Broderick Hunter Biography

Broderick Hunter(Broderick Hunter Jr.) is an American model and actor from Fontana, California. Broderick began his modeling career at the age of 20 in 2011, after he was asked to become a model for a photo shoot.

Since then, he has starred in editorials for various publications, including Cosmopolitan, Essence, Maxim, Vogue Paris and Italian GQ, and has also been featured on the covers of XIOX, Fantastics and OnFitness magazines.

Broderick, in 2011, appeared in the music video for “Warzone” by The Wanted and in 2012, while being in Milan for Dsquared²’s fashion week, Hunter caught American singer Ciara’s attention, who was also there and later asked him to star in her music video for “Sorry”, which premiered in September of the same year.

Broderick Hunter Age

Broderick is 29 years old as of 2019. He was born on January 3, 1991.

Broderick Hunter Wife

Broderick is not yet married.

Broderick Hunter on Insecure

In insecure, Broderick plays Felix in season 2.

Broderick Hunter Basketball

Broderick played basketball at Etiwanda High School where he attended high school. Playing basketball eventually led him to a scholarship for the University of Central Florida.

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Broderick Hunter Interview

In an interview with Teen Vogue. Broderick tells it all about being a black male model on the runway.

Teen Vogue: Let’s jump to your teen years. When did you first have any inclination that you might be model material?

Broderick Hunter: The thing about it is that I stepped into the industry on a whim. My basketball career was in a spiral. I was coming off of an injury. I was using whatever I had left in me to play basketball just to get into college. I knew I had to have education. My mom and dad weren’t going to let me go about life without going to college. So, when modeling happened it was a way out and an opportunity to start something new. My “okay, this is something I can do” moment happened when I was in Italy for the first time. I had booked [a major fashion show]. And I was like “oh sh*t, this is my first big deal” but then six hours before the show, I got released and they replaced me with a white boy. They put my look on someone else.

TV: In instances like that, that feel so obviously racist, how do you respond in a way that isn’t accusatory but doesn’t undermine your truth?

BH: The thing about it is, at the age of 19, if I was to blast on social media, saying “hey, yo, f*ck [this fashion brand], they replaced me with a white guy,” I probably wouldn’t be here because I didn’t have the backing behind me to continue my career. I didn’t want to be regarded as the black kid who wasn’t grateful enough for an opportunity and didn’t want to be a good sport about it. The only thing I had to do was just be silent, unfortunately. But that silence fueled me into my next step which was crashing the DSquared casting while I was there. I was like “sh*t man, I got to do something” and there were still castings going on. DSquared didn’t even request me. I just crashed the casting, got put on option, then got released, then I got called back and then I got the show and the show led to the Ciara video [for “Sorry”] but that’s a whole different story.
But to answer your question, when that kind of stuff happens, back then it was like a silent thing; now I’ve gotten to a point in my career where I can call it out and people will respect that. But that was one of the things I had to do to get to the point where I could be an advocate for talking about certain issues like that. Because I’m sure it’s still happening. No one knew it was happening to me but if I say it now, other black male models will say “that happened to me,” “that happened to me yesterday.”

TV: Let’s go back though. We went from deciding not to pursue basketball to flying out to Milan. What happened in the in between that led you to Milan?

BH: We gotta go back to Miami.

TV: Let’s go.

BH: I’m sorry my story is kinda crazy. It’s a huge web but everything connects. When I was in Miami, I was not booking a single thing. I was like one of three black guys that were out there. I was just starting out, signed to [a major agency]. I was working three different jobs: barback and two different janitor positions. All while trying to book stuff. At that point I had to be out there a minimum of six months. That was in my contract. So, I figured, “you guys aren’t booking me, I’m not going on castings, I have to just make some stuff work.” So, I saved up enough money working my side jobs to say “OK, I just got signed to [an agency] in Milan and they want me to come out for Milan Fashion Week.” I thought this could be my opportunity to finally break in. Right before that I had booked my GQ Italia spread, the Miami Vice spread. So, that was a really good thing but it was the only thing I had, but it gave me the confidence. So, it was a few people and things, especially that GQ shoot, that gave me the cosign to pursue this.

TV: You mention being one of only three black male models in Miami. That was eight years ago. This past NYFW we had 44% models of color walking the runway (that was predominantly women). I’m cautious to credit fashion with becoming more inclusive, but what’s your take on this?

BH: I mean kudos, it’s great. I think we’re making advancements. Because back when I was walking, you only had one black person in a runway show. I used to talk to my friend Cory Baptiste who was killing all the runway shows and every time I would see a major runway show, like a Dolce & Gabbana or a Dior, it would be him or one other black person. But I’d have to look for it. “Okay five just went, we’re on the sixth one, seven, eight, oh there he is, okay cool, then white boy, white boy, white boy.” It would get to the point where some things happen so much that you start to believe that this is just how it is. I’ve started to see more representation though. We have all-black runway shows and we have more designers of color, thanks largely to social media. But I don’t necessarily feel like for the major brands, there’s enough representation. People are saying “fashion has changed,” but no it hasn’t.

