Hello World of Models family, Deric Mickens is back (by popular demand!). From The Big Apple, he shares with us his latest updates on his modeling career and now studying Acting

I mainly stay in NYC at the moment, I am at a 2 year intensive conservatory studying acting where I'm only allowed to miss 2 classes for the year. That can limit me sometimes for jobs and castings. My last area I shot a job was the Florida Keys, it was paradise and I had my own on the water surrounded by all kinds of palms trees and other thing beautiful scenery they had planted right outside my back patio. It was the winter so I obviously didn't want to leave to go back up to the frigid cold we had! My most defiant shoot I would say was shooting with Bell Soto. I gave up alcohol for 3 months because its obviously just not healthy for you. Too many empty calories and I wasn't getting learner to my ideal size I wanted. Thats when I started doing my cardio workouts almost daily and eating properly, my physique changed tremendously and he was the first photographer to shoot me since changed my lifestyle. That was the first time I saw my hard work ethic start pay off and jobs pick up from that test shoot.

The fans: "It´s nice to meet the people who see my work face to face. Every one is always nice and very supportive"

When it comes to fans it´s really nice to know there are people out there who I am a role model for and support me, some other people are just impressed by the final images of some of my jobs. I put a lot of work in outside of just being on set or on location and it feels great inside when I know it pays off. I never thought I would be signing catalogs I'm in on the street or having people emailing me portraits they sketched of photos that I'm in.

Lving in NYC makes it easier to meet almost anyone, a lot of people usually make some kind of trip here during the year at least once. I am always running into people on the streets from other areas of the US, sometimes even countries. Everyone has different stories and it´s nice to meet the people who see my work face to face. Every one is always nice and very supportive. Its a smaller world then you think sometimes!

Funny backstage story: Deric in a short boxer!

I did a shoot for the Catalog Undergear about 6 months ago, we shot in a commercial loft. The neighbor of the loft came over to say hi and show off two of her little puppies, I had just finished changing into the next look for the next shot, I came over to introduce myself in really short boxers and walked back to do the next shot. The other model with me that day pointed down to me and I didn't realize I had somethin hanging toward the bottom of the boxers, very embarrassing, I just hope the lady and her dog enjoyed the unexpected show

Deric by himself

Human Rights, Freedom of Speech, Wars and Sexual behavior: I am very into politics, ever since I was 18 and had a voice I wanted to make a difference. The older I got the more passionate I became. I am pretty liberal and democratic, I believe in a lot of things the party represents. This is America and we are always evolving, that´s what makes us who we are. We are represented by different types of people from other countries and each person brings something new to help benefit this country. I believe strongly in unity and we should all be one as people and not divided. There is a lot of hostility going on right now weather its from Iran and its nuclear issues and sanctions from the UN, or the Koreas fighting in the recent sinking of North Korea submarine.

Then we have Palestine and Israel on the recent flotilla attack, then our long war in Afghanistan and Iraq. Then we have the BP crisis in the Gulf. In each of these situations the US has a major roll weather we want to or not and it seems that we can't make everyone happy, one decision will make one country happy and another one mad. I am proud of president Obama who I will happily say I voted for, this is enough one anyones plate to make their head spin for years, I think the administration has done a great job thus far dealing with what had been passed on to them from the previous administration to what has unfortunately evolved in the last couple years. I don't like biased media and read the facts to see what a great job has been accomplished since being elected

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Fav body part and why: I don't know if I have a favorite body part, I like to keep everything symmetrical. If I were to choose the one to focus on the most that would be abs, if you can keep them done and in shape everything else usually takes care of itself if you are smart about it. I played college football so I was up to 205 LBS at one point. When I first pursued modeling I was around 185-190, way too large for almost any job and I found that out fast and the hard way. I realized I needed to get down to a sample size which meant I had to lose weight. I wanted to do it healthy and smart. Most people think its all about the weight room, very false in my situation. I do cardio 5 times a week, I run between 8-16 miles a day. The days my legs are tired I split the runs up between 5-8 miles twice a day. At the end of those workouts I do light weights to sculpt certain areas of my body and I do my abs 2-3 times a week always changing the routine. The most important thing I can't stress enough is your diet. You HAVE to eat relatively healthy all the time if you want results. It is not a "diet" it is a "lifestyle". Its simple math we all can do, to get lean and lose fat, you have to burn more calories then what your body takes in each day. Pretty easy equation but thats where dedication comes in, its harder then it seems but if you have your mind right you can do anything

Fav undies for his daily activities and for those coooool sexy moments: I´m a boxer briefs guy all the way
Favor singer and which music he listens in his IPOD: Drake grew on me since he came out, sick beats and his rhymes tell a true story, so I def have quite a bit of him on my IPOD. Techno for all my runs, gotta keep the energy up from start to finish
Fav food: Steak, Ribs, I'm easy to be spotted at Dallas BBQ with my bib on. Thats when I spoil myself!
Contact info: Click Models