Owner of 12 Birkins, Israel Cassol talks about his career as a gogo boy, mental health and child abuse

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The people that follow Israel Cassol‘s fashionist and presenter life must imagine that he was born with his ass to the moon, as the old saying says. It is a possibility, but before becoming successful and famous, Cassol faced many difficulties in life. For the first time, he felt safe to talk about the sexual abuse that he suffered when he was only six and how it influenced his experience with drugs years later when he was living in Europe.

The young man, 39, Xuxa Meneghel’s fan and owner of many dreams when he was a child, could make them all come true. Articulated, he talks about many things, including about his weaknesses too, which is different from many personalities that only comment on their merits motivated by vanity.

With a fancy purse collection that is evaluated in more than R$ 500 thousand reais, Israel Cassol does not omit the difficulties in his past – that were many during the year. Maybe the expression“no pain no gain” describes better the conquers of the young man from Caxias do Sul.

- BKDR -

You life a fancy life style, that can be the dream of many. How do you deal with people that get closer to you because of interest? Is it possible to identify the opportunists?

Opportunities always appear in our lives, right? No matter if you are fancy or not. There are people who are going to take advantage of you no matter when, but I can see this in seconds and I don’t let them do this. In the past, people took advantage of me, today I’m much more careful and I can identify this quickly.

Você nasceu em uma família humilde em Caxias do Sul, filho de um pedreiro com uma dona de casa. What did this simple origin taught you when you become a successful person in financial terms?

My family has always taught me that we need to treat people with respect, without prejudice and I’ve never felt that I’m better than anyone. For me, we are all the same. And I think it’s ridiculous people who start to “think too much of themselves” when they have more than the others. I think that it’s so inelegant when someone is rude to the garbage man, to the doorman, or the cleaning lady. The elegance is in the way that you treat others! For me, I repeat, we are all the same! We will all go to the same hole when we die, and we won’t take a thing!

In 2002, you moved from Brazil to Italy, and you were looking for a better career as an actor and a model, how was the beginning in Europe?

First of all, the language, right? I didn’t speak Italian at all. I remember that I lived with 50 euros per week, money that the agency would give to the models weekly. The first time that I went there, I lived with 10 models in a 3-bedroom-apartment, a mess! I got so many NOs, oh my God! It wasn’t easy! I only started to work well in Milan when I met the photographer Jean Paul Barbieri.

Have you worked as a gogo boy and did you make erotic movies?

I was a gogo boy when I needed money. It was fun and the money was good. I liked that craziness above me (laughs). The movies appeared only after I was in London. I was invited by the British director Carl Medland to participate briefly in the movie “The Cost of Love”, and after that, I was invited to do two more and then I stopped. I was tired of being seen as only a pretty body. They tricked me a lot at this moment of my life, and until today I haven’t received the cache of my participation in this movie. They only used me at the time! It happens a lot in this industry.

And experiences with drugs, have you had some? Were these experiences, in some way, an exhaust valve to the difficult times when you arrived in Europe?

I’ve had my moment with drugs too. The first time that I did them I was 24. It was in a party. The drug abuse today I see happens because of child abuse. I’ve never told anybody about the abuse, I’m sharing it with you today. After so much time in therapy, I saw that the child abuse left many sequels in my adult life, that today I try to solve in therapy.

How did it happen?

The child abuse that I experienced was with my cousin, I was 6 and he was 18. I thought, for many years, that it was something that I wanted, but it wasn’t. A child doesn’t know what sex is at that age. I told my family at the time, but we didn’t have the resources to go to a psychologist. After many years in therapy, I understood that the abuse that I’ve experienced with drugs was because of my child abuse. And other abuses that I had and I let other people do to me (Cassol refers to people with abusive behavior), I also understood that it was because of the abuse that I’ve suffered. The trauma was so intense. The adults have to pay attention to the children that are around them. The abuser is always around the family and the child. I want, through this interview, to warn the parents to take care of their children. Mainly the parents that have a child that identifies as gay in their house. They will always be a target for the abusers. The abuse is a wound that heals, but it takes years to do so. Some people have this trauma for the rest of their lives. Take care of your children. It is still a reality and we need to warn the authorities about this matter and, mainly, I repeat, the parents.

Did you get over it?

It was gotten over. But there is still a big scar in me because sometimes I see that people abuse me and I stop them right at the time because people have this habit to abuse others – some people. So I see these abuses nowadays and I want to end them as soon as possible, so people won’t people to do it anymore. In the past, I was abused in some situations, in my model career, in my actor career. And it was hard for me to get out of these abuses. Today I can get out of these abuses easily, I stop the person that is doing it.

And depression, is that something that you had to deal with?

