Episode 1 Young, Welsh and Pretty Skint

South Wales has more gyms, tanning salons and beauty parlours

per square mile than anywhere else in Britain.

It's a recession-busting industry

grossing an estimated two billion a year...

If you're good-looking, you get a better life!

SHE LAUGHS

..and it's fuelled by the wants and desires of a generation.

Hair, beauty, money, fitness, health -

it's all a part of living.

I think it's part of our culture.

For the Welsh under 30s, hymns and arias have been replaced

by protein shakes and Botox.

How you look, is who you are.

Oh, my bum likes that.

What all women want the moment is a big bum, little waist.

Like I've always said to Matthew,

it's better to be looked at than overlooked.

It's as simple as that.

But beauty doesn't come cheap.

You're looking at around £6,000 or £7,000 just on bikinis.

Don't tell anybody - I spent, like, two grand

in the last two in a half weeks.

What?! On what?

So, in these tight economic times, what drives the muscled men...

The tattooed girls...

Do you like it?

..and the image obsessed gym bunnies to push their bodies

and their bank balances to the brink...

HE GROANS

..leaving them all feeling young, Welsh and pretty skint?

Let's have a look.

In imaged obsessed Wales, the average under 30-year-old

spends 70% of their disposable income on how they look.

Clothes, beauty products, body enhancements -

all set the tills ringing.

But in an age of arse aerobics, ricoshake and the 24-hour gym,

it's the ever-expanding Welsh workout industry

that's truly raking it in.

With a market value estimated to be in excess of £600 million,

the business of being beautifully buff equals big bucks.

So, whether you're looking for Kim Kardashian glutes,

man boobs,

or, like 24-year-old Caitlin preparing to compete

in the latest international image and beauty craze,

the gym will be the place where you spend most of your time...

..and money.

I'm a perfectionist in everything I do.

I'm very OCD in particular about what I like -

what I don't like, as well.

When it comes to being able to dress up and doll myself up,

I like to go the full hog and enjoy the way I look.

I think, I work hard on my body,

why shouldn't I be able to show it off and look the best that I can?

That's good. Hold it there.

Looking at me.

Brilliant.

My name is Caitlin Silcox. I'm 24 years old.

I'm from Llanelli

and I'm a full-time student studying sports nutrition.

I'm also a fitness model.

Currently, I'm in training

for the World Beauty Fitness and Fashion competition,

which will be held later this month in the O2 Arena.

But what exactly is a Beauty Fitness And Fashion competition?

Well, it's not about how fast you can run in your heels

and it's definitely not bodybuilding.

With the traditional bodybuilder, as you look at it,

I suppose people say it's more of a masculine look.

It has completely come away from that now.

With the fitness competition,

typically, it is more with the overall package.

They want the sexy side of things,

but then they also want the pretty girl next door,

someone that people can relate to and look up to.

You know, do they look good in a pair of hot pants and sports bra?

Girls want tiny waists - mini waists - big bum, nice toned legs -

a bikini body - and it is more of a toned look,

rather than an overly developed physique.

Is your average female going to look up to someone

who's petite but nicely toned

and say, "I want to look like them,"

rather than a woman who is overly developed

and starts to have manly features?

Hmm...

To the casual observer, beauty fitness modelling might come across

like the love child of Miss World and Mr Universe,

but in just ten years, it's grown from a minority sport

into a multi-million pound global brand.

Live events entice hundreds of competitors,

crowds in their thousands, plus further tens of thousands of punters

paying for the privilege of pay-per-view.

The competitions - men as well as women -

are split into professional and amateur categories.

And whilst the winners take home little more

than a couple of hundred quid and a plastic trophy,

away from the catwalk, successful professional competitors

command healthy modelling contracts and sponsorship deals.

They also become social media stars,

attracting hundreds of thousands of online followers.

It's a lifestyle that Caitlin, still an amateur, aspires to -

and, already, she herself has a gobsmacking

17,000 Instagram followers.

Not a bad start for a cash-strapped, live at home uni student.

