Sophomore defender Aaron Tyler’s relatively newfound interest in modeling has led him to an unlikely place— Apple’s official website, promoting the iPhone 13. 

Tyler was featured in an ad for Apple’s iPhone 13 online gazing into the camera while wearing a neon pink cowboy hat and a shimmery, black blazer. A portrait shot of him is also posted on the company’s Instagram account.

When Tyler auditioned for a job and got hired, he was unaware it would be modeling for Apple until the day of the shoot. 

“They were really secretive about it,” Tyler said. “They named a different company. I didn’t know it was an Apple shoot until the day of.”

The moment Tyler realized he was chosen to be on Apple’s website, he felt ecstatic. 

“It’s amazing because Apple is one of the biggest companies in the world,” Tyler said. “I feel incredibly honored to be on this website and to model for Apple.”

The idea of modeling never crossed Tyler’s mind until he spent a day with Alyson Aliano, who photographed him and encouraged him to pursue the field. He received a list of agencies from her and contacted them. They soon provided Tyler with a list of auditions. 

Throughout his short modeling career, he attended countless auditions with no acting experience. His older sister, Avery Tyler, received acting training at a performing arts high school and helped him prepare. 

“He felt like he didn’t have as much experience and resources that a lot of other people who have been modeling had,” Avery Tyler said. “We had to be creative.”

Tyler has played in 11 games for the Lions this season and in his short time at Rotch Field, has identified transferable skills on the field and behind the camera. 

“I’m very confident as a model,” Tyler said. “It’s shown on the field too and I think my coach would think that.”

Tyler’s friend Tomas Griego said he was proud of Tyler after seeing him on Apple’s website and excited for his future. 

“I always knew he was going to go into modeling,” Griego said. “He has a very unique look. He does a good job of composing himself in a way where he’s easily able to fit into different roles.”

 Tyler is now a part of Maggie and Otto Models Agency and plans to continue modeling for the time being but wants to pursue other endeavors in the future, especially as a visual and media arts major. 

“I’m going to take it [modeling] as far as I want to go with it, ” Tyler said. “I’m not sure if I want to do it the rest of my life or how long even. I want to do a lot of other things in life. I have a lot of plans.”