Abercrombie & Fitch Male Model: Todd Ochsner

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Todd Ochsner doesn't have the most glamorous job, and his upbringing in Washburn hardly makes him a Hollywood shoo-in.

But the editorial staff at Cosmopolitan thinks he's a Grade-A stud. The popular women's magazine recently named Ochsner Wisconsin's Most Eligible Bachelor for 2005, choosing the 25-year-old over hundreds of other Wisconsin applicants.

"I was shocked," he said. "I'm not going to lie. I was absolutely shocked."

Ochsner, a 1998 Washburn High School graduate, was nominated for the title by a female friend from Oklahoma who sent photos and biographical information to the magazine for consideration.

After an initial screening narrowed the applicants down to 40, the magazine's editorial staff picked the top 5 and did background checks before picking him as the winner.

As part of the honor, Cosmo flew Ochsner and the country's 49 other most eligible bachelors to New York for broadcasts of "The Today Show" and "Live with Regis and Kelly." The November edition of Cosmo featuring Ochsner came out last week. On page 64 you'll see a shirtless Ochsner wearing green jeans.

Ochsner attended UW-Stout and Harvard Business School before taking his current job. In addition to his daytime career as a community and economic development specialist for engineering firm SEH, Inc., Ochsner has done some modeling for Industry Magazine and Abercrombie & Fitch.

"I've done some runway shows in Minneapolis," he said.

Still, Ochsner said he was skeptical when he got the phone call telling him that he had been named Wisconsin's biggest cheese.

"I thought someone was pulling a prank on me," he said. "My friends call me up and prank me all the time at work."

While in New York, Ochsner took part in an 18-hour photo shoot in the Hamptons. Clips from that event will be shown on an episode of "Entertainment Tonight." "It was beautiful. We got to go swimming," he said. "I got stung by a jellyfish, which wasn't cool."

He learned the power of celebrity on the plane ride home from a second trip to New York earlier this week for a promotional appearance on the"Today" show. When he was on the plane, he saw a woman reading the new Cosmopolitan.

"She's flipping through the pages and she's looking," he said. She then left to go a restroom, and when she returned, she was wearing makeup and a fresh splash of perfume.

Ochsner said he would never have gone up to her and introduced himself as the guy in the magazine. But he didn't have to. The woman, who was from Morocco, approached Ochsner.

"It was a great way to open up the conversation," he said.

Source: Wisconsin State Journal, October 16, 2005