But Caitlin is no overnight success.

Just three years ago, far from being buff and looking good,

she was a nonstop party girl going through an identity crisis.

I went out to Marbella at the age of 18

and I went to go work behind a bar - I was working in Linekers Bar.

I did have a job working in a club as a podium dancer.

I was working from nine o'clock of an evening

until 6, 7am in the morning.

You could see I lived the typical party girl lifestyle.

I was living off, usually, fast food

and then I was consuming copious amounts of alcohol

pretty much six to seven days a week.

It is a gradual thing that you see your physique changing

and I just felt I was holding more weight,

my skin was having break-outs,

I had to cut my hair really short because it was breaking off -

it was just a general lack of health.

It was me just being, I suppose, a bit ignorant

to what I should and shouldn't be doing.

I don't regret anything I've done.

Going out to Spain was a big learning curve

and it was moving away from home, being completely independent,

but it was realising, right, OK. You've had your fun now.

You've done a couple of seasons of this, it's time to go back,

get your head down and work on what you want to do.

I'm not going to be 18 forever.

So, Caitlin said adios to her party lifestyle and her independence

and returned to the family home in Llanelli,

starting a degree in sports nutrition,

and, as we shall see later,

undertaking a physically, mentally - and for her parents, at least -

financially punishing lifestyle, in order to pursue her dreams

of becoming an internationally renowned beauty and fitness model.

Whilst Caitlin's chosen path to looking good

may well be the latest exotic sideshow,

the bread and butter of the Welsh beauty business is the local salon.

Offering everything from bobs to Botox,

there are over 2,000 independent hair and beauty parlours

across South Wales, generating an annual turnover

in excess of £150,000,000.

Although, for 26-year-old Jade,

whose family run salon is in Bryn Coch in the Neath Valley,

the beauty business means more than just money.

For Jade, it's beyond a way of life, it's a philosophy.

Having your hair done is a massive deal.

It's not the most important thing in life, in the universe,

but it's a good place to start.

-How is this bit doing?

-It's all right, yeah.

-Yeah.

Because if your hair is right, then you feel right

and your life is going to go completely how you planned it.

SHE LAUGHS

-Rian's been stressed.

-Yes.

-So, her hair's taken a toll.

And the answer to stressed hair Chez Jade is...

hair extensions.

Wigs are quite - they're old school.

-Extensions have been on trend for a while now, haven't they?

-Yeah.

-Especially around here, isn't it?

-Yes.

The interesting thing about hair extensions and extra hair

is that it almost empowers people,

they slightly take on that personality -

they choose who they want to be.

What's the real reason why you have extensions?

The real reason?

-It makes me feel sexy.

-Yeah, it makes me feel sexy.

Women are beautiful without the extra hair,

we don't need the extra hair,

but there's something about having that feminine,

long, glossy, healthy hair,

and if you can get it in an hour

instead of taking ten years to grow it - why not?

I just love hair extensions.

However...

There's a very dark side to hair extensions

and I've seen that, and I will be honest and I will admit it...

No, it's not just because they're made from real human hair,

it's that they're also terrifyingly pricy.

-How much are they for a pack of 50, they're about...

-89.

-..89 for a pack of 50.

-Yeah.

And say if we have 100, that's about £160.

-And then there's...

-And that's before the cost of putting them in.

And you have to have that done, say, every...

Say, now you have 100 bonds, that's £180, 280,

and then you have to do have the maintenance kit,

-which is 50 quid.

-Yeah.

That's like 320.

And then regular blow-dries to keep them

and you need to keep a check on them.

Don't ever add it up, because it'll make you sick

-if you look back at your bank account.

-Yeah!

But there is a recession-bending solution.

So, basically, Leanne, we have to wait until you get paid,

so, for now, she's renting her extensions.

That's right, for just £10 a night plus fitting and removal,

thousands of Welsh girls are currently leasing their locks

from a hairdresser,

and young entrepreneur Jade has got eyes on extending the market.

Do you know what I really want to do?

I want to do extensions on a boy. Do you like a lot of hair on men?

