Model Romulo Pires Thanks Karl Lagerfeld

Nothing could have prepared Romulo Pires for the levels of achievement and success that his modelling career has bestowed upon him. Romulo's success story is certainly a fairytale come true in many senses, but it hasn't seemed to change him from being the down to earth, respectful individual that he was brought up by his mother to be. When asked what advice he would give to young men aspiring to join the modeling industry, Romulo offers, "Remember the names of the people who help you to be where you are." Although this seems like simple advice, it demonstrates Romulo's enduring regard for his mentors and his influences.

Romulo began his life as a model by chance. He was literally fixing a flat tire while working as a mechanic in his hometown of Brasilia, Brazil, when the lady whose tire he was fixing asked him if he had ever considered modeling. As one of six children being raised by a single mother, the thought of becoming a male model was the furthest thing from his mind. The woman with the flat tire turned out to be scouting agent Marina Sakamoto from the Brazilian branch of Paris' Elite Model Management, and she convinced Romulo to participate in a modeling competition. Naturally, Romulo won first place, and his life of international stardom was launched.

Through his career, Romulo has always taken the time to show his gratitude and pay tribute to those who have helped his career along the way, especially Creative Director for the House of Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld. Lagerfeld arrived when Romulo felt his career had reached a lull, and he wasn't getting any work. Romulo believes that Lagerfeld revived his career, which has reached an unprecedented series of peaks since then, with work for brands such as CK One and Cartier, as well as being photographed by such legends as Steven Meisel and Helmut Newton. Perhaps, as Romulo Pires demonstrates, a little kindness does go a long way.

The Unknown Passions Of Romulo Pires

As one of the most in-demand male models working in the fashion industry today, one would think that Brazilian born Romulo Pires had little time left for recreation, leisure, or for learning a new trick or two. Romulo, whose global web of modeling agencies, such as Kult in Hamburg, View in Spain, and Next in Vienna, not to mention his mother agency Bananas in Paris, among many more, obviously keep him working around the world as well as around the clock.

Recently spotted in a Wilcox/Johansson spread for Citizen K Homme Sport, Romulo Pires has called Paris and Milan his home, in addition to his native Brazil, but has recently settled on New York City as his base of operations. Through his extensive travels he has become multilingual, adding Italian and French to his fluency in English, as well as to his native Portuguese. But, when not walking the runway for Louis Vuitton or Giorgio Armani, or appearing as the face of Gucci or being photographed with Madonna for W Magazine, Romulo Pires is quietly pursuing two of his passions, acting and cooking.


In his spare time, Romulo is taking acting lessons, which could turn him into a double threat by the time he combines his model's presence with his actor's chops on the silver screen. Acting could open up a whole new avenue for Romulo, and as the camera obviously loves him and the different looks he can transform himself into, it should only be a matter of time before we hear from him.


However, it is his love of food that has propelled Romulo to pursue cooking classes. He has often spoken of opening up a café if he ever decides to retire from modeling, and by studying the culinary arts, Romulo Pires is on the right track for a future career opportunity. Who wouldn't want to eat at a restaurant owned by one of the most popular Brazilian models working today?

Brazilian Model Romulo Pires Dreams Of Opening Café

Brazilian born male supermodel Romulo Pires may currently reside in Manhattan, and his work may have allowed him to travel all around the world, but when asked what he would like to do when he eventually retires from modelling, Romulo considered something that would bring him home again; he would open a café in Brazil. This makes sense on one hand because Brazil is one of the world’s largest coffee exporters, and then on the other hand, Brazil also has some of the best food in the world.

The only thing that seems more natural than opening a café in Brazil when one retires would be to play soccer for the Brazil national football team, a dream that Romulo Pires considered before he took up modeling. Although Romulo’s work has required him to travel all over the world, and he has spent time living in Milan and Paris, he has always maintained strong ties to his homeland of Brazil where many of his friends and his family still reside.

 As a frequent international traveler, Romulo has had the opportunity to sample some of the world’s finest cuisine. Despite his guilty pleasure of occasionally indulging in a piece of dark chocolate, Romulo’s career has made it necessary for him to maintain a strict health and fitness regimen that prevents him from indulging in unhealthy foods or an unwholesome diet.

For example, to maintain his carefully sculpted physique, Romulo is an avid runner who also practices Muay Thai, the martial arts exercise, as well as Bikram Yoga, the intense practice of twenty-six postures which aims to develop strength and flexibility. As Romulo professes to eat six small meals a day, to coincide with his workout schedule, it would be interesting to know what sort of foods he would feature on his café’s menu. Since it will be a long, long time before Romulo Pires retires from modelling, I guess we will have to wait.

Romulo Pires Pays Tribute To His Mother

You have probably seen the six and one half foot tall Brazilian male model Romulo Pires in any one of hundreds of ads for Gucci, Valentino, or Chanel and not known it. Since he began modeling in 2001, Romulo has worked with the top designers, the best known photographers, and the most respected agencies in the fashion industry. He has counted the legendary Creative Director of Chanel, Karl Lagerfeld, as one of his mentors since Lagerfeld took him under his wing in 2003.

Romulo felt that his career had fallen into a lull for its first couple of years until Lagerfeld noticed him, hired him to appear in high profile campaigns, and, ultimately, gave Romulo’s career the boost it needed at that time, propelling him into the upper echelons of male modelling.

However, if one were to ask Romulo Pires who his biggest influence is, people might be surprised to hear that it is not one of the fashion gurus who he works so closely with, but someone a little closer to home: his mother.

Romulo’s mother, Cleopatra, has been a guiding influence on him since she was required to raise him, his sister, and his three brothers by herself in the Samambaia district of Brazil’s capital city, Brasilia. Romulo’s mother gave he and his siblings hope when things looked at their worst, always believing that everything happened for a reason.

“My mother is really religious,” Romulo has said, “and she said that God has a plan for all of us.” Romulo also recounts how his mother has been proud of his accomplishments because his successful modeling career has not only helped him to improve his own circumstances, but has also allowed him to care for his family and move them to a better place to live.

The next time you see a picture of Romulo Pires, look for his sign of loyalty to his mother on his left shoulder blade, a tattoo of the name “Cleopatra,” a sign of honor and respect for the woman who continues her influence on Romulo to this very day.