Straight-A student Paul Fisher dropped out of college to try his hand as a male gigolo in L.A. After a chance encounter with a mobster flush with cash, Fisher moved to New York and opened his own modeling agency to compete with the titans of the industry. The so-called “model war” changed the way stars are born in the fashion industry. But along the way, Fisher struggled with the excesses of the 80s, pushback from the old guard, and the shady figures who backed his agency.  

The podcast “Model Wars” from Campside Media and iHeartPodcasts looks at the improbable rise and fall of a self-made libertine and the characters around him who disrupted the industry. Host Vanessa Grigoriadis lets Fisher tell his own story of making stars, making money, and making trouble in the world of high fashion during the 1980s.

OUR SPOILER-FREE REVIEWS OF "MODEL WARS" BEGIN IN THE FINAL 11 MINUTES OF THE EPISODE.

In Crime of the Week: Should have seen that coming.

Our special fill-in guest is Ronald Young Jr. from the podcast "Weight for It."

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This show was recorded in The Caitlin Rogers Project Studio. Click to find out more.

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