Foreign men...

-BOTH:

-Yes!

Spanish men, Italian men, looks amazing.

And beards?

-I just think some men...

-Makes men more manly.

They look more attractive with a beard.

But it's scary, because they can be hiding a lot -

hiding a double chin, you know.

-Didn't think of that.

-Hiding anything, really!

But it's not... When you kiss somebody with a beard,

it's not all that great, is it?

Well, I think a nice amount of hair is nice.

But not too much. If it's a BEARD beard, no.

What about, um, when, like, he gets down to business?

I just can't do it. Can you imagine...

-You know, like, with a beard...

-I think stubble's nice.

..in between your thighs!

It's scary!

Stubble is nice, stubble is nice, but, um, no,

I can't be doing with a long beard, man.

-Neat beards.

-What do you think started it off, though?

-The whole, you know, beard look.

-It's got to be something, hasn't it?

Maybe Isis?

I really love it.

It's really nice.

-A pleasure.

-Thank you.

Look at me, look at me! You love it!

Oww!

Last year on Young, Welsh and Pretty Skint, we met Marc and Corey,

two twentysomething goodtime guys who live to look fit and party.

What does he look like, is he handsome?

They splashed out all their available cash

getting buff down the gym, loading up on supplements

and topping up on their exacting beauty regimes.

Ohh!

So, what are they up to now?

Well, on the surface, little has changed for Corey and Marc.

Whilst both boys are holding down jobs in the security industry,

all their spare cash is still being flashed

on tanning beds and treatments.

But having spent a fortune on looking good

with no discernible net gains, are things suddenly about to change?

The boys have been contacted by Mark Paul Jones,

Llanelli's number one premier talent manager.

Agent Mark's talent agency is called The A Gent,

and he's met lots of famous people.

And now, agent Mark has got a plan to keep the boys pretty

but no longer skint.

I used to do work as a topless butler,

and after I went on TV, I bumped into Mark.

One night, I was at my mate's bar,

and he was outside doing topless butlering.

So, I approached him.

And he was saying, you know, what have you been doing

since you've been on TV and everything?

And said, you know, I haven't really been doing nothing.

I said, look, I think we can, you know, do stuff together,

I think you've got something, I'm not sure exactly what yet.

I was like, oh, wow, this guy's nuts, you know,

I can't take this guy seriously.

But he gave me his card and he said, drop me an e-mail and whatever.

He sent me an e-mail, we met up.

He introduced Marc then and I thought, OK,

these work together good, but how can we make them better?

So, that's where I'm at now, trying to mould them to get them

where they need to be, not where they are.

And as a first step towards getting them to where they need to be,

agent Mark has called the boys to a careers meeting.

Mmm, right. What do you want to do in the next five years?

Where do you see yourself in five years' time?

I wouldn't mind doing some fitness modelling, maybe, or...

-Just modelling?

-Well...

-Modelling, or anything...

We could be presenters.

-I can see you being presenters, but...

-Like Ant and Dec.

Like Ant and Dec!

But you know it's hard work? It's not just fun.

It's mind over matter, you have to focus.

Like you say, Ant and Dec - how do you think they started?

It's the same principle, you've got to start from somewhere.

You've got chemistry, but you've got to, er, progress, learn...

-Yeah, yeah.

-..but you've got to listen and understand, that's all.

My motto is, say now, you put a person in a dark room,

all bad words, negative things in the room,

it's all grey and dark, right?

-Mm.

-Within half an hour,

that person's going to feel down and bad and wrong.

Now, you've got another room,

with all colours and put a person in that room,

with all positive things in the room, right?

How are they going to feel after half an hour?

-Which one would...

-The light one.

-Right.

And is that because of the person, or because of their surroundings?

-Surroundings.

-Right, so, if I...

Words of wisdom. Many words of wisdom!

So, if I change the surroundings, will that change your mind?

-Yeah, it will.

-Give it a go, innit? Give it a go, try it.

-Give it a go.

-Are we cool with that?

