Jeff:  Hey Edward, I was born in Chiang Mai, Thailand.  I was a country boy from a small village of 500 residents.  When I was 12 yrs old I move to Honolulu, Hawaii to be with my mother.  I'm currently living in San Francisco, CA .

How am I describe myself?  Ahh....Well, I wasn't one of the popular kids in school.  I wished on my 14th Birthday cake that I will become attractive  when I grow up and everyone will admire me, LOL LOL.  I love getting attention.  It's a lot of work involved to look good, so yes getting attention is nice.

I am artistic, creative...  I Love dancing, it's my passion.  I love great music.   I like to try new things.  Taking chances, and live life to the fullest.

Edward:  Why have you decided to be a model? How this vocation arose? Is it a tough career? What kind of sacrifices this career demands?

Jeff:  I'm in the time of my life where I'm still trying to discover myself, and what am I capable of. But recently I have learned " Life is not about finding yourselve...Life is about creating yourself".

I have many interests.  I wanted to become a pro dancer.  One of my dreams was to go on tour with Britney Spears and be on her video, haha...don't talk sh*t on Britney!  LOL  But then I realized that it wasn't working out.  Well, who care as long as I tried.  I also wanted to go to fashion design school, Maybe one day start a small business....  The worst thing is not trying at all.

Many people had told me I should try modeling.  I've always wanted to become a model.  Yes, modeling is a tough career.  Especially for an Asian male model in America like me to break into a modeling world is so slim.  People can tell me that I'm not tall enough, not good enough, or just too Asian.  But nothing gonna stop me from trying and doing what I love.

I would love to call modeling my career.  As right now I am working as a bartender 3 nights a week, and gogo dancing 3 nights a week.

Edward:  What is your greatest inspiration, your greatest professional dream like a model? Which modeling agencies, fashion campaigns and designers would you like to work for?

Jeff:  I would love to work for Dolce Gabbana, Guchi, A&F.  Also Under Gear, and Ginch Gonch ( I look great in undies).   So if they ever need an Asian model...I'm here! Any paid modeling job would be great,LOL.

Edward:  Are you a guy into sports? What´s your secret to be in a good shape? Doyou have any special diet?

Jeff:  Yes, I'm totally a sport type of guy.  I did boxing, mauy thai kick boxing when I was just a kid. In high school I was in the wrestling team, Judo team, long distance track, and cross country team.  Now I'm just keeping myself in shape by weight lifting, and dancing.  I'm into hip hop dancing,and jazz.

I spend 5 days a week in the gym, and dancing 2-3 times a week. Many people take a look at me and think that I can only have a banana for dinner.  Nope, I am one of those people who can eat anything and will not gain weight.  Sick huh? LOL...Actually it's a very hard work for me.  I have to eat all the time  just to keep my body weight.  Some people struggle to lose weight, well I struggle in a different way.

Edward:  Are you an optimistic person? Do you  have any special dream? If you choose 3 most important things for you life, what would it be?

Jeff:   I have many dreams.  I dream of become very successful at something weather if it is modeling or something along the line.  My most special dream is to be able to help out my family in Thailand.  3 most important things for my life would be:

1. My health: Without my health I can't live my life and go after my dreams.
2. Love: My life would not be complete without it.
3. My career: Can't have a good life without it.

Edward:  If you could choose 5 terrific places around the world, which ones you´d choose and why? And talking about places, tell us about cool places to have fun in your city.

Jeff:  

• Thailand- I have not been back home for 8 years.
• Sydney- I have not been there, but always wanted to go.
• Paris- I have not been. I always want to see different places.
• Amsterdam- Havn't been either, but I heard it's a fun city to party.
• Tokyo- Same damn reasons, LOL.
• I've recently moved to San Francisco. So I don't know much about places in the city yet.

Let me tell you about really cool places in Hawaii...   One of my favorite place to hang out is Ala Moana Shopping Center.  It is name the most expensive mall in United States by square foot.  Also one of the biggest.  Waikiki is also my spot. I guess I'm the city kind of guy.

Edward:  Jeff, tell us and especially to designers, managers, photographers, why you are the best option for their fashion campaign

Jeff:  I enjoy everything about modeling. It's my passion. I'm easy to work with. I keep myself in a perfect shape all year round.  I am fabulous, and this world really need more Asian male models badly!  It's very sad to me to see Japanese designers only pick white models over their own race.  I am beautiful as Asian can be, and I don't need to get plastic surgery to make me look more like a white man.  I am the best option not because I look like the perfect ideal super model.  I am the best option because I am different.

Edward: Thanks for sharing your story with us Jeff. Now leave a message to Connex247 readers around the world and tell us about your future plans!

Jeff:    Thank you for taking your time reading this article.   I'm coming up with 2009 calendar which should be released next year.  Also I will be the contestant for Mr. Asia USA pagent on May 2008 in Los Angeles.  The pageant is to help benifit The HIV and AIDS foundation.

Info contact: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it
http://www.myspace.com/jeffchiangmai

Photos:

Jim Oblak, John Hough, Kevin Williams, Kurt Brown, Cover of Rocket Magazine San Diego April 2007 by Mike Tossy