{"id":2077066,"date":"2026-08-04T12:00:25","date_gmt":"2026-08-04T09:00:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2077066"},"modified":"2026-08-04T12:00:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-04T09:00:25","slug":"role-model-is-setting-himself-up-for-happiness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2077066","title":{"rendered":"Role Model Is Setting Himself Up For Happiness"},"content":{"rendered":"<article class=\"LOh page-477651459\">\n<div class=\"cCV\">\n<div class=\"sWr KwQ lMx\">\n<div class=\"Jr2\">\n<div class=\"gsz zJ7 Ttc\">\n<div class=\"HXK\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:133.3333%\" class=\"vmZ oL7 ap2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/7\/31\/55630d13\/dscf9775.jpg?w=414&amp;h=552&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"fpC EdX\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"olh\">\n<div class=\"rkd zA4\">\n<p class=\"QwJ vHj\">NYLON Guys<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"Ckc\">\n<h1 class=\"aVX w-U FfM ybG\">Role Model Is Setting Himself Up For Happiness<\/h1>\n<div class=\"r87 XEd\">\n<p>After two albums of singing about romance and heartbreak, Tucker Pillsbury is trying something new on <em>Chuck Timely &amp; the Hourglass<\/em>: moving on.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mLI dUJ\">\n<address class=\"Fdy\">by <span>Ashley Spencer<\/span><\/address>\n<div class=\"DHw\">\n<div><time datetime=\"2026-08-04T12:00:25.084Z\">3 hours ago<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"QVH jU-\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"edE\">\n<div class=\"Yte yjy wVh\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nylon.com\/nylon-guys-august-2026\" class=\"JVd\">NYLON Guys August 2026<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"kCE\">\n<div data-adroot=\"true\" class=\"fxL Afg\">\n<p>Where should we begin? Perhaps at an LA bungalow, where Tucker Pillsbury is in repose. Sprawled across his boho patterned couch, the singer more commonly known as Role Model has his head cradled on the armrest, his socked feet stretched across the cushions. A scattering of torso tattoos peek out from the unbuttoned top and bottom of a blue striped shirt he\u2019s paired with black jeans. He\u2019s wearing a Poconos hat from his own merch line and a gold necklace with the outline of his home state, Maine.<\/p>\n<p>The casualness of his pose, which the 29-year-old eases into over the course of an hour-plus conversation in mid-July at his home, matches his unexpected vulnerability. In public, Pillsbury\u2019s persona normally involves a certain kind of showmanship. He\u2019s a podcast guest who is prone to banter and sarcastic <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tiktok.com\/@octopusslover8\/video\/7663065543720668429\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"T3D\">quips<\/a>. A man who kept up a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/p\/DU22H91DXXo\/?hl=en&amp;img_index=1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"T3D\">yearlong gag<\/a> imploring fans to stream his music and buy tickets to his tour so that he could afford a Birkin bag. An artist who became known for getting <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2025\/08\/11\/style\/role-model-sally.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"T3D\">assorted celebrities<\/a> \u2014 Hilary Duff, Olivia Rodrigo, Kate Hudson, Robert Irwin, and many more \u2014 to gleefully dance onstage during his peppy hit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=F1oKhsy8wGw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"T3D\">\u201cSally, When the Wine Runs Out.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"sWr iGR CEt\">\n<figure class=\"Qf5 nbP\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:125%\" class=\"vmZ F8Y ap2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/7\/31\/7bdd9538\/nylon-guys_role-model_credit-nick.jpg?w=268&amp;h=335&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"Yte pt7 VBN\"><figcaption class=\"rv9 TrI\">Isabel Marant jacket and pants ; The Society Archive vintage top; Stylist\u2019s own belt.