Mason Prey jumped into the air and kicked his feet back like a skateboarder as a photographer clicked away.
He landed on the trampoline with a smile, hoping the shot ends up used in Gap stores on advertisement posters.
Prey, a Bailey Lake Elementary fifth-grader, is one of 20 finalists for the Gap Casting Call.
Gap received more than 900,000 entries for the contest, and a photo of Prey from a family photo stood out.
‘I really didn’t think anything would come from this,? admitted mom, Kim. ‘He is 10 and the cut off age is 10.?
She decided to go ahead send a photo and see what happened next.
‘It was great,? exclaimed Kim, after the family received the news at the end of October.
‘He is a laid back kid. He was like ‘oh, cool,?? Kim said.
But the excitement set in and Mason flew to California for the next step ? the photo shoot.
‘He had a really fun time out in California,? said Kim. ‘It was an exciting experience.?
He had his fitting on the first day and found they had clothes all ready for him. He put on different layers as Gap decided which ones they would use during the photo shoot. He also had his hair cut and styled.
A trampoline was set up for the contestants during the photo shoot as they each jumped, posing and smiling in mid air.
‘It was the best part for him, to jump and do kicks and pretend he was kicking a soccer ball,? said Kim. ‘He had a blast and the photographer was a nice guy.?
Mason also learned a few tricks, such as tickled feet or noses to get the subject to smile. The public announcement wasn’t made until Dec. 7, when voting began online at www.gap.com/castingcall. Now he waits to see who will win the most votes and whose photos make Gap stores around the country in February. Voting can be done once a day until Dec. 21.
Mason teamed up with another contestant, Madison, from California, to help each other with voting. The have a fan site on Facebook.com called ‘Vote for Mason and Madison.”
Mason enjoys being outdoors and likes to snowboard, skateboard, and ride bikes. He also plays soccer, basketball, football, swimming and other sports. The only sport he hasn’t tried is lacrosse but said he wants to try it one day.