The 19-year-old model — currently Raging Stallion’s youngest exclusive ever — has entered into VMagazine’s Ford Models Model Search.
The contest runs from April 1 to May 31. There are two winners — one lucky finalist receives a contract with Ford Models and one finalist, the “Popular Vote Winner,” receives a write-up on VMagazine.com and Fordmodels.tv.
At press time, Danvers held the first place slot with 1,887 votes.
“This kind of exposure would be awesome,” Danvers said. “I've got a different look than most of the models out there right now. Most guys on the runways and in catalogs are plucked and tweezed to the point of femininity, and it's just so overdone. Where is the masculinity anymore? I think that's the fun part about me, is that I am what I am, and I'm not going to change for anyone. I'm a total furball, and I plan on staying that way. But all kidding aside, I would love the chance to progress my career farther, and maybe this is going to the opportunity to do so.”
Danvers, who lives in a suburb of Detroit, Mich., was sent the contest information from a fan.
“I have a fan-turned-friend named David who sends me things he thinks might interest me,” Danvers said, “ranging from funny pictures and jokes, to porn, to things like the Ford modeling contest. He sent it to me right when it first started, and I thought, ‘Hey, what the heck? I could throw up a profile and see what happens.’ Within a few days, I had racked up a ton of votes, and jumped from last place to the top 20, then the top 10, then top five and before I knew it, I was a contender in the top three. Right now, I'm sitting in the top spot, and it's awesome.”
Danvers, who will be 20 in October, signed with Raging Stallion in July of last year, after he worked on the studio’s blockbuster “Grunts.”
“I knew I wanted to be with Raging Stallion from the get-go,” he said. “I remember having a conversation with [my agent] Howard Andrew of FabScout Entertainment that I wanted to either end up doing movies for Mustang, Massive, or Raging Stallion. The guys that work for those studios are the types of guys I go for in real life, so I figured it'd be a perfect fit.”
It was Andrew’s association with Gio Photography that whetted Danvers’ appetite for modeling.
“I first did a photo shoot with Gio Photography, and Gio suggested I put up a profile on a website called ModelMayhem.com , which is kind of like MySpace for models. Within a few days of posting my photos, Murray Grondin , a well-known photographer in Detroit, contacted me. He has photographed some of my good friends.
“We did three shoots together, and each time the pictures kept getting better and better. Murray referred me to Uwe Grosse, another Detroit photographer. Uwe shot me last summer, and the pictures we took ended up making it into a gallery at the 2008 Detroit Erotic Art Exhibition , also known as the Dirty Show.
“So I think it's pretty cool that pictures I took when I was 18 ended up getting featured in a gallery. Whenever I'm in NYC or San Francisco, I always check out the billboards and see the models for the cologne and clothing ads, and I get this feeling that it's something I want to try my hand at. I think it would be fun, and having a great fan base from porn has given me an awesome launching pad.”
Raging Stallion Vice President Kent Taylor weighed in on Danvers’ chances.
“We are so excited,” Taylor said. “RJ came to us as a print and photo model. He has been in Genre and other smaller publications, but we knew we had found a special model when he came to the set of ‘Grunts.’ The first time I photographed him, I knew he was a natural. His smile sparkled. If there’s anyone who can win this, it’s RJ.”
Chris Ward, president and founder of Raging Stallion, said, “This man is a superstar, and I bet he can go way beyond porn. He is young, beautiful and a real charmer — I would follow him down any runway any day. Our whole studio is pulling for RJ, and we all think it would be fantastic for a gay porn pro to land a Ford contract.”
When asked if he was concerned that the judges may have some problems with the fact that he’s done adult films, Danvers is optimistic.
“That thought has crossed my mind,” he said, “that maybe, just maybe, if I win, that when I get out there and they find out I do porn, that they won't allow me to continue. It's a reality I've accepted, and I'm totally fine with it. I love doing porn, love making movies, and the people I've got to meet and interact with have been amazing. If I get to take the next step, cool. If not, then I'm perfectly happy with where I am now. We'll see where it takes me.”
For more information on RJ Danvers, visit his blog.
To vote for him, click here.