United Talent Group review: Shady Business Practices

I have read MULTIPLE complaints online about this company. I have also heard stories from both FORMER EMPLOYEES as well as FORMER MODELS and others about the shady business practices of this modeling agency. Upon my own informal investigation of this company, the tell-tale signs of a shady business practice are prominently displayed on all of their online representation. I'm concerned about the lack of fluidity in their marketing, web presence, and in their list of clientele as well as their models and talent itself. I'm also concerned about the lack of legitimately named staff and management listed on their website. If you start researching these companies online as well as knowing a few former models and workers, the flow of normal business and legitimate affiliation with "real" modeling agencies quickly falls apart. Utah agencies are notorious for being really everything that any REAL, LEGITIMATE agency will point out in seeking out a fraud.

Let's begin at the beginning. There are basically THREE "major" agencies in the Salt Lake Valley. The names of these three companies seem to change after a few years (mostly because people start to catch on to their scams). There is "Tru Talent" (formerly known as Soleil), and then there is Urban Talent Agency (Formerly Wilhelmina Urban Talent, and before that Urban Talent Agency), and then finally there is Wilhelmina United Talent Group (formerly known as United Talent Group, and before that W Talent Agency). I find it interesting how these agencies always cover these conspicuous name changes with some story about they were acquired by some other "big name" agency whom no one has ever heard of before...or that "management has changed" at the newly named agency. The same stupid story comes up, especially when considering that the legitimate and REAL agency "Wilhelmina" has actually begun allowing other local agencies to 'affiliate' with them, when they probably have NO idea how scandalous and fake these local agencies are.

I've watched for years as friend after friend of mine gets hounded by "new faces agents" in the local malls. They invite you to a meeting, where you are told you must buy "classes" to become a model, and a "portfolio" photo package with their house photographer, to become a part of their agency. After making promises and wild claims, they take your money and leave you high and dry. If they get you any work, it's generally shoddy at best, and most of the time you never get work. I've seen it time and time again. All I know is a REAL agency will PAY for all of those things, if they REALLY think you're going to be a good model for their agency. YOU are the reason they're there because they should be making money off jobs you nab with your modeling looks, not making money from you paying for classes telling you what to eat and how to walk and how to otherwise do things that you should naturally do if you're "model material." I'm sick of these scams that run in Utah, feeding into the frenzy and fun world of fashion and modeling but instead stealing your life savings and scandalous schemes.

I'd like to start a campaign to inform people about all the fraudulent modeling agencies who think they can continue to con and dupe people into their evil and malicious schemes. We're onto your stupid promises and terrible games. Now start informing your friends to deal with REAL modeling agencies, not these stupid hoaxes. The comments that are on here that are FOR the agencies, are no doubt people from the agencies trying to get people to believe they are real models. It's obvious to a trained eye your deception and foolery. "W Talent/ Wilhelmina/United Talent Group" continues to use a model on their page that has the "Abercrombie & Fitch" logo on the top of the photograph. Anyone that knows anything about fonts can tell that that font used isn't the actual font from a real Abercrombie & Fitch catalog. It was simply tagged on using "MS Paint", using a similar looking font to imply that their model (who I've seen in real life, and isn't as goodlooking as someone Bruce Weber would actually use, he's short and his face looks like a smashed tomato) actually worked on an Abercrombie & Fitch shoot. I guarantee that W Talent has never had a model placed by their agency with Abercrombie & Fitch. Anyway, start believing and stop supporting these scams! Take a look around their sites and look carefully. Where are the real names? There's very scarce actual tear sheets used in their models' portfolios. Look carefully and you will see the lies.