Shahid Bahadur aka Shah Bahadur (shah@pulsemgmt.com) "Online Talent Director" of Pulse Management in Salt Lake City, Utah

Shahid Bahadur solicits models online with statements like "Send Photo submissions and comments to Shah." He previously wrote the following complaint.

To Whom It May Concern:

My name is Shah, I am the Online Talent Director for Pulse Management. I
recently discovered your site through Solomodels.com.   You have Pulse
Management listed as a company that Price Gouges their talent.  This is
simply not true! . . . you list prices for us at $1700-$1900.  The
models you have quoted are obviously not our models if they are not being
represented by us.  A lot of the time when we explain how the industry works
to people who have never done anything with modeling before or they have
been with a local agency, it is all new to them and they misunderstand what
we are trying to tell them.  We are not an Agency; Pulse was created as a
management firm, born from twenty years of experience. . . .

Our mission was to work in a way where personal and professional
attention was the norm. We do not charge our talent for representation,
classes, or any of that other crap that scam companies do!! The $1700-$1900
that you refer to is a price that and Independent Artist charges not Pulse
Management.  We can not set prices for independent artist such as
photographer and stylist, etc.--they set their own rate. Obviously the better
the photographer, the higher the price.  We only suggest the best of the
best to get portfolios done; we do not want to put our name and reputation
behind unprofessional work.  We always tell our talent to get us quality
product that we can put our name behind to promote them. They do not have to
use the people we suggest, we ask only that it is to the quality that we
are used to representing in this industry. Nobody writes a check out to
Pulse Management for $1900, we only get paid by a 20% booking commission! I
would really appreciate your cooperation in this matter. . . .
Your prompt response will be greatly appreciated.  Thank you for your time.

Sincerely,

Shahid Bahadur

Online Talent Director

Comments

Shahid Bahadur:

You are so full of deceiving b.s! You wrote: "Pulse was created as a management firm, born from twenty years of experience." Twenty years experience? Really? Where did you get that b.s. from? Pulse has no employees, just a bunch of drifting independent contractors, like yourself, so whatever it was "born of" is only Stacey Eastman's experience. Last year he said he'd only been involved in the industry for 13 years.

You added: "We do not charge our talent for representation, classes, or any of that other crap that scam companies do!!" What about the crap of referring talent to the Eastmans' photography business? Why do you work for a company which refers talent to EXTREMELY EXPENSIVE photography, comp cards, etc., by Mrs. Shayna Eastman, without disclosing the CONFLICT OF INTEREST?! So what is your defence? "As long as we don't scam with expensive classes, we're not a scam, even if we make sure talent pays the Eastmans $2,000 each." What kind of b.s. is that?!!!

Why don't you explain to everyone why it is that modeling agencies, not little scouting/management companies like Pulse which don't even book jobs, tell talent not to get a portfolio done until they get signed with an agency, because it's not necessary, yet Pulse Management in their great wisdom advises talent to get portfolios done BEFORE they are signed to an agency? Could it be so the Eastmans can line their pockets AT THE MODELS' EXPENSE, do you think?!!

And explain why Pulse Management advises models to get composite cards--500 of them!!!--before they even get signed by an agency, when the same modeling agencies in New York say don't get comp cards done until you get signed by an agency? Could it be so the Eastmans can line their pockets AT THE MODELS' EXPENSE, do you think?!!!!

How much are YOU making off the photo mill?

And if Eastman is such a great talent with 20 or even 13 years' experience, why is that when he ran the Eastman Agency into the ground in Salt Lake City in the 90s, his income was only 19K each year for his last two years in Utah? How many models get booked through Pulse Management? Is the reason he's not an agency, only a scout/manager, because he can't get hardly anyone modeling jobs?

________________

Shahid Bahadur also wrote the following letter which was published in a Utah newspaper (Salt Lake City Weekly, Letters, June 17, 2004):

I have been involved with fashion for five years, and for the past year
I have been working with Pulse Management, a high-end firm with partnerships
with Women Model Management and Trump Models from New York.

We are constantly finding fresh talent here, and we have put Utah on the map.

Models need to spend money to get a portfolio done, and that is all.
They should not have to spend extra on classes or training, regardless
of how small our market is. We have made many stars, and not one of them
took any classes from us. If a model needs to learn anything, someone from
the agency will teach them. A model is a talking, walking, breathing hanger.

The biggest problem with the models in this business is that they think if an
agency really wants them they don’t have to pay for anything and that the agency
should do everything for them. This is not the case. They need to understand that
even if you are a star, an agency should never charge you any type of fees except
for a 15-20 percent booking commission. The portfolio or test shoots are always
the model’s responsibility. In order for a model to be successful they need to treat
this like a business.

Shahid “Shah” Bahadur

Comment

Shahid Bahadur:

You wrote: "The portfolio or test shoots are always the model’s responsibility." It is also the business's responsibility to disclose all related financial interests to all talent before they make payments. This is a fiduciary responsibility. Why don't you and Pulse Management disclose your hidden agenda and all the money you all are making off models, instead of spouting your tired, lame "We only get 20%" line? Why don't you change that to "We only get 20% and as much as possible from the $2,000 marketing payment paid to the company run by the owner's wife."