-Yeah, cool.

And that's the idea I've got in my head - you've done your body,

you've done your fitness, now it's time to sort your mind out,

-do you know what I mean?

-Yeah.

Just trust me, if it fails, it fails,

but I can't see it failing,

because I won't take no for an answer, and I think...

-The dream team!

-That's all right, innit?

-Massive!

-Do it!

-Let's do it.

'I think modelling, yeah, OK, they could do some modelling type stuff.'

But I think the key element is presenting,

whether it be backstage at events, could be on the red carpet,

interviewing A-listers of the world, doesn't matter where it is,

it could be New York, could be London, I've got good links

with the Cannes Film Festival, the F1 in Monaco,

so, taking them to different places and introducing them

to big businesses, celebrities, anything, really.

As a first step to stardom,

agent Mark has arranged a photoshoot for the boys.

They aim to put together a portfolio of pukka pics.

The photoshoot today, we're going to use for branding,

big companies, casting directors, producers, directors,

to pitch them forward for casting for film, TV, maybe radio,

magazines, that type of thing.

In order to capture the boys at their best,

no expense has been spared,

and Mark has brought in professional models, make-up artists,

a dresser and a creative director.

Remember, when you're posing, you're advertising.

So, it's a glamour-filled first for the boys,

and they are pretty excited.

How about doing it with this on my head

and pretend that I don't know it's on my head?

-Come on, got to be professional, yeah?

-That's not professional!

All right, all right.

All these people here are supporting you,

they've come from all over the place to make your life a reality,

-the change - about that coloured room and stuff?

-I remember that.

-So, all these people...

-This is the coloured room!

This is the start, this is the beginning.

Are you ready for make-up, boys?

Oh, yeah. I'm ready, yeah.

'I've never done a photoshoot before,'

so, it's a nice new experience for me, really.

And then just, like, smarten up his eyebrows a sec...

-My eyebrows?

-Yeah.

-They're nice!

-They're just a bit wonky.

It's a different experience, something completely new.

He needs foundation because he's got very red skin.

Yes, sunburnt, that is. Burnt!

I was happy with my eyebrows,

but the woman said they needed smartening up,

they weren't good enough, apparently,

so she's smartening them up.

Can you take this bangle off as well, please?

Well, it's not a bangle, it's... It was off a monk, it was.

Up in Merthyr.

I know it's off a monk, but it's not for this shot, it looks messy.

It looks like there is a dirty elastic band round your wrist.

You wouldn't see a monk getting his eyebrows done, would you?

-You don't see that, do you?

-No, no, they're not allowed.

We are in dodgy territory now, we might offend some monks and shit.

Never, ever had this done before.

First time I've had make-up on my face, haven't I?

This could be happening every day,

so, you could be doing a shoot here today,

then you could be doing a shoot somewhere else,

and this is how you'd be treated.

If you were going on a TV programme early in the morning,

you'd have to be there at, like, six, maybe five.

And then he could be going live on TV at eight,

and this is how you'd be treated, yeah?

-Got it?

-Well, all celebrities and all stars wear make-up, don't they?

All men and that, don't they?

Oh, your lips are looking nice there, Mark.

Really nice lips, yeah, lovely.

THEY CHUCKLE

Whilst the boys prepare for their photo op, some 30 miles away

in a gym outside Cardiff, 24-year-old Caitlin,

the beauty and fitness model we met earlier,

is already on her second workout of the day.

I'm in the gym, 6am, for an hour,

and then back to do a weight training session in the afternoon.

And then you're looking at another hour session

of cardio in the evening.

So, I'm in the gym three hours a day, six days a week,

sometimes seven.

Caitlin's currently in training for the final

of the European Beauty, Fitness and Fashion Competition.

Within the competition that I'm going in for,

it's called a fitness category, so, you want nice, rounded glutes,

that's a big bum, and same with the legs, nice definition in the legs.

I am actually very petite, so I've had to work on my legs,

you're looking at two or three years I've been hammering them.

It's hard, it is hard,

because you are fighting with the natural genetics.

