The coolest looks for men this spring.
San Jose Barracuda Mantas Armalis flaunts spring’s coolest looks.
Mantas Armalis is living the glamorous life. The 24-year-old Lithuanian-born goalie for the San Jose Barracuda hockey team, is right at home playing pool in the ornate billiard room in the penthouse at the Fairmont Hotel San Francisco. After pool, he relaxes in the library, then takes in the view from the terrace. Through it all, the former Versace runway model is the picture of athletic male beauty: He has one of those faces just meant for the camera.
It surprises the photo team later when Armalis says he spent the previous night riding a decidedly unglamorous bus on a trip back from his team’s game in Bakersfield.
“I think I slept about three hours,” Armalis says in lightly Swedish-inflected English.
Armalis dove into The Chronicle’s spring men’s fashion photo shoot with the same intensity he might use to block a puck. Whether he was making a smoldering “blue steel” face, clowning around in the hotel’s Tonga Room restaurant or jumping on the bed, Armalis committed.
But it may be the last time the athlete uses his modeling skills for a while.
“Hockey is my passion,” he says. “Modeling was fun, but I got in just because of my looks. With hockey, I’ve been working since I was 7 years old to get where I am.”
Armalis was born in Plunge , Lithuania, on Sept. 6, 1992, to Vidas Armalis and Dalia Armaliene. His parents are both professional orienteers who moved to Sweden to pursue the sport of tracking your way out of wild areas with a compass and map. Armalis played hockey from a young age and attended a boarding high school three hours from home that emphasized athletics.
Armalis’ birthplace complicated some of his early opportunities. As a Lithuanian, he was ineligible to play for Sweden’s national team, which meant that many youth teams were closed to him. After graduating school, he persevered and eventually played for two professional teams in Sweden. He fell into modeling at age 19 after getting scouted by a former model at a retail store where he was working in Mora. He was soon sent to Milan for the Pitti Uomo men’s fashion week in January 2012 to audition for the Calvin Klein runway. At the Calvin Klein casting, it became apparent quickly that Armalis was literally not a fit.
“My body was too muscular for the shows,” Armalis says. “They liked guys who were really skinny. I put on the suit and barely got in the pants.” Casting agents at Armani, Gucci and Dolce & Gabbana all told him the same thing: Willowy boys were in, muscles were out.
“The last resort was Versace, who were having their shows after everyone else,” Armalis says. The brand’s more beefcake-friendly aesthetic combined with a casting director who was a hockey fan led to his exclusive relationship with Versace for four consecutive seasons. “I closed that first show,” Armalis remembers. “I guess that’s pretty good.”
During Armalis’ time modeling Versace, designer Donatella Versace famously said of him: “Versace needs faces and bodies like Mantas, the strong gladiator-like build and muscular thighs.”
“That’s probably the reason I did underwear after the second season,” Armalis jokes.
When Armalis’ hockey ca- reer started taking off in Sweden, he had to give up the runway work. After a few good seasons, North American scouts began to look at the player.
“The Sharks were early to look at me and saw potential,” he says.
In 2016, Armalis signed a one-year standard, entry-level contract with the San Jose Sharks and began playing for the Sharks affiliate team San Jose Barracuda. During his year under contract, Armalis says he’ll be watched by the teams to see if he’s the right fit to play for the Sharks in the National Hockey League.
“A lot can happen in a year,” Armalis says.
After changing out of his final look of the shoot, Armalis is ready to head home to rest up for an early practice the next morning.
“This was really fun,” he says, trying on a patterned Givenchy cap one last time and taking a look in the mirror. He flashes a bright toothy smile. But in a sport as rough as hockey, one has to wonder how long that smile will last.
“Thankfully, as a goalie, I get the privilege of keeping my teeth,” Armalis jokes, noting the protective mask his position wears. Even if he doesn’t plan on modeling again soon, it would be a shame for anything to happen that face.