"That Target ad was only for Times Square. Amazing.The production easily must have cost a quarter million dollars and they only displayed the photos in one location--one photo for each of the twelve days of Christmas covering nine connecting billboards"

Hello, World of Models! A little about me? I was born and raised in Philadelphia. I grew up in a picturesque neighborhood in Center City called Rittenhouse Square with ginko-lined streets, four-story brown stones, neighbors who chat with the mailman, and cafes on the corners; serene but vibrant. I attended public schools, the College of William and Mary in Virginia, then traveled for two years in Europe and the Middle East immediately after graduating. Only when I returned to the U.S. and entered graduate school did I consider modeling. I was 24. I didn't exactly "decide" to become a model. I moved to New York after withdrawing from graduate school and began writing my first book. (I'm a novelist.) I used modeling as a means of income. Until then, modeling had always been something I rejected, something I saw as rather base and narcissistic. But a host of factors just happened to complement one another at the time that my perceptions of the industry were changing. I began to see modeling as art, the industry as eclectic, and I pursued it.

Working with photographers: "I do put myself in a mindset that allows me to adapt as quickly and necessarily as I have to"

I don't have any specific preparations for shooting. I try to approach each assignment with a sensitivity for the variables of that particular job--photographer, client, location, wardrobe, lighting, hair, makeup, other models. I try to become who I'm asked to be. In some cases little adaptation is required, in other cases much more. For example, I recently shot an editorial with the theme "transformation of the self-actualized woman." I was a fencer dueling with four different women in couture dresses, helping to play out their evolution of empowerment. A job like that requires reflection on many levels. It also required me to learn how to fence. The designer hired an instructor, I learned the basic elements and dramatized them to fashion. So I wouldn’t say I prepare but I do put myself in a mindset that allows me to adapt as quickly and necessarily as I have to.

The Times Square billboard

That Target ad was only for Times Square. Amazing.The production easily must have cost a quarter million dollars and they only displayed the photos in one location--one photo for each of the twelve days of Christmas covering nine connecting billboards. Even more impressive, Target only kept the ad up for two months--November and December. It came down New Year's Day.

The catwalks experiences and Raph, a fashionista?

Perhaps my most memorable experience in runway was in Kingston about two years ago for Caribbean Fashion Week. It was so foreign to anything I'd experienced in the industry. In high-fashion markets (New York, London, Paris, Milan, Tokyo) designers generally ask for dark, stolid, introspective expressions. I had a hard time in Jamaica understanding designers who wanted the opposite of an impassive stare. "Show me some personality, man! Show me some attitude!" It was nice to see designers encouraging a range of character to complement their clothes.

Jeans and a t-shirt unless it's cold in which case I'll wear jeans, a t-shirt, and a coat. I appreciate fashion but I'm not a fashionista. Sometimes I hear about a particularly innovative designer, such as Melanie Brandon who collects guns off the streets of Philadelphia and turns them into jewelry, and I'm thoroughly impressed. But I don’t seek it out. I appreciate fashion but it's not one of my passions.

