Introducing ‘Blue Steel’ – Travis Fimmel

Fashion Industry Broadcast and Style Planet TV is proud to announce our latest 11-part, hour long feature docuseries. Over the next six weeks we will be unveiling a tease on each episode. In this Netflix Original Series, presented by male supermodel David Gandy, we explore the emergence of a new kind of God, with the rise of the male Supermodel.

What’s the recipe for a male Supermodel? A dash of charm, five per cent body fat and shredded muscles, a boatload of raw sex appeal, and a decent sprinkle of really good luck.

The ensemble cast of Blue Steel have that something special that has allowed them to stand toe to toe in an industry dominated by the Glamazons of the opposite sex. They are trailblazers and trendsetters. They have both set and broken records for their sex in the business. Most of whom fell into the industry by accident, they’ve left some deep imprints along the way, altering the perception of male beauty standards.

The men depicted within this series have more than their faces on billboards, and
names sewn into the fabric of brands. They have built legends and left legacies, and it’s precisely why they deserve to be called “Supermodels” just like their famous female counterparts.

The amazing stories and trails blazed by:

  • David Gandy
  • John Pearson
  • Mark Vanderloo
  • Markus Schenkenberg
  • Tyson Beckford
  • Tony Ward
  • Travis Fimmel
  • Nacho Figueras
  • Werner Schreyer
  • Alex Lundqvist
  • Andreja Pejic

Travis Fimmel

Best known for being captured in rather filled out Calvin Klein Y-fronts, for co-starring opposite the late Patrick Swayze in the TV series The Beast, the movie Warcraft and probably, most of all, for his memorable role, starring as Ragnar Lothbrok in the History Channel series, Vikings.

Travis Fimmel is an icon in the male modelling and film industries. His piercing blue eyes and modest Australian charm made him one of the most sough after male models in the world. This same charm then translated to film.

Travis Fimmel, Vikings. Photo Credit: GeekTyrant

Fimmel was born July 15 1979, in Echuca, Victoria, Australia. He was raised on a dairy and cattle farm and was the youngest of three brothers. Like many young Aussie blokes, he dreamed of playing football. A broken leg put an end to his career and he enrolled in RMIT in Melbourne, where he studied architecture and engineering.

This didn’t last long either… after a year, he and a friend headed over to London. He planned to see some of the world before returning back to Australia to finish University and continue his football career. However, life didn’t play out this way. One fateful day, while he was working out at a gym in Melbourne, he was scouted by Chadwicks modelling agency. He headed over to Los Angeles, where he was immediately signed with L.A. Models. While he started working for Gap and L’Oreal, it was Calvin Klein that truly made him famous.

Calvin Klein recalled in an interview, “He walks into my studio. into my office, and it was like drop-dead… His presence was jaw-dropping. I called Steven Klein right away and said, ‘Don’t do anything. Just put him in the underwear and put him up against the window.'”

Travis Fimmel Calvin Klein Campaign. Photo Credit: news.com.au

It was this shot that would propel his career status. The billboard that featured this image reportedly caused several car crashes as women couldn’t help but stare as they drove past. Fimmel couldn’t believe the attention it received, saying, “It got a bit out of hand.”

As a regular for Calvin Klein, he was the first male model to secure a six-figure deal to model exclusively for the luxury label for a year.

He posed with a number of models, including Giselle Bundchen and appeared in music videos, notably Janet Jackson’s “Someone to Call My Lover” and Jennifer Lopez’s “I’m Real”.

In 2002, he was named one of the world’s sexiest bachelors by People and it has even been suggested that Sex and the City‘s Jerrod was based off Travis Fimmel himself.

All the while, Fimmel was using his hard-earned paycheques to pay for his real dream of acting. He studied acting with highly acclaimed acting coach Ivana Cubbuck, who was known for coaching the likes of Halle Berry and Brad Pitt.

In 2003, he had a leading role in the Warner Brothers series Tarzan, swinging into the hearts of many girls around the world and right into another role alongside Patrick Swayze in The Beast. He has since landed small roles on the big screen, including Surfer Dude alongside Matthew McConaughey, Restraint and The Experiment.

Still the Aussie boy at heart, his family makes sure he doesn’t get too big for his boots. “They still laugh at me. It’s very entertaining for them because they know who I am, of course. They still can’t believe I’m doing what I’m doing. Now my dad wants me to do a cowboy film,” jokes Fimmel. “Actually, my dad wanted me to be a farmer but I told him, ‘You don’t pay me enough’.”

Travis Fimmel and Gisele Bundchen for W Magazine, 2002. Photo Credit: Pinterest/ W Magazine