Pierre Woods ’04 graduated from Illinois State with a marketing degree and worked in the financial industry. Today, he is looking towards a bright future as the next black male supermodel.

That’s the look clients like Ralph Lauren want when Pierre Woods ’04 steps in front of the camera. Woods consistently delivers, striking a flawless image whether he’s sweating through a summer shoot on a Miami rooftop in a wool blazer or shivering on Mount Hood in a snowflake sweater.

The 30-year-old GQ cover model has come a long way from his days as a boy who hated trying on clothes. Woods has modeled everything from boxers to eyeglasses on shoots that have taken him to polo fields and tarmacs. He’s ridden bareback and held the reigns of a sleigh pulled by Clydesdales. And he’s taken a five-hour shower while shooting an ad for Kohler, with the scene plastered on a downtown Chicago billboard.

“I had so many people calling, saying, ‘Pierre, is that you taking a shower?’” he said, laughing. “That was the first time it really hit me that I was actually a model.”

Woods is now five years into a sensational career. He does photo shoots for high-end department stores, including Bloomingdale’s and Saks Fifth Avenue. He also appears in ads for The Olympic Collection by Ralph Lauren, an official outfitter of the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team.

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