Male model makes good coffee

Is there a better job than being a model? All you have to do is stand around looking handsome, getting acting jobs and dating your celebrity girlfriend. Is it really that easy?

Of course not. Narat Sumitra (Be) has done these things, but as a result of hard work. Discovered by a stylist while he was working in Chiang Mai, Be’s career took off after his first magazine cover, for men’s fashion magazine Looker, in 2014. When he’s not modelling for the likes of Chaps, Lips and Image magazines or walking the catwalks for Fashion Week, Be can be seen in music videos or even in the Grammy soap opera Pritsana Arkat. But his day job is making drinks at his coffee shop, After November, in Pathum Thani.

S Weekly caught up with the 32-year old model over coffee to chat about his career.

How did you become a model?

Be: I was working in Chiang Mai and was spotted by a stylist. I did some modelling then sent my portfolio to the Singha Life clothing brand. A modelling company asked me to come and do some work in Bangkok. That was four or five years ago.

How did you get to be on the cover of Looker?

Be: A friend of mine knew that the editor of the magazine was looking for somebody with a lot of tattoos, because tattoos were very cool at the time. I was chosen from four models. Being on the cover meant that a lot of other fashion magazines offered me work. As there are less magazines these days I work more with brands who focus on online marketing and want lookbooks and viral videos.

When you were dating Apinya Sakuljaroensuk [Saipan] you became a celebrity. How was it?

Be: So many people know who you are. You get a lot of followers and they look up to you, so you have to behave correctly and not post smoking or drinking pictures on social media. But you also have to protect who you really are.

What was one of your most rewarding jobs?

Be: A photographer friend of mine had cancer and was treated at Chulalongkorn Hospital. After he got better he wanted to do something for the hospital so he asked his doctor how he could help. The doctor suggested a photo exhibition to encourage young people to become skin and organ donors for people who’ve been in an accident or been burned in a fire. Later I bumped into a doctor who told me that the campaign had raised a lot of money and awareness.

Why did you get so many tattoos?

Be: I just like them. I think they’re beautiful. I liked the style of a heavily-tattooed model called Zombie Boy who recently died. I got my first tattoo when I was 18 and then wanted more and more.

What did your parents think?

Be: I used to wear long-sleeved T-shirts all the time and hide the tattoos from my dad. He was always asking if I was hot. I kept them a secret for two or three years. But then one day I decided that I was an adult now, and showed him. I thought he’d be angry but he was OK.

Why did you open a coffee shop?

Be: I love drinking coffee and I have lots of friends in the neighbourhood so I decided to open a shop. I used to hang out at a well-known coffee shop in Chiang Mai called Ristr8to. The owner taught me how to be a barista. Central Bangkok was too expensive and too busy so I chose Pathum Thani.

What’s next? More modelling? A singing career?

Be: I want to open more coffee shops. I’d like to keep modelling as well, as there are many older models with tattoos these days. But I can’t sing!