Complaint Review: Urban Talent Management

**DON’T DO BUSINESS WITH THESE PEOPLE**

I was recently scouted by Urban Talent Management back in March of 2023 and ended up going to their building for an interview. I was 18 at the time and had no previous modeling experience. When I arrived they told me to fill out some paperwork and then we could get right to the interview. After I finished it, I was pulled back into a runway room along with a few other young people. We introduced ourselves and the first red flag popped up, they were all also around 18 years old and had no previous modeling experience. At the time I just thought that it was a crazy coincidence, but now I know that they like to prey on young adults who are easy to manipulate into signing contracts. We did some unnecessary posing down the runway to see if we "had it" and to maybe give us a little taste of what the modeling world would be like to get us excited (it worked). Then, the interviewer named Alex went and grabbed another employee and proceeded to take us one by one into their office cubicles to "interview" us. 

In actuality, they were separating us from each other so it would be easier to pressure us into signing their contracts. I was very overwhelmed throughout the entire interaction with Alex and barely had time to process everything she was throwing at me, which included flattery about how I was the ‘exact’ look they needed, excessive amounts of information regarding what I needed to do in order to get a gig, my future prospects, where I was supposed to get a haircut, where I was supposed to get my headshots done, a website with successful models on it to show me what I might become, two different contracts – which she very briefly skimmed through, etc… She did all of this in the span of about 10 minutes while vaguely telling me about the contracts and that I would need to pay their “partner” company Style Inc.(which is actually just them under a different name, they are even owned by the same person, Bret Udy, and are located in the same building) $2000 in order for them to train me up so I can be ready for the “real modeling world”. They claimed it would be vital in my modeling career and that I could pay it off easily with how many gigs I would be getting.Turns out every other real modeling management group or agency doesn’t require you to pay for them to train you, it’s just part of the job, and if they do, they just deduct it out of your paychecks from your shoots. 

When it came to the signing of the contracts I was incredibly nervous because I didn’t even really know what I was signing. I clearly expressed my concerns of not having a lot of time or money to do their training or work their gigs since I was in college and already had a job, but Alex assured me it would be fine and that she would mentor me through anything I didn’t understand in the contract once I was hired and would help to get me gigs so I could pay off the fee. I ended up signing the contracts but felt so uneasy about it that I called my parents right after I left and they told me it was a scam. I texted Urban immediately after on the same day within an hour of signing the contract that I wanted to cancel it. They had provided me with no services at the time so I thought they would be understanding and allow me to cancel it, but I didn’t know that they make the majority of their money from these scam contracts so they refused and redirected me to their other company Style Inc. When I did contact Style, they threatened to send me to collections if I didn’t pay. I am now disputing the previous collections agency over what became the $2,800 that I allegedly “owe” them.

I did some research into Urban that same day afterwards on numerous review websites and discovered that my experience is quite common with them. I am writing this review in hopes that it helps to stop other inexperienced young adults from making the same mistake as me and hopefully persuading Urban and Style to stop this horribly immoral business.