Demian Vial does a layup during a basketball game. *Photo submitted*

By Tom Victoria

When Demian Vial isn’t striking a pose, he’s shooting the ball. The Russian model also plays basketball at a New York university.

Demian, 20, plays top of the key.

“I was growing up playing point guard, shooting guard,” he said. “Moving to the States and then playing a different style of basketball. I'm still staying on point guard, shooting guard, but I would say my game style changed significantly compared to a couple of years ago.

Demian, who plays for Mercy University, had to adjust to the looser style of American basketball.

“Basketball in Russia is like playing a different game,” he explained. “In Russia and Europe, everything is slower. We rarely have athletic freaks, so the game is based on plays, tactics, and everything is more basic. If you watch the EuroLeague, you will notice that everything flows smoothly, passes go to the right person, and the game is played the correct way. In the United States, the game is built on athleticism or uniqueness. You rarely see a passionate game. Players on the court are flying, running as fast as they can and hitting crazy shots."

Demian comes from a family involved in sports and fitness.

“My family is athletic,” he said. “My granddad is a powerlifter, my father is a fitness coach, and my mom was involved in fitness throughout her life as are my other siblings. I was raised with discipline. My days are scheduled with practices, school and other responsibilities that I have to take care of."

Demian’s talent led to a focus on basketball.

"When I started playing basketball, my coach talked to my parents, saying that I have to keep playing as he saw potential in me,” he said. “A couple of years later, I was called up to the extended roster of the U15 national team and then moved to the U.S. to pursue my basketball career.”

Demian explained his love of competition.

“When everything goes smoothly, winning is the best feeling, obviously, but I'm enjoying when I'm playing any other teams,” he said. “When I can show I'm better. Actually, you prove it on the court when you score more points or you do some different moves or your team wins. It's just the feeling that we're better than you guys, so I feel like that's the feeling that drives me playing basketball.”

Demian said athletics require much practice.

“Literally a lot,” he said. “I would say six times a week. It just depends. During the summer, it's off-season, so you're preparing your body for the season. It goes up to three practices a day for a couple of weeks straight. My parents used to send me to Serbia back in the day. They had really good basketball coaches and camps up there. I used to spend my summer traveling around Europe, Serbia, practicing, getting ready for the basketball season.”

Demian hits the gym for strength conditioning and running for endurance.

“I had coaches in the gym and a special workout for lifting cardio, running,” he said. “I had a whole program just for myself, so I can improve my different parts of the game, which is running, strength, shooting and all other stuff. It was my job, basically, back in the days when I was in Russia, because I was in a national team, so they were preparing me.”

Demian is recovering from an injury.

“I tore my second ACL in the beginning of the year,” he said. “I still have a scholarship, but I was able to redshirt. I'm on a team, but my year doesn't count as an athletic year, so I'm saving one more year to play afterwards.”

Demian, whose rehab will take 10 to 12 months, described the sensation of a torn ACL.

“I would say it's a weird feeling,” he said. “It's your knee being unstable. It's buckled up. Afterwards, it's unstable. It requires a surgery and same month rehab, which is what's painful and then a struggle because you have to learn how to walk again.”

Demian has played hoops since he was a kid.

“Probably more than 12, 13 years, 14 years,” he said. “It's been a long time. Back in Russia, I just started playing. I was the quickest one in the school, so they recruited me to the team. I just started playing it. It went well year by year. I didn't realize how good I was. But then I made it to the national team in Russia, and then I signed a contract with one of the basketball clubs. Then I was like, yeah, that's what I want to do. I couldn't imagine me doing anything else but basketball.”

Demian initially relocated from Saint Petersburg to a southern state.

"I was recruited by Bishop Walsh School in Maryland to play basketball,” he said. “It was my dream to visit the U.S., but I couldn't imagine the opportunity to play here."

Demian eventually moved north.

“Before Covid, I went to school in Maryland, played there one year,” he said. “I threw my ACL on one of my knees, and Covid starts. Everything was shut down. Then I moved to Connecticut, close to New York. That's where I went to high school, finished high school up there afterwards, moved to New York to the college.”

Demian adjusted to living in another country.

“Totally everything is different, people, literally everything,” he said. “I like it. It's like yin and yang. It's black and white. It's always good and bad, but I love both countries. I was born and raised up there, but I'm also enjoying living here right now because I have a lot of friends, and then I'm making my career here.”

Demian has been able to dispel myths about life in Russian and in America.

