Tom Schwartz Credits Tom Sandoval and Jax Taylor for His Modeling Career

The SURvers are not exactly novices when it comes to the world of modeling. When the crew isn't working at Lisa Vanderpump's L.A. eatery, many can be seen mugging for the camera. And it turns out that Tom Schwartz would have never gotten his start in modeling had it not been for his Vanderpump Rules pals Tom Sandoval and Jax Taylor.

"Well, believe it or not, I had a game plan before I came here and part of that game plan included doing print work, commercials, and then eventually the idea, the goal, the dream was to transition into acting," Schwartz told The Daily Dish. "And I knew it was going to be hard, but I totally underestimated just how fierce the competition is. The whole way I got into was via Tom and Jax, slash also networking with friends through them. One of them gave me their old books — a book is like your portfolio, you bring pictures around. Jax and Tom would let me crash their castings, which is a very common thing to do depending on who the client is and how big of a job. Jax would let me tag along sometimes."

Schwartz soon learned how unusual going on casting calls can be. "It' s a bizarro world, it's a reality check," he explained. "You go into a room and it's full of guys who sort of resemble you." But, lucky for him, he always had his friends to keep him company in his early days.

Schwartz's skills to show off the designer are unsurpassed. We wonder if he learned that from Jax and Sandoval?

In fact, Schwartz even owes his posing style to the twosome. "Jax and Tom were big influences on me. People don't realize that they've actually both booked a ton of jobs and had fairly successful modeling careers. They really worked a lot. Those guys were instrumental in my transition into L.A. and also my entry into the business."

But, a healthy amout of Googling has also helped shape his career. "If you're asking if I have a signature look, I feel like I'm going to let you down here; I don't. However, when I do lookbooks sometimes I would just Google 'men's lookbook' and look at high-fashion lookbooks and copy some of their poses. I'm an amalgam of all the other male models who have shot before me. Is that cheating? Can you cheat as a model? Is that plagiarism?" he joked. "Sometimes I'm good at improvising and I do come up with some of my own work, but I've been known to Google for inspiration."

Tom claims not to have a signature look, but he's definitely giving us some Schwartz Steel vibes here.

After auditioning alongside his friends and doing all the research a male model can handle, it took Schwartz about two years to really find his place. And since then he's managed to come up with just the right regimen that he puts into action once he books a new gig. "I'll start eating healthier. I'll work out. I'll go tanning — just a little bit, not too much. You don't want to come in there looking like Snooki," he said. "When they book you, they want you to look exactly how you looked when you came in in the casting, no drastic changes."

And, being on set is quite frankly his favorite part of the job. "Once you're on set and you book the job, it's a great feeling. You're making good money. You're gonna be eating awesome food. You get to hang out with ridiculously good-looking people and they treat you really well," he explained. "It's just good energy, a lot of creative, interesting people on set. Sometimes it's tense, you're on a strict schedule, but for the most part [it's] very upbeat and positive. It's like my happy place."

Check out some more of his fiercest shots, below.