Pan Am Games co-host Bretos spied modeling before entering broadcasting
Tonight and Thursday on ESPN2 (7 p.m. ET), Zubin Mehenti will fill in for Max Bretos as co-host of the network’s English-language Pan Am Games Toronto coverage from Bristol, Conn. Earlier today, Bretos co-hosted ESPN Radio’s The Russillo Show with Ryen Russillo. From Toronto, Antonietta “Toni” Collins will co-host the coverage with Mehenti the next two nights and then reunite with Bretos through the conclusion of the Pan Am Games on Sunday, July 26.
Many young people seeking summer work are lucky to find employment that pays the bills.
In the early 1990s, a young Max Bretos – who is co-hosting ESPN’s multiplatform coverage of Pan Am Games Toronto this month – found work that also provided travel and a bit of stardom: He had a brief career as a male model.
“I went to Milan for two summers. That was the extent of it, really, and then I got on to my profession that I wanted to get into, which was broadcasting,” said Miami native Bretos, who graduated with a degree in international relations from Florida State in 1994.
“Doing a few odd jobs, learning the language, learning how to survive overseas with a few dollars in your pocket – it was a great experience.”
Bretos eventually began a career in journalism that’s now in its third decade. Before joining ESPN in January 2010, Bretos spent 11 years working for Fox Soccer Channel/Fox Sports World.
In the video above, Bretos talks about his brief modeling experience, how he once lost a $10,000 assignment and how he prepares to co-anchor ESPN’s extensive coverage of the Pan Am Games.
Video produced by Kate Rosen and Tania Eicoff
