You’ve probably seen him “hanging around” in Macy’s, or on BET’s “Rip The Runway”, or perhaps you’ve seen him on “I Want To Work for Diddy 2”. Born Kevin Tracey Dukes, but known in the modeling world as Tracey Dukes, The fresh, Sean John model that some of us know and love, came to the Global Grind offices and sat down for a one on one with me.
Kandy: You and I go way back, but for those that cant say the same, tell us some background information on you.
Tracey: Tracey Dukes, Age 24, Born and raised in Queens, NY.
Kandy: How did you get started in modeling?
Tracey: I’ve been modeling for about 5 years. How I got started was by accident. Just, doing a couple of shows here in there, but it was really the people in my hood, forcing me to do it, or telling me this is what I should do, you know, one of those things. It seemed appropriate for me at the time.
Kandy: The first time I saw you model was on “Rip The Runway” a few years back. How was that experience for you?
Tracey: Aw man, that was…exciting. I had already been modeling for maybe…a year, maybe almost 2 years and that was like my first big televised job. It was pretty much a big deal to me at the time.
Kandy: I didn’t even know you were modeling until that night I saw you on TV. Did you ever get the “wait until they see me” thought in the back of your head?
Tracey: (laughs) That was one of my thoughts, of course, but at the same time, I couldn’t hit EVERYBODY up and be like “yo, guess what”, because, you know, we’re all doing our own thing, you’re not really sure how certain people will perceive it. It could be perceived as bragging, so it was one of those things where I was excited, but I had a job to do and I was ready to rock out.
Kandy: Have you met or come across any interesting people?
Tracey: Oh yea, definitely. Definitely. There are three that come to mind. Dream Hampton, Chuck Barrett and Tony Shellman. Dream has really just been an influence in the latter year with my whole industry clarity. She’s been the one to help guide me through the desert, so to speak. She’s been very encouraging and informative. Chuck has been like a big brother to me. He’s pretty heavy in the game and he kinda took me under his wing form day one, knowing that my big brother was in jail, we kinds just clicked. He showed me the ropes to the game that were and still are life lessons. Tony is one of the older cats who have been in the game for a while. One of the few who, as a BOSS, runs the business and will kick it with you like you’re his long lost brother. Making million dollar decisions and never once making you feel small. Me being so young, those are the tools I need to grow not only as a loved entertainer but a loved businessman.
Kandy: Who would you love to do a photo shoot with that you’ve never worked with before?
Tracey: Hmm…that’s a tough question. There are a lot of great models out there; it all depends on the direction of the shoot.
Kandy: The infamous Beyonce’ shoot. I saw the picture on MTO and everywhere else, like I’m sure everyone else has. Can you give a timeline of that day?
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