Petaluma police officer named finalist for Chubbies ‘Man Model’ contract

Ryan Hepp has always been a fan of the Chubbies clothing line, but he wasn’t expecting the company to be a fan of him.

Hepp, 38, was selected as one of 20 finalists for the 2019 Chubbies “Man Model” competition, a national search to uncover 10 men that exemplify the apparel company’s culture of short-shorts, mustaches and unapologetic use of the American flag.

Initially entering the contest as a joke, the Petaluma-area resident and Santa Rosa police sergeant has embraced the experience, he said, making a hard push over the last month to potentially earn a two-year modeling contract and $300 in annual credit for the next 15 years.

“I think it’s hilarious,” Hepp said. “We’ve been on a guerrilla campaign this whole time. We don’t have followers, we’re not on social media that much. To be up against these behemoths, it just cracks me up.”

The competition began with 12,000 entries, and was first whittled down to 100 contestants. Hepp said he was “shocked” when he even made it that far.

The initial submission was a photo of Hepp and his brother on a Fourth of July trip in Bend, Oregon, holding beer cans in front of a backyard grill, both posing in American flag wrestling singlets and 1980s rock-star wigs.

“It was pure Americana,” he said with a laugh.

Hepp and his wife, Melinda, founder of Studio PR, were then given 36 hours to create a one-minute video submission and send in two additional photos.

Suddenly, the whole family, including their two children, got involved.

They created a video that promoted the “dad life,” a theme Hepp felt comfortable embracing knowing that his friends, family and peers in the police department would likely see it, he said.

In the video, which has received over 11,000 views, Hepp exaggerates everyday tasks like screwing in a lightbulb, making “fancy” peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and singing to Backstreet Boys in the car.

“I have no background in this stuff, but we were thinking what are people going to relate to that can be silly and funny and appropriate for all types of humor,” Hepp said. “We started playing on the dad life, and there’s some things all of us can relate to.”

In unofficial results, Hepp finished 12th once voting ended on Monday. He was as high as sixth place before a major push by some of the other contenders, which included Instagram models and even a player on the Minnesota Vikings.

Under contest rules, Chubbies is conducting a review of the votes to ensure accuracy. The winners of the contest will be announced Friday.

Regardless of how it ends, Hepp said it’s been an enjoyable experience for his entire family.

“At this point, if you can have a regular Joe, dad, police officer with a title of ‘Chubbies Man Model,’ that’s something to laugh about later on,” he said.

(Contact News Editor Yousef Baig at yousef.baig@arguscourier.com or 776-8461, and on Twitter @YousefBaig.)