The current world champion is actually Brazilian,

so you've got the typical Brazilian look -

the big legs, big bum, very petite on the waist.

That's the kind of desired look that we're going for.

Caitlin's Brazilian regime is tough on her body

and her pockets are taking a hammering too.

I've actually got three memberships running currently.

I've got one which is based in Gorseinon,

one which is up here, which is this gym in Cardiff,

and then I've got one in Llanelli as well.

You're looking at each membership is about £35 a month.

You do have the advantage of the student discount,

even though it's not that much.

You'd be looking at £5 off.

I travel to London a lot as well

for the competitions and the preparation,

so you're looking at, every time I go up to London,

it's £20 for a gym pass.

I'm training up there every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

That's £60 alone, just for three days' worth of training,

and that's pretty much every weekend throughout 2015,

so you can imagine how much it adds up.

Well, taking in fuel and gym fees alone, there won't be much change

from £10,000, and that's just the start of Caitlin's costs.

I am a bit obsessive with my hair, my nails, my waxing, fake tans...

You're looking at £300 or £400,

-once, maybe...

-CASH REGISTER RINGS

..for things such as lip enhancements, Botox,

and that's probably once every 8 to 12 weeks.

You're looking at about

-£200 or £300 each time...

-CASH REGISTER RINGS

..and that's based in South Wales.

In London, you're looking at tripling,

-if not quadrupling, those prices.

-CASH REGISTER RINGS

I live in my gym clothes.

Even things such as trainers -

I think the last pair I bought was £140 for a pair of trainers,

and you're going through them, you know, once every two months.

CASH REGISTER RINGS

I go through six meals a day.

Fish - £5 a packet and I go through two a day.

Chicken breast, I'm probably going through a packet a day.

Food, in general, you're looking at about £400 a month, £500 a month.

CASH REGISTER RINGS But single largest expense -

Caitlin's bespoke performance costumes.

I'll start with this purple one here.

This, I wore for the WBFF European Competition.

This one was around the £400 mark.

This, I also bought on the same day, as well.

This one was my theme-wear.

It also comes with this as a headpiece.

I think this was around £450.

This one here, which is my favourite so far,

I wore this for the World Championships in Vegas.

This one was, I think, £500.

This one, the bottoms, they are quite revealing,

and the bikinis are only getting smaller.

They used to be a lot bigger

but, obviously, it's to show off more of the physique,

but it's also, then, where fitness meets fashion.

This one, then, the headpiece and the cuffs and then the headdress -

there, you're going to be looking at about £800 for that one.

The final piece, then.

This is to do with a theme-wear round.

Erm, the theme I wanted to go for was actually Tinkerbell

and these are all individual gold leaves.

This one, I think, was around the £2,000 mark.

I'd say the value of all the bikinis there,

you're looking at around £6,000 or £7,000,

-just on the bikinis on the table.

-CASH REGISTER RINGS

I do have the benefit of the fact that my parents support fully

what I do and they are prepared to help in every way possible.

I do think that they have their days where they wish I didn't...

I didn't pick such an expensive hobby.

As the Bank of Mum and Dad, do I faint on camera

-or should we wait till I come off?

-Up to you!

Dad Paul is an undertaker by trade,

but Caitlin's pricey hobby won't be driving him to an early grave.

We do our best to support her and I think anything people do,

these days, is expensive.

I suppose I could be fairly lucky

that she didn't go into horse-jumping

or want to do Formula One racing.

I'm lucky enough that my uni degree and my past qualifications

have been sports-based, have been nutrition based

so, you know, I do have that opportunity

of going down that route,

where I can actually make some money off the back of it.

Some people are paying, you know, 10, 20, £30,000-plus a year,

just for, at the end, to get a plastic trophy,

and that's all it is.

It is extreme but I wouldn't trade it.

Let me have a look at it. Can you take a photograph for me, please?

Meanwhile, back at the photoshoot...

Whatever you do, don't put your arm like that.

With your elbow out like this, you look like you have a massive elbow.

