If you were to see photographer Mark Reay on the street, or at a runway show, you'd think that he lived like anyone else who works in fashion: comfortably. Shooting for high-end magazines, dressing in well-tailored clothes, hanging out with models — what could be so bad?
The truth is, however, that Reay is homeless. For six years, between 2008 and 2014, he actually slept on the roof of a lower Manhattan building. Not in a swanky penthouse apartment, but under a tarp on the floor of an apartment building's roof.
When film director Thomas Wirthensohn found out about Reay's living situation, he knew he had to document it. A week later, Wirthensohn began production on "Homme Less," an 87-minute documentary about Reay's life that premeired at the Doc NYC festival in 2014. With glowing reviews from The New York Times and RogerEbert.com's Mark Dujsik, it's begun screening at various locations worldwide.
We caught up with Reay and Wirthensohn to find out more about their story.
SEE ALSO: 8-year-olds perfectly describe the dangerous ways fashion ads depict women
DON'T FORGET: Follow Business Insider's Lifestyle page on Facebook!
In the early '90s, Reay pursued a career in modeling, but he was only making $10,000 a year and never considered himself successful. It was at that time that he first met director Wirthensohn, who was also employed in the modeling industry, though it would be another 20 years before they would collaborate on the "Homme Less" documentary.
Reay also got involved in acting and is still an active member of the actors' union. He's filled in as an extra in several TV shows and films, including "Sex in the City" and "Men in Black 3."
In 2006, Reay began trying his hand at photography, offering his services to people who wanted professional documentation of their vacations. It wasn't as lucrative as he hoped, though, and he came back to New York broke. He briefly stayed in a Brooklyn hostel, but he was convinced the lodge had bed bugs in it — worried he might bring the bugs into their homes, he avoided staying with friends.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
NOW WATCH: More trouble for Subway's Jared Fogle...