Two years ago, Adam Gallegos was pitching in baseball district games and preparing for college. Today, the 20-year-old Clayton graduate is navigating the fashion world, represented internationally and walking for iconic brands like Dolce & Gabbana.

In high school, Gallegos built his reputation on the field. As a three-sport athlete, he played four years on varsity in baseball and soccer, and three years in basketball.

“My freshman year, we won districts for soccer, and then my junior year, we won for baseball. Those were two very different points in my athletic career,” Gallegos said. “As a freshman, you’re really learning from the older guys, and then being a junior, you’re able to translate those leadership skills to the younger classes.” 

Head baseball coach Craig Sucher observed a clear growth in Gallegos’ confidence over his high school career.

“I saw a younger person who had all the physical attributes. It was clear that a switch got flipped and Adam saw himself as a leader,” Sucher said.

After high school, Gallegos intended to play soccer and baseball at Grinnell College while double-majoring in economics and political science. However, a brief decision to make his Instagram public after his freshman baseball season led an agent to message him, shifting his path toward modeling.

“I guess I showed up on the agent’s explore page, and he messaged me. Honestly, I thought it was fake, maybe just a creep being weird,” Gallegos said. “Then I did a background check, and he was legit. So we hopped on a phone call, and that’s how it all started.”

The message came from Jordan Morris, a mother agent with Arrival Management who scouts talent online.

“I look for a lot of athletes just because they tend to be taller and in shape. I came across one of his baseball photos, reached out and went from there,” Morris said. “I’ve been [a manager] for so long that I just have an idea of what clients gravitate towards, and he looks like the type of guy that my clients would like.”

Beyond his physical appearance, Morris was initially surprised by Gallegos’ unique professionalism and maturity—qualities that most clients lack.

“When I first video called him, he was very outgoing. He was self-confident, and he had quite a few questions. He knew what he wanted to know and wasn’t shy to ask it,” Morris said. “Modeling, as much as people think [it] is just about looks, also takes a certain type of personality and self-confidence to really succeed.”

It was almost six months between Gallegos’ discovery and his first walk in a show. Entering the modeling industry required training, but much of the transformation came naturally from the sports he plays. 

“I owe a lot of it to soccer. When I play soccer, I usually lose quite a bit of weight, so I did higher cardio, training and being very healthy,” Gallegos said.

Soon after signing with his agency, Gallegos’ agent suggested traveling to Milan, with no promise of booking a job.

“I was told the day before to fly to Italy so I can do a bunch of castings with no guarantee of a job. It’s a risk, because it’s your money, but I was just like, ‘I trust my agent,’” Gallegos said. “People will go to Milan for several years in a row and only get nos, so it is insanely competitive.”

The trip to Milan meant multiple castings every day with thousands of other models, as well as constant travel across the city.

“I got quite a few nos. I got callbacks, and then I got nos, or I got to fittings, and then I got nos,” Gallegos said.

Despite the constant rejections, Gallegos continued to attend multiple castings throughout Milan. On the day of the Dolce & Gabbana casting, an unexpected obstacle made the process even more chaotic. A 24-hour public transportation strike forced Gallegos to bike across the city.

“I had to wake up pretty early, and as soon as I started biking across town, it started raining. I showed up with my hair sopping wet and mud all over the back of my jeans. I was like ‘there’s no way they’re even gonna look at me,’” Gallegos said.

After finally arriving at the casting, Gallegos found himself waiting in a long line with dozens of other models.

“You wait in a two-hour-long line for about a 10-second walk and 10 seconds of photos, and then you’re expected to go to the next one. I get to see a lot of a very beautiful city, but it can definitely be exhausting,” Gallegos said.

Following several days of uncertainty, Gallegos received the call that changed everything.

“I got a phone call from my Italian agent, and he was like, ‘I have bad news’ to mess with me a little bit. Then he was like, ‘You got booked for Dolce & Gabbana.’ I was already going crazy, and it was so emotional. I can’t believe this is real,” Gallegos said.

For a new model, booking a prominent brand like Dolce & Gabbana is rare, according to Morris.

“The spots available to new faces are very slim. There’s only a handful of spots, and they’re considering people worldwide for those opportunities,” Morris said.

Since his first runway show, Gallegos has met some of the biggest names in the industry.

“I got to meet designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana, and I got to talk to Gigi Hadid for five minutes,” Gallegos said.

Although walking the runway brought a new level of stress, Gallegos draws on his experience in athletic competition.

“If I can play 90 minutes of a soccer game, or if I can pitch the bottom of the ninth inning in a baseball game, as an athlete, then I can walk down a runway and not fall on my face. [Sports] gave me the mindset of being able to flip a switch, get into the zone and lock in,” Gallegos said.

This skill has been present ever since Gallegos was in high school.

“When it’s Adam’s turn on the mound, he’s going to finish the game. He is going to keep throwing the ball until we have to go out there and take it away from him, and that desire to complete the challenge is something that Adam just owned entirely,” Sucher said. “Everything that happens in a game is because [the pitcher] causes it to happen, and Adam had that presence and that calmness.”

Although Gallegos has thrived in the modeling world, his academic and athletic commitments always come first.

“Recently, there was [a job] for a magazine that was interested in having me come to California for it, but I had a very important baseball game scheduled on that day, so I unfortunately couldn’t book it,” Gallegos said.

Even with support from his teachers and friends at Grinnell College, balancing everything has not been easy, Gallegos says.

“The hardest thing is definitely balancing it all and trying to maintain relationships at school. I go out of town for a week [to model], and things happen while I’m gone,” Gallegos said.

Gallegos attributes some of his modeling success to Clayton.

“In modeling, you are your own brand, so you have to be able to present yourself in a way where people want to work with you,” Gallegos said. “I owe it to Clayton High School. It taught me how to handle myself.”

While his career is still in its early stages, Gallegos aspires to book American brands Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren, brands that he and Morris consider premier names in the market. According to Morris, Gallegos can expect consistent jobs. As he continues to grow in the industry, Gallegos notes he is still learning to trust his place in it.

“Sometimes I might not feel like I belong, but I’m here for a reason,” Gallegos said. “I deserve to be here.”