IT’S not really a post-rugby league career that you hear about often, but modelling is certainly a different avenue to go down.
For former Castleford Tigers star winger Nick Youngquest, it is a post-rugby league career that definitely worked out after retiring from the sport in 2012.
When reflecting upon his time at the West Yorkshire club, the 39-year-old certainly enjoyed his time under former boss Terry Matterson, but his second year at the Tigers proved difficult.
“I loved my time at Castleford, it was an epic experience,” Youngquest told League Express.
“The passion of the supporters in the area is amazing and we were able to have some good times over the short period I was there.
“I remember my first year and we did well in the Challenge Cup, we really pushed to be super competitive and that was a highlight.
“The following year likely pushed me to my retirement, albeit having an injury in the off-season which didn’t help.
“Terry (Matterson) was such a good coach and I have some fond memories of his leadership and direction he provided in that time.”
After retiring following 40 games for Castleford, that is when Youngquest went down the avenue of modelling – but it wasn’t something which he had thought a long time about.
“When I retired in 2012, I was basically moving my life from the UK to the USA when I was asked to head to Paris for a couple of days whilst moving out of my house in Wakefield,” Youngquest continued.
“I never thought too much of the meeting, but ended up representing Paco Rabanne for a number of years. The whole modelling thing likely came about from my advocacy for the LGBTQ+ community in my early days in the NRL.
“I observed the under representation of LGBTQ+ identifying persons which struck me when I was young, but it largely remains the same today.”
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