Male Supermodel Caleb Lane Is Totally Up for Stripping Alongside His Bestie Channing Tatum
Guess who is going to be doing some of Yahoo Style’s coverage of New York’s first-ever Men’s Fashion Week, today through Thursday? None other than one of Channing Tatum’s besties Caleb Lane, who’s walked tons of men’s shows and even did this Lancôme Trésor print ad with Elettra Wiedemann (Isabella Rossellini’s daughter), shot by legend Mario Testino. Originally from Dallas, Caleb lived in New York for seven years before moving to L.A. five years ago. Now, in addition to being a top model, he’s a singer-songwriter and actor. While hanging out by the dog park in New York’s Tompkins Square Park before the shows start, Lane talked to us by phone about his craziest modeling gigs, his life in Hollywood with actress girlfriend Daniela Dib… and what he’d do if his longtime bestie (they modeled together as young'uns!) Tatum asked him to join the Magic Mike stripper-bro franchise!
Yahoo Style: Hi Caleb! So let’s start by you telling us your favorite thing about Dallas, New York and L.A., respectively, since you’ve lived in all three.
Caleb Lane: Okay. In Dallas, it was the stockyards culture in nearby Fort Worth where they used to barter all the cattle and where they had a rodeo when I was a kid. In New York, where I moved when I was 20, it was just the scale of the city and the endless possibilities of it. And in L.A. it’s the mix of nature and city, the fact that you can go from Sunset Boulevard up into the hills of Griffith Park in five minutes.
YS: Good answer. Okay so here we are at the start of the first New York Men’s Fashion Week and instead of walking shows, you’re going to be observing and commenting, eh? Any advice for the rookie models?
CL: Yeah, take it seriously and be a professional and show up on time. Do whatever you need to do and be grateful to be there. It’s not a lot to remember. There’s a lot at stake for the designers and investors and you’re part of a larger mechanism at work–it’s not about you. It’s about the clothes.
Image courtesy of Ford Models
YS: That sounds like pretty good, no-bullshit advice. What are some of your wildest runway memories?
CL: I did a huge swimsuit show for Rosa Chá with Naomi Campbell and a lot of the greatest Brazilian models and they had like this massive star sculpture with all these points coming out of the center, and when I was walking around it a piece of it fell off in front of me!
YS: Oh my God! Did you pick it up?
CL: No. It stayed there the rest of the show and we just walked around it. I was wearing like a cheetah-print bikini bottom. Also, once I closed a show for Etro I wasn’t supposed to close. I was late getting my clothes on so I ran back to the line. But I sort of let it happen; I’m not going to lie. I wanted to close the show!
YS: Have you had any outrageous Zoolander moments?
CL: Once I did a jewelry show with Tyson Beckford for a West Coast jeweler where we all had our shirts off and were oiled up and each had on like $2 million worth of diamonds dripping over our bodies. And as we walk out, Mos Def and Cee-Lo Green are onstage playing. So random!
Image courtesy of Ford Models
YS: What about crazy shoots?
CL: Always the Korean shoots. There was this one shoot where the girl model and I were supposed to be looking through this giant toy box while at the same time licking giant plastic ice cream cones. We were supposed to be a couple and I was like, “What couple does this?”
YS: What trends should we be looking for this week in men’s?
CL: I have to do my research actually. For me it’s about the artisanal stuff from L.A., handmade hats–very Americana.
YS: Okay. So you’re also an actor.
CL: Yeah and I’m gonna be playing a villain on Pretty Little Liars on the July 28 episode. I can’t say much, but this character Charles has been terrorizing the liars for like six seasons and my character has a lot to do with that storyline. I’m always in a three-piece suit.
Image courtesy of Ford Models
YS: Speaking of that, any films that have influenced your style?
CL: Definitely Cool Hand Luke with Paul Newman. I always see that and other classic American men on reference boards. Also Alain Delon in Le Samouraï. He’s like the buttoned-up classic French sixties Mod Squad look.
YS: What’s your favorite summer movie so far?
CL: I gotta support my friend Channing and say Magic Mike XXL. We’ve been friends for ten years since we met in the fashion world in New York and it’s awesome to see him become successful. I don’t know how he pulls off those moves because my back would break if I tried.
YS: What if he asked you to join his stripper bros in the next film? Could you strip?
CL: I could awkwardly strip. Maybe with enough rehearsal and choreography and gym.
YS: Which stripper bro would you be?
CL: I’d be like the stripper poet. I’d come out and read some romantic thing. But with Channing, this comes very naturally to him. He and his wife actress Jenna Dewan are both longtime dancers so they’re always dancing at home. He actually used my last name in the movie! He’s Magic Mike Lane.
Image courtesy of Ford Models
YS: Ok, good stuff. So Caleb, what do you eat to keep up your great model body?
CL: My metabolism is high and I’ll get skinny if I don’t go to the gym and eat. So in the morning it’s a cup of oatmeal, six eggs and a banana. For lunch and dinner I cook in bulk and put it into Tupperware, usually quinoa and grilled tilapia, chicken or salmon plus asparagus, Brussels sprouts, kale, broccoli. With Sriracha or Pappy’s special spice rub. For fun stuff I’ll eat Daniel’s vegan cookies or Häagen-Dazs or a burger on my cheat days to stay sane.
YS: What about working out?
CL: I’m usually in the gym or doing cardio high-intensity interval training at least six days a week. My girlfriend is a Soul Cycle instructor so I go to that with her a lot. Or I’ll take my dog and run for five miles. I don’t wanna get big; I just wanna stay lean and 170 pounds for my six feet. My favorite workout music is East Coast hip-hop like Mos Def or Nas–it’s just angry enough. Or Southern indie rock like the Black Angels, which is my favorite rock ‘n’ roll band.
Image courtesy of Ford Models
YS: On one hand it’s exciting to have the first New York Men’s Fashion Week but people are also grumbling because it cuts into their summer plans. What would you be doing ideally in L.A. if you weren’t in New York right now?
CL: We’d probably wake up, have breakfast and take the dogs up into the mountains for a hike. Then come back, drop the dogs and go out to the beach north of the city like Leo Carrillo. I love the ocean. Then we’d go to Cha Cha Chicken in Santa Monica or some place in Malibu for a sunset dinner.
YS: Cool! So hey…not to sound all pervy but since you are a male model…what are you wearing right now?
CL: A pair of Gorilla boots and Rag and Bone jeans and an oversize American Apparel tank. I love ripping my tanks down the side and letting a lot of skin and my tattoos show. I have a rose tattoo on my side. My mom passed away 12 years ago and I got it to represent her without it being the typical “MOM” or her birthdate tattoo.
