At 14, Ben decided to help a friend who had spent $3,000 on modeling school but was unable to get any work. He sent this promising friend's photos to a local magazine, hoping they might consider her for a modeling shoot. Two weeks later, Ben received a phone call from the magazine's fashion editor and had officially booked his first modeling gig. The Ben Barry Agency was born.
As Ben began learning about the rigid requirements needed to become a model, he began to question why the models in advertisements did not look like his friends and their families—the people actually buying the products. In school, he also heard about the negative impact the primarily thin, white, young, and able-bodied images of models were having on his friends and classmates. He decided to do something about the situation: his company would represent models of all ages, sizes, races, and abilities, thereby allowing advertisers to use models that reflected their consumers.
As CEO of the Ben Barry Agency, Ben has received much distinction and acclaim for his innovative approach in the fashion industry. He has been featured on Oprah, Fashion Television, Canada AM, CBC Sunday, MTV Live, eTalk Daily, among others. Ben has also won numerous awards, including the CIBC Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award and the Queen's Golden Jubilee Award for making an outstanding contribution to Canada. Ben Barry has been recognized as "One of 20 Teens Who Will Change the World" by Teen People Magazine (February 2001) and "One of the 25 Leaders of Tomorrow" by MacLean's Magazine (September 2003).
Ben holds an Honours Bachelor of Arts in women's studies and political science from Trinity College at the University of Toronto where he studied on a four-year National Millennium Scholarship. He is currently a graduate student in innovation and strategy at the Judge Business School at Cambridge University on an Ogilvy Foundation Research Grant. His research explores the influence of reality reflecting models in fashion and beauty advertising on brand attitudes, consumer loyalty, and purchase intentions in Canada, US, UK, Brazil, United Arab Emirates, and China.
Ben is a business columnist for the Globe and Mail, and is a frequent contributor to the "Options and Ideas" sections of newspapers around the world. His debut book, Fashioning Reality: A New Generation of Entrepreneurship has been hailed by Profit as a manifesto to young entrepreneurs and a call to arms for everyone else.
Now at the ripe old age of 23, Ben is only beginning to gear up for more challenges. The story above is only the beginning. His passion and entrepreneurial nature allow him to share his vision globally. Through diverse forums and mediums, he strives to change the public's perception of beauty and shift the current advertising paradigm. The world of images will have a very different look after Ben Barry has made his mark.