This past weekend, Demna unveiled his first show for Gucci in Milan, and the designer enlisted a cast of It models to present the buzzy fall 2026 collection. Vivian Wilson! Fakemink! Kate Moss closing in a Gucci thong! But even the less-familiar faces on the catwalk made quite the impression.
One of the show’s most viral model walks, for one, was courtesy of a rising Canadian football player. The red-haired, fresh-faced model walked out wearing look 10 (consisting of a skin-tight polo and waxy jeans), and strutted down the runway with a confident hyper-masculine stride—as though he was a weight-lifting gym bro, or The Terminator. Spectators were instantly obsessed. “Let’s bring back buff models,” wrote one TikTok user, while another simply commented, “Protein-chic.” So, who is this mystery model that captured everyone’s attention?
Turns out, his name is Gavin Weiss, an 18-year-old model who is currently signed with the Canadian agency Mode Models International. Walking for Gucci marked his very first major runway show—not bad for a debut. Intrigued by his backstory, Vogue called up Weiss this week to discuss his viral “gym bro” Gucci walk—as well as what he loves about playing football, and what big designer shows he hopes to appear in next.
Vogue: Hi Gavin! Let’s start with talking about where you’re currently based and what you’re up to.
Gavin Weiss: I’m a student here at the University of Calgary. I’m getting into studying business, but I’m more passionate about football. I’m playing football here as a running back. I’ve been playing since I was 14, but this is my first year playing with UofC. I’ve played one season. We’re just doing workouts right now: The next season starts in August.
What do you love about the sport?
There’s so many things I love about football. I love the competitive energy of the sport. It really allows me to follow discipline every day, and to perfect craft. That’s what I truly enjoy about it. It’s a really good way to learn lessons in life—there’s a lot of things in football that correlate to life in general. You have to show up every day, and stay accountable. It’s also a team sport—if you make a mistake, it’s not just you that gets the punishment. When you don’t hold yourself accountable, that s going to affect other people.
How did you first get into modeling?
I was 16 when I got scouted at the Calgary Stampede. I was just chilling—eating a corn dog or something—and someone came up to me. They said, “You’re going to be a superstar.” I was like, “Oh, okay.” I wasn’t 18 yet, so I could’ t do anything yet. I just started doing little gigs here in Calgary. I was actually getting a lot bigger for football, so that was becoming a bit of an issue. But it all worked out eventually.
How did you booking Gucci come about?
Sometime in January, my manager Michael told me about it. They were like, “Can you attend this Gucci show?” But it was like, “I m probably not going to get it.” It was a big maybe—I didn’t get my hopes up or anything. But then they wanted to fly me out the next day—it was very short notice. So I worked it out with my coaches, and I got on a plane for fittings. About a month later, I showed up again, and we did a bunch of rehearsals.
So it sounds like they found you. How did it feel, grabbing the attention of such a big brand?
It s pretty insane, honestly. I don t know what it is exactly about me! It’s just a blessing. With these kinds of things, you’re not in control of them. I feel super ecstatic about it, but I didn’t necessarily do anything to acquire it. I was just born this way.
What I loved about the show, is that they really seemed to encourage models having walks with personality. How did you cultivate your walk?
Yeah, it was a pretty funny walk. It was mostly the designer, Demna. They were discussing how I should walk. They were like, “Be more macho—like an Italian mobster!” Then we perfected it in rehearsals, tweaking it here and there. “Do this with your shoulders—don’t swing your arms as much.” When we were backstage, they were like, “We ve given you this character, so just remember your character and get into character when you walk.” It was pretty cool.
Your walk went viral, and a lot of people were sharing it or discussing it. Did you expect that level of response?
I did not. I honestly didn’t realize how huge the show was. It’s pretty funny to see people writing that I walked like a robot.
Do you think people didn’t realize that you were playing a character? Like, that’s not how you actually walk?
Yeah! They were like, “Why is he walking like that?” But it’s like, that’s the job. I was playing a character. That’s not how I’m actually walking around the city.
What did you think of your runway look?
I’ve never worn a pair of pants like that. They were jeans, but imagine a laminated pair of jeans. The polo had little Gucci stripes on the collar. My favorite part of the outfit, though, was the watch. It was swinging around on my arm, super baggy on my wrist. My watch was awesome—I tried to keep it.
What was your favorite part of the whole experience, aside from walking?
The after-party. It was held on the runway that we walked on, and they set up this stage. Fakemink and EsDeeKid performed. That was the highlight—I was right in the front row.
What do you hope to achieve next in terms of modeling?
It would be pretty cool to be on the billboard or something like that. I want to be in an advertisement—just walking in the mall and then seeing my face. That would be so cool. I would love to walk for Louis Vuitton, Chrome Hearts, or Supreme.
Would you like to play a character again on the catwalk? Or just walk as yourself?
I mean, it was fun being all gym bro. I’d do that again for sure. But something a little more nonchalant would be cool.
