28/11/2008 11:14 The Shoot...

The day of the shoot arrived and it was the bit I'd been waiting for! I got to the location, a little later than planned, after walking around central London aimlessly - which just goes to show how bad my map reading skills are! I walked in and was immediately greeted by makeup and stylists, fantastic. I got painted, introduced to lots of people and then got to try on loads of different outfits.

The styles they presented were really up my street, very edgy and prominent without being completely indulgent. After trying on a few bits, I was eager to get out in front of the camera! So they tested my excitement, by starting outside... it was end of November so absolutely freezing and I was wearing shorts! Trying my hardest to look cool without shivering too hard, we started snapping. My instructions; "every time you see a flash, move slightly..." Definitely not as easy as it sounds. Seriously, try it yourself. Every two seconds, try shifting your position into another without ending up in a silly pose.

After a short while snapping, we moved back inside and I really started getting into the swing of things. We stopped only to change outfits and move the lights, snap snap snap, constantly clicking around me. I was having a ball! They wanted me to do what I'm good at, so I got behind the decks. I pulled out my vinyl and the real show started. Half an hour went by and I'd totally forgotten we were in a photo shoot! I was passed hats, tees, jeans, jackets, hoodies, belts and cuffs - all great designs which complete the massively urban look we've created for Criminal.

Then, before I knew it, it was all over! Like all good things, time flies when you're having fun and this was no different. I left with a huge smile on my face and was really pleased with how the pictures turned out!

26/10/2008 14:27 The In Between...

After the party I had the shoot to look forward to and I was really excited! Excited that I'd been picked to represent Criminal in the shoot and excited about working with them as I've been a supporter for years. First, I had a couple of small commitments. I got a phone call explaining that I'd need to give some information over the phone to a radio station based in Hertfordshire for an interview about the competition. I thought "now I feel like a celebrity!". I talked about the night at Carbon Bar and how much fun it was, and about me and what I do. A few days later, I walked through the door at home to find the local newspaper on the mat with me on the third page and pictures of the competition night!

Word spread quickly around my old home town and all of a sudden I received a lot of text messages and everyone wanted to be my friend on Facebook. Whoever said it was lonely at the top.

20/10/2008 10:18 Competition...

OK, so the actual competition was crazy! I turned up to Carbon Bar in London with my good mate to find two guys already there at the entrance - two real good looking guys I might add - which immediately made me think "well, here's the real competition, looks like I've got my work cut out..." Fortunately enough, after chatting to them for a while, we found out only one of the guys was entering and the other was his dad! Massive relief for me! So the four of us headed in and relaxed for a while as the Criminal team got to work setting up.

An hour later and the colourful cocktails and food were being passed around. We got instructions about the format for the night and all sat back for a chat, until I got called up to go and have a formal interview with two of the Criminal designers, Storm Models Head of Men's Division and Pritchard and Dainton (of Dirty Sanchez). Very exciting! I sat down and the first thing I was asked was about my music skills. I waffled on about my talents to do with music (don't think they were ready for that!) which led into a full-on discussion about what music we all like to party to - I have to admit, I walked back downstairs feeling pretty confident about how it went. Then we were all called to take some pictures together in the lounge area upstairs, very cool.

The party continued to rage downstairs, mainly with my support guy who was having the time of his life (he did the drinking for me while I tried to keep my hands off the champers!) The end was nigh and we all knew it. We received our last instructions then one by one, we all walked up to the stage and were presented to the crowd. The suspense mounted they read out the runner up, it wasn't me...then the call..."and the winner is...Michael Walsh!"

At that point, I was gobsmacked. Actually gobsmacked. I walked up onto the stage, greeted by Dainton and Pritchard and said a few words into the mic. I think I said "err, thanks! I don't know what to say!" My friend ran onto the stage, we partied, and so the story started; Michael Walsh - the new face of Criminal.