Raul Lopez<\/a>, watching other models walk for their casting. Quietly, he looks out the window at the New York skyline.<\/p>\nLopez turns to him. \u201cThe kids love you,\u201d he says. Guap\u00f5 smiles and bashfully acknowledges with a courteous, \u201cReally?\u201d It\u2019s true: Throngs of teens and young adults chase him around wherever he goes, sometimes creating mosh pits of madness as they take videos of him and try to catch a glimpse of him. While his outfit (a brown baggy tee, extremely oversize low-slung jeans held up by a silver belt, massive silver chains dangling from his neck, and a leopard-print backpack shaped like a Pok\u00e9mon character) matches his loud, chaotic style of online content, which mostly consists of pranks, memes, and shit-posting, his in-person demeanor actually manifests as quiet and subdued.<\/p>\n
After a brief practice run in the hallway outside of the casting room, Guap\u00f5 shows Lopez and the rest of the designer\u2019s team his walk. He sheepishly walks up and down the room.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis time with more aggression,\u201d says Lopez.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust mean-mug?\u201d Guap\u00f5 asks.<\/p>\n
\u201cYESSSSSS, MEAN-MUG!\u201d Lopez and his crew respond emphatically.<\/p>\n
This time, when Guap\u00f5 takes his turn around the room, he stares forward intensely and picks up his pace. The crew on the couch are enamored: \u201cNow he\u2019s feeling himself!\u201d<\/p>\n
Guap\u00f5, who shot into internet stardom in the past year, is now officially hitting the mainstream. Last month, the TikToker was featured in an advertisement in Times Square, and this week he\u2019s in a Marc Jacobs Heaven campaign. \u201cWhen I was young, I swear to God, I knew I was gonna be famous,\u201c he tells me. We\u2019re sitting in the backseat of an Uber from the fitting on the way to his next gig.<\/p>\n
Guap\u00f5, who grew up in the Bronx and calls his childhood \u201cfun\u201d but also \u201cthe trenches,\u201d had originally wanted to find work as a \u201csafari guy,\u201d like Steve Irwin, traveling the world looking for rare animals. But at some point in his teens, he realized that career plan wasn\u2019t likely to pan out. \u201cI\u2019d never been on a plane, so I was like, Fuck it,\u201d he says. \u201cI was lost. I didn\u2019t know what I was gonna be. I just knew I was going to be something.\u201d<\/p>\n
From the age of 14, Guap\u00f5 has been posting on YouTube, but his videos didn\u2019t gain traction until he started using TikTok in 2020. There, he pushes out content, ironically lip-syncing to Lana Del Rey, pranking his mom, or creating skits with his friends around New York. His work has made him a local celebrity, especially with kids growing up in the city. Even though Guap\u00f5 tells me he typically loves the spotlight, he admits he felt nervous prior to his New York Fashion Week debut.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope the crowd knows who I am so they know I\u2019m not a pro or something. It\u2019s my first time,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m an overthinker. I overthink the littlest things.\u201d On Monday night, though, those nerves appeared nowhere to be found. Guap\u00f5 paced down the runway, in pace with the music and a slight frown across his face. The editors seated around me watched Guap\u00f5 silently as the bass vibrated through the room. One of them turned to me and gave her verdict: \u201che\u2019s good!\u201d<\/p>\n
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