I haven’t had depression. I had panic in 2013, that was a really complicated situation for me. I couldn’t understand what was happening and some professionals in the health area helped me and today I’m a much stronger person than I was some years ago. As I told you, the drug abuse came because of the child abuse; all of the abuses that we’ve had in our lives have a meaning and a root, and for me the root of these abuses that I happened in my life, happened in my early years. So today I’m a much stronger person, a much healthier person and I’ve never had depression… Like, not wanting to die, but panic and anxiety I’ve had, and thank God today therapy has helped me a lot with it.

Is it true that you were supposed to participate in “A Fazenda” but had to back off because you had covid?

I had many projects in Brazil and, because of covid-19, I had to cancel a lot of them. Only I know what I went through with covid-19, and I don’t want anybody to go through it. But I really want to participate in a reality show. 2021, who knows?

In 2019, the English tabloid “Daily Mail” published something saying that you have the biggest collection of Birkin bags (of the french griff Hermès), a collection of 12 unities that, together, can make something around half a million reais. Do people attack you saying that it’s shallow?

Today they are worth more than 500 thousand reais (laughs). The Hermèsbags history started when I was looking for a bag for me to travel. I didn’t like the ‘male’ bags that were in the stores. Then I started to look and I found Birkin. After this day I started to buy different sizes and colors. I love them! I’m not shallow, people who know me are aware of that. I’ve always been criticized by people before I became a public figure. People like to talk about who bothers and I bother some of them with my shine and my lifestyle. I thank God for all I have. People need to know that to be where I am, I’ve fallen lots of time and I’ve got up stronger. If I had given up in my first fall, I wouldn’t be here today giving this interview to you.

And how did the idea of using skirts start?

I started to use skirts when I was looking for an outfit for an event here in London and I didn’t like what I was seeing. And then a voice came and told me: “use skirts, Israel!”. I went to look for them, and then I found a beautiful one in Gucci. I went to this event and it was a sucess. Today, I have a lot of them and I love wearing them, I think I love handsome and they don’t make me less masculine. Of course, there are people who are going to criticize. Those that criticize don’t know that the skirt was a male item centuries ago.

Do you have clothes or accessories made of animal skin?

Yes, I do. Today I’ve decided not to buy fur coats anymore, I saw the cruelty that is used to take off the animal skin. In the 21st century, fashion has to be more sustainable. And there are already synthetic fur coats. So, let’s leave animals with their fur. They are greateful.

Are you afraid to be poor someday?

Today I work to have a peaceful old age. I’m afraid to be cold and hungry. Sometimes, I go in front of homeless people and I ask myself: “are they cold or hungry?” It bothers me to see people hungry and cold and homeless.

You are married to a British executive since 2018, how did you meet? At the time you feared to be judged by the fact that he is 12 years older and a rich man?

We’ve met in a relationship app: Gaydar. It doesn’t even exist anymore (laughs). I didn’t know about his acquisitive power and I met him. I’ve fallen in love with his politeness, his super posh(fancy) accent, his height (2m5) and other things (laughs). And another thing, I’m 39 and he’s 50, are you going to call him old? I don’t think so. I don’t like the word ‘old’, I prefer mature.

You are also a presenter, how is that show that you present on TV?

Currently, I’m making a dream come true each Saturday with the EmpireStyle program in Band Triângulo. It was through my assessor Cacau Oliver and the program’s CEO Leandro d’Ambrosio that I’m making another dream come true. My presentment in the show is called “Brazilians in the world”. We tell stories about Brazilians that left Brazil to try to make it here in London and they are currently successful here, but we also present curiosities about London. The program is so fun to make, I love it so much! I thought it was impossible to make this dream come true, but the impossible happened! I’m a dreamer. I learned it when I was a child with Xuxa, my diva. I always use in my words what Xuxa taught me daily: “To want, to be able to, to get it”.

Are you Jéssica Alves’ friend?? What do you think of her?

I’m not her friend, but I follow her on Instagram. People go hard on her on the social network, right? I just think she should be more careful with the plastic surgery thing. It was because of her plastics that she became famous. And she is still doing them, my God, when is she going to stop? When she is dead! I hope that she doesn’t make these plastics just to call attention of media but to feel better as a person. She could call attention from now on with the helping trans people thing that are coming out of the closet, for example, and becoming an inspiration. Now she is what she always wanted to be, so is she going to have mental peace and stop doing plastics? I will leave this here. Let’s see the next chapter of this drama.

Have you ever done plastic surgery?

Yes, I’ve done a lip filling, because I had so tiny lips. I did in 2003, I guess, in Italy. I had my lips done there. My lips were really small, and my parents have the same problem. I put on a little bit, and I decided to work more there, in Italy, when I did it. I did plastic surgery to correct one of my ears that were flapping ears. I hated them! When I was a child, I suffered from bullying. I do facial laser. It didSilhouette Softthis year and I do botox twice a year. Now my goal is to reach 50 with a 40’s face. I’m getting 40 with a 30’s face. I always want to look food for my public. And who works with image knows, we need to take care of ourselves.

To follow Israel Cassol on Instagram: @israel.cassol

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