This browser does not support the Video element.
Berkley 18-year-old becomes supermodel after getting discovered on TikTok
It was one of his TikTok videos and Sammy's unique look that caught the eye of a talent scout from New York's Soul Artist Management.
BERKLEY, Mich. (FOX 2) - Like many teens during the pandemic lockdown, Sammy Pandolfi was making TikTok videos - then a professional agency discovered him.
"I was making TikTok videos at the time, not something I do much of anymore," said Sammy Pandolfi.
The Berkley teen doesn't have time after becoming a top male model and working for the biggest names in the fashion industry.
It was one of his TikTok videos and Sammy's unique look that caught the eye of a talent scout from New York's Soul Artist Management.
"They reached out to me on Instagram through a direct message at first - I was like, this can't be real," he said.
Sammy thought it was a scam, but he decided to follow up anyway, a decision that changed his life.
"It's wild, it went from nothing to everything," he said.
The 18-year-old went from playing video games for money, working at a shoe store and delivering for DoorDash to modeling Yve Saint Laurent's spring-summer collection and walking the runway in Venice, Italy. It is something unheard of, for up-and-coming models.
"It was incredible, it was absolutely incredible," he said. "I made friends I will have for the rest of my life and the work was honestly fun.
"Even though we are in hot weather wearing clothes I'm not used to wearing, but it was enjoyable with the people surrounding me and the opportunity in and of itself," Sammy said.
His parents, who flip through young pictures of their wide-eyed little boy, couldn't be more proud.
"For me the most important thing is he stays true to who he is, and stays grounded and real to who he is - and so far, he has," said mom Stephanie Pandolfi.
FOX 2: "Dad your son is a supermodel?"
"He is, we feel very blessed and fortunate," said Dave Pandolfi.
Sammy Pandolfi is packing up now to head to New York for Fashion Week where he will model collections for other luxury designers.
No doubt his rise to fashion fame has been fast, but Sammy says his family will always come first.
"Whatever happens to me, whatever amount of internet fame I may get in coming years, at the end of the day I am still going to value those who are close to me now," he said.