GoldStar Modeling Goes National

LOS ANGELES - GoldStar Modeling on Wednesday announced it has opened offices in New York and Miami as the agency expands its reach on a national level.

GoldStar owner Joel Lawrence told AVN that Blue Max Models in New York and Alternative Modeling in Miami have become part of GoldStar Modeling.

The new GoldStar branches will each have their own Websites - goldstarny.com and goldstarmiami.com - launched by Monday. Both sites will also be accessible from the main goldstarmodeling.com Web portal.

Lawrence, who founded GoldStar in June of 2005, said the deals came together quickly during the month of August after productive negotiations with Blue Max Models' Joe Max and Alternative Modeling's Eli Thomas.

"We absorbed Blue Max Models and Joe Max is now exclusively handling the business in the tri-state area," Lawrence said. "That will be his sphere of influence and to that aim there will be talent based out of New York, male and female.

"The idea is more girls coming to New York, probably two a week, and ideally more talent coming out of New York, both male and female which could be going to any of the branches.

"In addition, more LA producers would be able to shoot out of New York. There will be a lot of cross-pollination going on."

Thomas will oversee all operations for the new GoldStar branch in the Florida market.

"That same basic paradigm also exists, except Eli's sphere of influence will be just Florida," Lawrence continued. "We will offer housing, transportation and other support services and our talent will be available to any of the branches. So if an LA girl wants to go to Florida, we'll have housing and transportation for her, and the same with New York. It's likely that well make it a little bit of a triangle."

Lawrence said that both the New York and Miami offices would also offer locations, access to equipment, and other production support services.

Thomas, who started Alternative in 2003, told AVN the new venture has been well-received.

"There is a lot of positive feedback that we are getting from producers in Miami and Ft. Lauderdale," Thomas told AVN. "I'm excited because now we have a solid foundation with the talent in LA. It's a win-win for everybody. The girls are excited and the producers are excited. I'm excited too because my goal has always been to be a national agency."

Thomas said he would be working closely with Lawrence's LA hub to build the Miami presence, including incorporating the same computer booking systems.

"And I'll be hiring my own support staff as far as photographers and drivers to help us," Thomas added. "The Florida market is constantly growing, I find I get at least one to two new producers contacting me per week."

Gold Star's New York arm will be based out of Long Island, where Max has operated Blue Max Models since 2003.

"I think it's going to be phenomenal. We are the first nationwide agency," Max said. "I think it's going to change the industry. It's going to be a lot easier for producers to book and easier for talent to find work. This was something we've been discussing for a while and it fell into place real quick."

Max, who is stationed about 25 minutes from New York City, said he has watched the New York market grow during the past two years.

"By leaps and bounds. It's amazing, more and more people are coming into New York to shoot now. ... They are tired of the same old places."

Max told AVN his territory would also include Pennsylvania.

"I'm about two hours away from every producer we work with," said Max, who used to make frequent trips to Florida with his New York girls before he met Thomas.

Lawrence said he has about 105 LA-based girls and 10 guys on his roster. But when the transition is complete in a few weeks, he'll have at least 135 girls and 25 guys. He said his bookings have already increased by over 20 percent.

"Everyone believes in the vision of being a national company because at the end of the day that will ultimately be what provides the greatest service for the producers and the talent," Lawrence said. "I am firmly committed to this, and it's reaped instant results in a lot of ways."