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VANCOUVER – In 2004, a Vancouver-raised Capilano University student named Godfrey Gao went to Taiwan with dreams of kickstarting his modeling career.

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The 6’4” Mr. Gao had only picked up a few mediocre gigs in Canada, such as being a “living mannequin” at a Richmond shopping mall. But he had two secret weapons playing to his advantage: He already spoke the language, and he carried the noticeable exoticism of an overseas childhood.

It was a good move. Louis Vuitton hired Mr. Gao as their first-ever Asian model in 2011, effectively making him the world’s first Asian supermodel.

The 30-year-old is now ubiquitous across Asia: Billboards, bus ads, Chinese TV dramas, Mandarin-language feature films and the covers of all Asia’s top fashion magazines: Chinese GQ, Chinese Esquire, Men’s Uno Taiwan and Men’s Club Japan.

He’s likely one of the most visible Vancouverites in history — but it’s not like his hometown seems to notice.