Alistair Winterbottem
Founder/Chairman

You could say that Alistair Winterbottem has talent in his blood. In addition to playing violin for a band in his adopted hometown of Flushing, Queens, New York, Alistair grew up musically inspired by his first cousin, John McCormack, the famous Irish tenor. But when success in the music industry initially proved elusive, he turned his attention to another passion: his love for clothing. Armed with a strong vision, Alistair convinced the president of Golfacks Girdles in Manhattan to allow him to publicly showcase their new line of women's garments in the third floor window of the Golfacks factory on 13th Street. His vision came to fruition as sales for Golfacks soured and young ladies lined up around the block for a chance to become the next "woman in the window."

This sudden supply of beautiful, young ladies inspired Alistair to leave the girdle factory behind and set up shop on the Lower East Side, where he soon established Winterbottem House, a training ground for young, amatuer "posers."

What began in a little shop window on 13th Street was to become the city's largest developer of new models.

By the 1960s, Winterbottem USA was responsible for the training and maintenance of over 150 models a year, many of whom went on to work on prosperous camapaigns including Ovaltine, Gravlax, Dolce & Dolce, Thompson Toiletries and Cosmopolitan.

In 1979, Winterbottem went international with the inauguration of seven new offices including flagships in Hong Kong, St. Petersburg and Israel.

Today, Winterbottem Worldwide works with over 500 scouts in 15 countries, collecting and training regular people to be the best that they can be.

Alistair's newest success story, TheBalloon, is an experiment of sorts. They are musicians, not models, and Alistair is returning to his first passion, music, in his effort to the make this dynamic electronic-rock duo explode onto the mainstream.

Alistair's continuing venture, Winterbottem Worldwide, presents talent search events and workshops, showcasing aspiring models, actors, vocalists and stunt persons to the entertainment industry and training regular people to follow their dreams and shine like true stars. Winterbottem events are setting a new standard in the industry, combining professional opportunity and workshop learning experiences with fun and exciting locations.