“It's stereotypes, definitely,” he said. “When I moved here, everybody was: you have bears walking on the street. I was like, no, it's not true. Or saying everybody's drinking vodka. It's so many stuff that people are saying here about Russia that they don't really know because of the stereotypes. So is the Russians about America. They say they think everybody's drinking Coca-Cola, driving trucks, listening to country music. Everybody is just living on stereotypes.”

Demian already knew English, but the version used across the pond.

“It's mandatory to take English courses,” he said. “So you're learning English since preschool. But we learn more British language. It's more rules. It's more proper language. When I moved to the U.S., I thought I would be good. I will feel comfortable in a class knowing what the teacher is saying. But first time I came to the class, the teacher start talking so quick, I couldn't really catch what he was saying. And it was the slang as well. It took me probably two, three months to start catching what teachers were saying. I also was in trouble with schoolwork because I couldn't really understand what it was, my homework and how to do it. I'm trying to do it, but it's not right at the end of the day. I always was confused. What did I do wrong?”

After a few months, Demian got up to speed, but it was like learning English all over again.

“Everything,” he said. “Spelling, talking, slang, reading, literally the whole language itself. For me, it was confusing when not slang. It was the way people were talking. I was like, well, this is how you're supposed to say it and then this is how the accent works. I was taught this way, how to speak and how to pronounce words. And then me moving to the US, I'm trying to speak, and people don't understand me because they never heard a person saying this word that way.”

But Demian said some American slang also is common across Europe.

“We have some slangs in Russia that kind of translates the same to English, which is like bro,” he said. “That's like those basics of language I knew.”

***Photo by Elys Berroteran for ANON Fashion Magazine***

Demian’s education is geared toward an essential need in today’s world of technology.

“I'm majoring in cybersecurity,” he said. “It's a lot of math, coding classes. It's a growing field right now. It's a lot of jobs and also well-paying jobs as well, which is kind of cool.”

Demian found posing in front of the lens to be just as rewarding as dribbling on the court.

“I just started last June,” he said. “I got into it because I found out that I love attention. First, it was hard to get into it, be comfortable in front of the camera. People behind the camera, they just kind of stare at you or telling you what to do. But then I realized I like it when people want to see me in the camera. They want to use me to represent someone's brand. So I just like the attention. That's what I found out for me personally.”

Demian does photo shoots, including Vogue, Anon magazine and Kaltblut as well as walks runways.

“I did fashion week work for designer Adrian Alicea and a Japanese brand, Byakudan,” he said. “They (Byakudan) had robes, kimonos and stuff. It was cool. It was two shows, two different dates. One of the shows, they made a punk look. I had spikes on my head and the street style outfit. The next day, I had a more religious outfit.”

Demian intends to take his modeling as far as it can go.

“The goal is to get to the higher stage, which is the high fashion,” he said. “That's the end goal probably. But as of right now, I just have a couple shoots for magazines. Sometimes, bookings just randomly come up through my emails and somebody's interested in using me, like some brands. Just building up my portfolio so far.

Demian has no preference between indoor and outdoor shoots.

“Not really,” he said. “It's always interesting to shoot in weird, maybe new locations or studios, but you don't really know in the end what the photo is going to look like. It depends on the location. I wouldn't say the location is a preference, but as far as the photographer that you're working with, because it's all up to him, how he wants to choose the angles and stuff.”

Demian said some physical characteristics do play a role in landing assignments.

“I found out that the market itself is different brands looking for different types of models,” he said. “More high fashion brands get the better looking models, talking about body-wise and measurements. I've seen a lot of people like me. I'm 6 foot, which is good. But I've seen recently people who are shorter than 6 foot. Plus-size models right now are getting more exposure. I've seen people who are in the age for an older audience. So it's a lot of different models right now, but it also depends what market they're working on. But it's always a place for someone, I'll say that.”

Demian had no trepidation being in front of the camera.

“Basketball-wise, I was just playing basketball in front of the camera because they always film me on photo shoots,” he said. “But you never focus on the camera, how you're going to look, because you're just in the game here. You have to pose, try and make yourself look good in front of the camera. I would say the more you do it, it's like a muscle memory, and then you just enjoy it. Just be there.”

Demian said once a model gets comfortable working with new people in new surroundings, it becomes easier to convey emotions.

“Well, some people, for them, it's harder to smile or look happy, a fake smile, or some people, it's harder for them to look sad,” he said. “When you get to the studio for the first time somebody books you, you don't know the people that you're shooting with. After you start feeling comfortable, you start to open up in front of the people. You can be more natural. But the first year, especially for me, it's hard to smile or joke around. But then the more you become friendly with them, you just start vibing. It just starts feeling not like a photo shoot, but you start feeling like a hangout type of thing, like you're with your friends, and then you're just being open to the other people.”