TV: You have chosen to be a part of one of the only (if not the only) industries in which women are paid more than men. And as you mentioned earlier, there’s already tokenization issues facing black men within this industry. What are some other points of contention you’ve faced?

BH: Back then it was an honor to get signed. I went into several different agencies who told me that they already had a black guy. I’ve had people say “oh, you’re too dark.” I’ve had numerous agencies tell me that black boys weren’t in. So, once I finally got signed — it took me six months to get representation — I immediately went [to] the board to find out how many other black boys are on there. There were like four. And that was in LA. Coming to New York, there was like maybe five, six guys.

When you’re a black boy in modeling, you have to be the cream of the crop. They’re only signing you if they see the star in you and think you’re definitely going to blow up. A lot of the guys I was going into the industry with were already established. Tyson Beckford included. It was really really difficult to get into the door. Not even getting in. Once you’re in the door, you still have to fight to maximize the limited space you’ve been given. So, yeah I can get a Marc Jacobs call but there’s gonna be all those other established black boys there and on top of that I have to compete with the white boys which is already hard enough. So, it’s a double competition and you’re starting at the very bottom of the barrel.

TV: So, when you looked at someone like Tyson, who in many senses, was the first globally recognized black male supermodel, where did you place him in all of this?

BH: I tried looking at him as an ally because I was like, “if he can do it, I can do it.” And I’m sure a lot of guys felt that way as well. But unfortunately, I didn’t get a single lick of guidance from Tyson Beckford. Tyson being who he was at that time and really opening that door, it did give me confidence. But in terms of guidance, I didn’t get much from him or really anybody.

TV: Over the last year, we’ve seen the rise of two incredibly talented black men in fashion: Edward Enniful, British Vogue’s new editor-in-chief and Virgil Abloh, Louis Vuitton’s new menswear artistic director. What is that like for you to watch these two black men ascend to such powerful positions?

BH: They really have the power. We have Virgil; we have Edward. It took this amount of time. Look how much time it took to see this amount of black kids on the runway. It’s a gradual move forward. It’s still two people. You can’t expect two people to unravel and undue over forty years of [systematic racism in] a profitable industry. I think Virgil is doing an amazing job. I hope he’s around for a long time. And I hope Edward continues to make pushes and advances. But still to this day they might have the power, but they don’t have all the pull. We need more prominent black people in leadership positions within fashion.

TV: Let’s get solution-oriented. This industry, at present, is largely regulated by old, white men. That sucks. What can we do to be more purposeful in our efforts to make this industry better reflect the world we live in?

BH: You give people chances. You let other people in. They’re expecting the top brands, who have already been established for fifty, sixty years to change. They’re not going to do sh*t. They’re going to do exactly what they’ve been doing. Fashion Week is letting all of these young designers in, but very few of them are predominantly black designers. Same thing with going to the shows. Let’s talk about who they are letting into the shows. You still have to be on the list. I’ve gone to many shows where I’ve seen various black people get turned away. There’s been points at shows where I’ll get a little loud about it, asking “yo, why are you talking to me? Those people are standing here, too.” “Are you on the list?” “Yes, I’m on the list.” “Show me your ticket.” “I don’t have a ticket, they brought me in here and told me to sit down.” Those are the type of altercations that happen. And I’ve been in this game and made changes this whole time. It’s still an acceptance thing.

TV: Michael Costello is a designer that comes to mind in terms of looking at someone that in many ways has had to go outside of the fashion industry in order to find success in fashion?

BH: And that’s what I’m talking about. And honestly that’s what happened to me. When I started doing TV and film work, that’s when I started getting more of these opportunities in fashion. If I was just to stick to fashion alone, I wouldn’t be here today. After Insecure, after Marlon, after Rel, after I did a few music videos, that’s when everyone started to notice. It’s as though a black person has to be bigger than what they are in order to get the standard of opportunity that a lot of these white guys are afforded.

TV: What are your thoughts on the accountability of the industry in addressing some of the concerns we’ve brought up? We have The Fashion Spot tracking diversity on the runway, but that is only for women, and there’s no organization crunching numbers around designer diversity, hair and makeup team diversity, or audience diversity at the shows.

BH: It goes back to the injustice in our country: If it’s not talked about, it’s not going to get done. Nowadays, you have people drilling these brands on social media and that’s why a lot of things are changing regarding the political aspects of how black people are treated in America, because people are being vocal about it. If you start being vocal, people stop f*cking with you and then things can start to change. It’s not an embedded thing because these brands don’t see the issue. I don’t feel like a lot of these designers actually give a f*ck. Some of these people just naturally don’t want to f*ck with black people like that. That’s cool. You don’t have to support it. But if we want to change it, we just have to be more vocal. But I hate that. I hate the fact that we have to talk about it, that you have to write a letter to corporate, that you have to have this celebrity vocalize it. It sucks but it is what it is.