Looking for Joe Edney? If you can’t find him on campus, you should try looking in New York, Paris, Milan, the Caribbean, Japan or Iceland. He might be on a catwalk modeling for some of the biggest names in fashion — including Prada, Fendi and Marc Jacobs. You might find him in the pages of men’s fashion magazines, like GQ. Or, he might be jumping rope.      When Edney was eight years old growing up in Chapel Hill, his mother sent him and his older sister to a jump roping camp where, at first, he said he was miserable. But what started out as torture became one of Edney’s passions. “Eventually I kind of figured it out, and it stuck with me,” Edney, a junior in business administration, said.       Edney joined the Bouncing Bulldogs in fourth grade, and still works with them today. Several members of the team attend N.C. State, and he met his roommate, Ted Lehman, a graduate student in mechanical engineering, through the team.Edney started jumping rope competitively in middle school. His team experienced quite a bit of success early on and traveled all over the world to places like Israel, Japan, South America, Europe, the Caribbeanand Australia to compete, perform and conduct workshops.Traveling all over the world during middle and high school, Edney had togive up the more normal teenage lifestyle. “Jumping rope dominated my life,” he said. “I had to sacrifice other things.”Jumping rope lead Edney toward another career opportunity his sophomore year. He and Lehman heard that XBOX wanted to do a commercial with jump-ropers. The two found out about auditions the day before, and skipped midterms to drive all night to New York to give it a shot. Turns out the trip was worth it. After a successful audition, Edney said the two were treated like royalty while filming the commercial.       But Edney got much more out of the XBOX experience than just adding the commercial appearance to his list of jump roping accomplishments, among his numerous national championships and overall male World Championship with his team in 2006. A wardrobe assistant on the set of the commercial took notice not of Edney’s rope skipping skills, but of his tall, thin frame and model-like face, and suggested that he contact a few agencies.Edney sent a picture taken in his back yard to a modeling agency, and received a response a few days later. The agency wanted a portfolio, and after seeing that, it sent an agent to North Carolina to meet Edney, who signed a contract a few days later with Ford Management. “It was a really quick process,” Edney said, “I wasn’t sure what I was getting into.”    Because of modeling, Edney has had to alter his lifestyle. He was on track to graduate last May, but modeling kept him busy. This semester, he is a part-time student because of his hectic schedule. “I never know when they are just going to call me and tell me I have to go somewhere for the weekend,” he said.  This year, he missed the first two weeks of school because of work.”Everyone is pretty understanding if you’re willing to get your work done.”Edney takes spring semesters off because that is his busiest time. Last year, he was in Paris in January, Milan and New York in February, then Tokyo for March and April, back to New York, then to Iceland before spending the summer at home.   His career has taken its toll on Edney’s social life.”It’s really hard to ever make plans with my friends here,” Edney said. Speaking of friends, Edney has two sets: the close friends he has grown up with or made here at NCSU, and the temporary friends he meets in the modeling industry. He also has two different dressers for his clothes, and two different apartments — one here and one in New York. “My two lifestyles are like night and day,” Edney said, “but that’s OK. It keeps things interesting.”Edney has also grown a thick skin while in the industry. “Modeling can be a really fickle business,” Edney said.  He said it helps that he isn’t always in New York, constantly surrounded by the tribulations that are often associated with the modeling industry.”N.C. State brings me back down to earth,” Edney said. “It helps to remind you that you are a normal person.”But modeling has proven beneficial for Edney. He travels all over the world for work, spending time on glaciers in Iceland and the famous catwalks of Paris and Milan, modeling for names like Prada and appearing in magazines like GQ. It also has provided him with an opportunity to, at 22, become completely self-supportive and pay for his education, as well as his apartments and car.So is there a common link between his jumping rope and his modeling? He said his unique ability helps separate him from other models.  “I can show people something they’ve never seen before,” Edney said. “Modeling goes beyond what you look like. You have to stand out.” Also, because Edney traveled so much at a young age with his jump roping team, he said he feels he was better prepared to travel for his modeling career.”It made it easier for me to be in new places, because I was used to traveling,” he said.Edney said he doesn’t like to talk about his career with people here, and enjoys his anonymity among his collegiate peers. “I’m really a normal kid. I don’t feel compelled to flaunt,” he said. “It’s absurd that people will pay money to have you stand in front of a camera and walk down a runway. It’s not a big deal.” In his spare time — when he has it — Edney goes camping and spends time in Carmichael Gymnasium with his friends. He recently picked up soccer.As a business marketing major, Edney still isn’t sure what he wants to do after graduation.  “I’ll model as long as I am getting work,” Edney said, but added he won’t do it for the rest of his life. He does plan to continue jumping rope, helping coach kids who are just beginning with the Bouncing Bulldogs and staying involved with the team. He and Lehman are also hoping to start teaching a fitness/jump roping class here in the near future.”I see modeling as an occupation,” he said, “and jump roping as more of a passion.”