“You have to be friendly with everyone, feel comfortable, so everybody will feel comfortable working with you.”

Demian said models require patience.

“Especially for fashion week,” he said. “I was in a set for seven plus hours. You get ready to do makeup. You just have to wait until they set up the cameras, the lights, everything. People think it's easy do modeling, but it's a job. You have to be professional. You have to be friendly with everyone, feel comfortable, so everybody will feel comfortable working with you. But especially patience. Even after a photo shoot or any fashion weeks or fashion shows, you have to wait maybe multiple weeks up to a month just to get a picture they took of you.”

Demian hadn’t even considered modeling before a family member suggested it.

“I was just working, getting ready for basketball season at my school,” he said. “Then my mom, she sent me an open call sheet for some modeling agency. I was doubting myself, knowing I can't pose, I can't do anything. I'm not feeling comfortable in front of the camera. I was like, whatever. I just give it a shot. Then they handpicked me out of the open call, and then they said they want to work with me.”

Demian’s confidence was bolstered.

“I was like, okay, if this agency liked me with the first try of me trying to get into the modeling, maybe I should do something bigger,” he said. “So I did my research on what is modeling. How does it work? I found out about the agencies, and I start working on my portfolio with my friends on my own. Afterward, I just started applying to the agencies in different states and countries, even in France, Europe. Surprisingly, I heard back from a lot of agencies. By end of the day, I was just basically picking with who I want to sign.”

Demian enjoys the prospect of travel and making connections that comes with modeling.

“You meet a lot of people through gigs or photo shoots,” he said. “I didn't travel a lot so far, but my goal for this summer is get a booking somewhere in Europe. I met so many people that it opened a lot of doors for me to start something different besides modeling, which is what I'm working on right now. It's my brand. I'm using most of the people that I met through modeling, helping me to build up my brand.”

Despite having a look that’s in demand now, Demian didn’t have people telling him he should be a model as he matured.

“I don't think somebody told me that I should be a model, which is what's throwing me off before I was starting,” he said. “Because most of the people are saying somebody told me I have to be a model this and that. Nobody told me that. But it worked out so far for me, which is good.”

Demian said his mother had another reason for giving him the idea.

“I found out that she always dreamed to be a model when she was young,” he said. “It probably was her childhood dream. I started bringing her to the fashion shows, and she really loved it, which explains maybe why I enjoy it as well right now.”

Demian said modeling has improved his intercommunication skills.

“Since I started doing modeling, it helped me to open up in front of people quickly,” he said. “It helped me to talk to people quickly, just talk to other new people, get new connections. Because back in Russia, people are kind of shady. We don't say what's up on the street. We don't say hi to people that you don't know, especially talking to someone you have never seen in your life. It would be weird, which was hard for me when I moved to the U.S. It just helped me to open myself up and then help me to do what I would never start doing maybe back in Russia: just grow as a person.”

Demian is working on his brand, the Slovo Collective.

“It's a creative agency,” he said. “We have a lot of connections. We're focusing on parties in New York City, like the club events or nightlife events. Just bring our own DJs, bring our people, provide them a platform to showcase what they do and also, they’re promoting us as well as a platform for the nightlife, like parties.”

Demian isn’t adverse to starting his own cybersecurty firm someday.

“I definitely would,” he said. “Not really sure what it would be, but I love to do something new. Also, I would rather do something that I have an idea how it does work or how it would perform other than just do something. If I know that something could possibly work, and then I have a vision of it, I would definitely start doing it.”

“Just be confident. It’s the main thing because people want to see you, how you’re comfortable in front of the camera.”

Demian doesn’t have much time for hobbies.

“I would say modeling was my hobby when I started,” he said. “Right now, with basketball, school, modeling and the business that I'm trying to do, it's literally no free time. I always have homework. If not, I can spend this free time on sending some emails from my business, or I can just go to the city. But I probably missed three days out of my school going to the city just for the photo shoots. I had to do extra homework, extra classes online.”

When Demian does have time, he hits the pavement skateboarding and makes social media content.

Demian stays motivated by doing what he enjoys.

“I love to do whatever brings me joy,” he said. “That's why we're trying to start building up something like a brand with my friends right now. Modeling also brings me new connections, brings me joy and brings me money as well. Basketball. I don't want to work for someone later. I just want to work for me and make my own money. Enjoy the life.”

Demian dispensed advice to aspiring models.

“Just be confident,” he said. “It's the main thing because people want to see you, how you're comfortable in front of the camera. Be comfortable and confident in front of the camera so people can trust you. I feel like the confidence is the key.”

Demian’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/demian_vial/

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