World Modeling Perseveres in Fifth Decade of Talent Booking

LOS ANGELES—World Modeling founder Jim South says despite what comes up in the Google Search results, his licensed and bonded agency is open for talent representation. “I just want people to know how many girls that have called me in the last couple of years and told me they were going to come to my agency six months ago but they read that I wasn’t around any more,” South told AVN Wednesday. The AVN Hall of Fame legend, who opened World Modeling in 1976, now works closely with Matt Morgia, who has been his talent coordinator and chief recruiter for the past year. “He’s a good mentor,” Morgia said. A native of Wyoming who started in adult in 2016, Morgia told AVN he wants to help South bring World Modeling “back to its former glory.” World Modeling has represented a who’s who of iconic stars over the decades, booking shoots for Hall of Fame performers such as Ginger Lynn, Amber Lynn, Christy Canyon and Tera Patrick, among thousands of others starlets. South closed the agency in November 2006 before re-opening it in January 2008. Now Morgia handles all of the agency’s bookings—even though nothing has been booked in almost two months due to the industry-wide shutdown caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Morgia said he actively recruits potential performers to World Modeling and then once they come aboard he assists them with managing their careers. He previously worked for Plush Talent, 101 Modeling and 360 Models, where he was an agent for about two years. Several of World Modeling’s girls have been showing big promise, according to Morgia, who pointed to rising newcomers such as Avery Cristy, Angel Youngs, Sawyer Cassidy, Samantha Reigns and Sera Ryder as some of their emerging performers to watch. Morgia said World Modeling was on a roll before the crisis brought everything to a halt. “All the girls have been getting non-stop work with me,” he said. “The girls are on time and they don’t flake.” He added, “I’m also very easy to work with. … I want somebody that I know wants to make a career out of this, who is a little more serious about it.” South agreed. “We’re a little more selective on the girls that we take on,” South said. “They don’t have to be a ’10,’ but they’ve got to be able to get multiple jobs through us.” A native of the small town of Afton, Wyo., Morgia said he enjoys the outdoors, growing up an avid hunter and fisherman. Now he takes great pride in representing an agency that first made its mark during porn’s Golden Age. “The girls themselves are saying 'World Modeling is the OG of the industry,'” Morgia said. “A lot of the newer agencies pop up and they come and go. World Modeling has been around since 1976. … Jim’s got his own Wikipedia page… Most people don’t even realize Jim used to represent Jenna Jameson.”