Raph by himself

Show business, Fame ad Success: Fame has never been something for which I've striven. Fame is a nuisance and an obstacle to happiness. Success is something entirely different. Success is the accomplishment of a goal. For me success is an obsession. It's what drives me. I set goals and I work toward achieving them.
Imagine you are a huge top male star anonymous in a crowd. All of a sudden, a fan approaches you, the crowd gets wild. How would you handle it? Blush. Then point in the opposite direction and yell, "Brad Pitt!" and run.
Human Rights, Free of Speech, Wars and Sexual Behavior: In graduate school at the University of Chicago I studied religion with a focus on human rights. My views might not be widely shared, but I think that an increased sensitivity toward the environment and our fellow sentient creatures (not merely cats, dogs, and goldfish, but all non-human animals) will enhance our sensitivities toward each other. Until we learn to treat non-human species with dignity, we, humans, will continue to degrade, oppress, and war against each other. Many people feel that reversing indecencies against humans is paramount. I don't disagree. But I do believe that compassion for innocent and dependent species will sensitize us to the very needs and rights we seek for ourselves and our kin.
Dating X Love: I'm the quintessential romantic...
Sports: I grew up training and competing year-round as a swimmer. I swam Division-I through college. I still swim leisurely, but also enjoy running and biking. And I love yoga, though I'm not sure I'd call it a sport. It's great for the more demanding moments in modeling as well as for an overall balance and grounding in life.
His way to attract someone’s attention: Eye contact. Honest, engaging eye contact. (If that doesn't work: flowers.)
Raph´s way to have fun, the places he goes and and enjoy the best of life: The beach. My mom has a house "down the shore" as we Mid-Atlantic folk say when referring to the New Jersey coast. It's the most convivial little cottage, quiet, intimate, rejuvenating, my mom's paintings on every wall, my grandmother's furniture in every room, worlds away from reality. It's idyllic.
The craziest (nastiest?) thing he’s ever done in summer time season: I'm a good boy!
Fav body part and why: The mouth. There's a lot to be learned by the jaw, the cheeks, the lips, the tongue.
Fav underwear for his daily activities and for those coooool sexy moments lol!: 2(x)ist
Fav singer and which music he listens in his IPOD: Where do I begin? I enjoy a range of European groups from Air to Die Fantastischen Vier, Middle Eastern from Om Kalthoum to Ivri Lider (Idan Raikel is one of the most innovative vocalists of the decade), Aboriginal from Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu to Mark Atkins, soundtracks from Gladiator to Garden State, hip hop from Fergie to The Roots. I like dance, rock, reggae, country. U2 is a constant for me. I was raised on 80s/90s justice-seeking, feminist singer-songwriters with profound lyrics like Sinead O’Connor, the Indigo Girls, and my soul mate (she doesn’t yet know it) Tracy Chapman. As much as I love music, though, I don't usually listen to an IPod. In general I prefer the sounds that surround me, be it those of the beach, the subway, my footsteps, whatever.
Fav food: Anything vegetarian, not too spicy, preferably organic, locally grown, homemade, that tastes even better the next day. I love leftovers. I'm also mildly fanatic for mangoes.

An unforgettable moment: I was working with a Brazilian model shooting a commercial for Pepsi’s apple-flavored soda, Manzanita. We were in Palenque, not far from the Mayan ruins, jungle all around, portraying Adam and Eve, the Apple, the Fall, each wearing nothing but a leaf. (Well, I had on this Jon Bon Jovi-esq wig, too, but that’s neither here nor there…) In one clip we were oiled and wet and standing on boxes about four feet high and a few feet apart. Eve was luring me to her with a bottle of Manzanita and I was falling between the boxes, which in the commercial was digitalized to look like a fissure in an earthquake between us. It wasn’t painful enough that I was falling barefoot onto shrubs and broken branches, my feet torn and bleeding, but every time I fell my skin stretched and the double-sided tape ripped the leaf from my pubic hair. Since I was wet the stylist couldn’t simply re-tape the leaf. First she had to dry me off, then re-position the tape, then the leaf, then oil and wet me again. Then I’d climb back up on the box, the director would yell action, Eve would lure me, I would fall, my feet would bleed, the leaf would rip, expletives would fly, and the stylist would wipe me down, cover me up, and wet me all over again. We repeated it umpteen times all damn day. It's funny looking back on it now. Not so much at the time...

Main motto: Mahatma Ghandi: "Each of us must be the change we want to see in the world."
Full name: David Raphael Hildebrand
Age: 28
Contact info: http://www.drhildebrand.com
New York Model Management http://www.newyorkmodels.com/

Photographers

David Vance http://www.davidvance.com Joseph Bleu http://josephbleu.blogspot.com/

James Demitri http://www.jamesdemitri.com Terry David Drew http://www.terrydaviddrew.com/

Erika Dufour http://www.erikadufour.com/ Josh Gaddy http://www.joshgaddy.com/

Andy Giamarco http://www.andrewgiammarco.com/ Russ Hadziabdich http://miravijacy.viewbook.com/

Ehren Joseph http://www.ehrenjosephstudio.com/
Karl Simone http://www.karlsimone.com/ Grant Mahoney - Roberto Milano - Sandro Miller