girls.”
JE: Obviously, you get a bit of girls. Do you like love? Have you been in love? Do you have one girl, or are you playing the field?
BB: I dunno. This is what people tell me. I say I want to settle down; I want a girl. I want a girl to wake up next to, who will make my bed sometimes, and who will cook me food sometimes. They are like, “No, that’s not you. You aren’t ready for that.”
JE: So you ain’t had your heart broken yet?
BB: I feel like I need it. My dad and my stepmom are always going, " You need your heart broken, mate."
JE: Yeah, you sort of know if you have ever properly been in love. You ever had a full-on girlfriend?
BB: Yeah, I don’t think I have. It would be exciting. I just don’t think I’m ready for it. I feel like I’m still a bit of a boy.
JE: Also, you need to concentrate on your career. They take up a lot of your time.
BB: I can imagine.
JE: They might make your bed in the morning. They might stroke your hair, but there’s a lot more that goes with it. What’s your favorite fashion brand?
BB: Not that I got the money to spend on it, but I like Prada. I like Louis Vuitton. I like Fendi. It’s a shame that I didn’t get to keep them when I was doing the editorials.
JE: They must let you keep some stuff?
BB: No, never. I was wearing full Prada, laying in a field, and I was like, ”I can’t believe I’m doing this.”
JE: What was that for?
BB: It was for an editorial. It hasn’t come out yet.
JE: For Prada?
BB: That was only one of the outfits. It wasn’t for Prada. With an editorial, you wear all different clothes.
JE: What’s your favorite shoot that you’ve done?
BB: The Tings one, obviously!
JE: Obviously, come on.
BB: You know what? I was excited. Cesar told me the photographer is from New York, Justin. For me, personally, when I hear New York, it gets me excited a little bit.
JE: Yeah.
BB: That night was the best night of my life.
JE: The night where we went to Tings?
BB: Yeah, yeah.
JE: That’s where we met. That was mad.
BB: Yeah, it was ages ago as well.
JE: But obviously, I remember seeing you as a young kid. I can remember what you looked like. But you’ve grown up so much since the age of ten. I didn’t even recognize you. I didn’t even know who you were until I heard someone say Brazier.
BB: Yeah, but I like that. Modeling has given me my own identity away from my parents. It’s only getting better for me, and bigger for me. That’s something that I think about a lot. I don’t want to be known completely... I know it’s going to happen because of who my parents are. But I also want to be Bobby; you know what I mean. That’s why I get excited when girls come up to me and say, “Bobby, you are that model. Ain’t ya?” While with some older women, it is like, "You are Jade’s kid or Jeff’s kid.” Obviously, I’m proud of the Brazier surname.
JE: Always be proud of it. You come from a good family.
BB: Of course, but I don’t want my whole career to be based on that.
JE: It won’t. It’s just that’s who you are. It won’t be based on that. You are Bobby Brazier, son. Bobby Brazier, mate.
BB: The big BB.
JE: Let’s get back to modeling. By the age of twenty, where do you want to be?
BB: I want to be an established model that walks shows every season. That’s getting paid, basically. I want six figures in my bank account. I want a Range Rover.
JE: Basically, you want to be the sickest model in the world.
BB: Yeah, exactly. I want to be recognized as a model.
JE: You are recognized as a model.
BB: Yeah, but I still feel like a new face, which I am. I just want to do more. I want to progress. That’s what I want to do.
JE: But from the bottom of my heart, you should be so proud of yourself, mate.
BB: I don’t really let myself.
JE: That’s what I’m saying. Bro, you are six-foot-two. You’re seventeen. You’re modeling for Dolce & Gabbana. Please tell me one more boy your age that’s doing what you are doing.
BB: Yeah.
JE: That’s what I’m saying. You are doing so well.
BB: Another good thing about modeling is the boys I’ve met. There’s good opportunities for going out to dinners, meeting people like you. With girl models, it’s more of a competition. With boys, we are all in the same boat. Two of my closest pals are models from my agency.
JE: How old are they? Are they the same age?
BB: A bit older.
JE: I bet they can’t believe your success considering you started modeling at seventeen!
BB: Yeah, they’ve thrown me in the deep end.
JE: It took off for you quick, incredibly quick. It’s not even lucky, mate.
BB: It is lucky. I’m blessed.
JE: It’s like me saying,” I’m lucky.” I am who I am. My personality is my personality. I went on TV and done well, just like you.
BB: It’s all about how you carry yourself.
JE: Exactly. What are you doing today?
BB: I made a couple of milkshakes. I got home, got in the shower, done this. That’s my day today—a day in the life of the BB.
JE: What do you do on a weekend?
BB: I’ll tell you what. In the last couple of days, I went to Cornwall with my dad and brother. I got back Thursday, maybe Wednesday. I’ve been out every night since then.
JE: Haha.
BB: I’m excited to go to bed sober tonight.
JE: Haha. Friday, Saturday, Sunday, you went out every day.
BB: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, And Thursday.
JE: You enjoying, yeah?
BB: It’s been fun, though. I like getting my moves out. It’s been fun.
JE: How has your first interview been?
BB: It’s been fun. It’s been easy because we get along. I was a little bit nervous, but more excited.
JE: It’s been sick interviewing for Tings. Peace out, bro.
BB: Peace out.