Wannabe "Ant and Decs" Marc and Corey

are being given a crash course in modelling by creative director Alia.

OK, a good thing to do with your face... Don't smile like that.

Just, right, your eyes give it away.

If you look scared in your eyes, you'll look scared in this shot,

so imagine this camera is, like, a really hot girl that you fancy.

You want to look at the camera like you want her.

You want to make love to the camera. That's what it's for.

-Make love to it.

-Yeah, you want to...

-I want to make love to this camera.

-It's the most beautiful woman...

'I didn't expect it to be as much work as it was, to be honest.'

Sit up a bit more, cos you look too slack.

'When you look at a photo, you just think that's just'

someone taking a photo of someone

but being in there for about half an hour,

and it's draining, and that was just a one-shot, you know?

'I was nervous, first of all.'

That's why I didn't have a clue what to do.

Look at the camera all sexily,

like a beautiful woman that you want to sleep with or whatever.

-Like, work her.

-Yeah, yeah.

'I was just listening to what they were saying and following them,

'and I tried my best. If...'

I don't know if I done any good. Maybe I didn't.

Stop rolling these arm bits up. It looks so bloody bad.

It's like what they do in, like, the '80s,

on the, like, with hillbilly rockers or something.

'Modelling is... It is quite odd.'

All right, so, Marc... Down. Cool. Point here. Point at me.

'It's not easy when you're there'

and you feel all hot and the camera is on you.

More angle in your finger. That's it. Cool.

A bit of growl in your lip.

Like "rrrr".

-That's the one, that's the one, that's the one.

-That's it.

I think Corey and Marc, I mean, when they first came in,

I didn't know who they were. I'd not met them before

and, yeah, everyone was messing around a lot and they didn't listen.

Focus. Don't lose the plot.

One, two...

Perfect. That's exactly how you should be.

Exactly how you should be.

CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS

But I think now they've actually really listened

to what I've told them

and appreciated, you know, that I'm not being horrible to them.

I just want to see them improve themselves.

-This is like a joke shot, now. This is comedy.

-A little reflection.

So we've done beauty, we've done commercial -

-now we want a comedy shot.

-Funny boys.

'Cos I do believe that they can do very well.

'They've both got great looks.

'They're genuinely really lovely guys.

'Both of them are very sweet, very caring guys.'

-Will somebody be in the middle?

-Turn around and we go like that.

It's not easy but I think I could definitely do it again.

I didn't find it "hard" hard.

Be sexy. Yeah, that's it. Good. Good.

'If the opportunity ever came up again, I'd definitely take it.'

Then, maybe with a bit more experience

I could possibly do it for a living or something.

-MARK:

-What I've seen with the boys today,

I see a lot of difference in them already. They're listening.

-Give us a little "ah-hah".

-Ah-hah.

-No, not you.

-SHE LAUGHS

Obviously, there's a long road ahead, but I think I, you know,

I believe in them. I think they've got a good possibility to go far.

That's all they need - is people to trust in them

and see them the way that I see them.

They have an inside that can come out

which maybe they haven't had the opportunity to show yet.

'It's like a flower, I suppose - they're just about to blossom,'

and it's just nurturing that plant, watering it,

and I think everything else should fit into place.

So I'm... Happy days.

Mental.

CAMERA SHUTTER CLICKS

-Oi! Oi!

-Wahey!

-Oi! Oi!

Next time on Young, Welsh And Pretty Skint...

Her name, my mouth.

It works, yeah.

..can two young entrepreneurs make their dreams come true...

Ta-da!

..to open the UK's largest 24-hour gym...

They say size matters.

..then fill it with the world's biggest ass class?

Caitlin gets kitted out for the European finals...

It works really well with the bikini, doesn't it?

-Yeah, it does.

-Mad Max.

..and Marc and Corey are put through their paces at presenter school.

-Tell yourself you can do this advert.

-I can do this advert.

-You can be a celebrity.

-I can be a celebrity.

-You can be whoever you want to be!

-I can be whoever I want to be!

-Good!