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>But reclining in the sunny living room of his Spanish-style house in the Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles, Pillsbury seems eager to speak from the heart \u2014 perhaps because he just started seeing a therapist for the first time the week prior. \u201cIt\u2019s going well. I don\u2019t know if once a week is enough for me,\u201d he says. \u201cI feel like since I\u2019ve got 30 years of sh*t I\u2019ve got to start dealing with, I need more therapy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>This interview isn\u2019t <em>not<\/em> like a therapy session. I\u2019m perched across from him in a green velvet chair, notepad in hand, separated by the zen tableau of a large wooden coffee table topped with dried billy button flowers, an unlit Le Labo Santal 26 candle, and Pillsbury\u2019s half-drunk iced coffee. For the most part, music has been where Pillsbury has been able to freely express his feelings. Over the course of his career, he\u2019s segued from rap to electro-pop to what people around him have described as \u201clake pop,\u201d country-tinged songs whose upbeat summertime sounds mask the outpouring of emotions within. \u201cI want it to sound fun and distract people from whatever I\u2019m going to be saying,\u201d he says. \u201cI don\u2019t want to drag people down with me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Now he\u2019s about to unload a new batch of confessions on his third studio album, <em>Chuck Timely &amp; the Hourglass<\/em>, out Aug. 7. \u201cMaking the album and writing all those songs \u2014 I think me going to therapy now is a result of that. There\u2019s a lot of self-discovery through mindlessly dating or intentionally dating,\u201d he says, referencing the subject matter of many of the tracks. \u201cYou start to question if maybe you\u2019re the problem, and I think maybe there are things in myself that I need to change before I\u2019m \u2014 I don\u2019t know. The album did something very good for me in the way that it made me look at myself a little bit deeper and question how much I actually have it all figured out.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"sWr iGR CEt\">\n<figure class=\"Qf5 E1M\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:124.9926%\" class=\"vmZ F8Y ap2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/8\/3\/388404d1\/dscf9728.jpg?w=375&amp;h=469&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"Yte pt7 okb\"><figcaption class=\"rv9 TrI\">Loewe sweater; Calvin Klein T-shirt and jeans; Talent\u2019s own belt.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>One question he wasn\u2019t asking: how to follow up the viral success of \u201cSally.\u201d \u201cI weirdly did not feel pressure,\u201d he says, popping a Zyn. \u201cI think it\u2019s because I love \u2018Sally,\u2019 and I\u2019ll be performing that till I\u2019m in a wheelchair, but lyrically, that song could have been written by a 5-year-old, especially the bridge, which is the most famous part. Those are some of my worst lyrics. So I didn\u2019t feel pressure because, to me, the bar was really low.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He began working on <em>Chuck Timely <\/em>early last year, putting together a mood board of visual inspirations for the era and the album\u2019s title avatar \u2014 including Paul Newman at his coolest and Charli xcx\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/riotheatre.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/dYgCgTqqMnWdsnP2XirdcFB28ch-6.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"T3D\"><em>The Moment<\/em> poster<\/a> \u2014 but he says his label wasn\u2019t totally sold on introducing another character just as mainstream audiences were wrapping their heads around the name Role Model. \u201cObviously there\u2019s something about me and alter egos,\u201d Pillsbury jokes. \u201cI haven\u2019t analyzed that yet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When he first started releasing music in 2016, he tried a few mononyms \u2014 Tucker, Dillis \u2014 before eventually settling on Role Model. \u201cI think Role Model is the dumbest stage name, but I\u2019m in too deep,\u201d he says. Chuck Timely was actually another alias he originally considered \u2014 to the point that he snagged the Instagram handle years ago and held on to it, intending to secretly release music as Chuck on the side. But he eventually ditched that idea and decided to use the name for this album instead. \u201cThere was never a plan to go method\u201d with Chuck for this era, he says. \u201cIt was literally just something to represent the themes in the album and how we went about producing the songs.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"sWr iGR Idm\">\n<div class=\"QYV Qev\">\n<div class=\"uES fEt\">\n<div class=\"uT7\">\n<div class=\"FDO\">\n<div class=\"vmZ XJ- jWP\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/7\/31\/4821f004\/dscf9793.jpg?w=374&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"FDO\">\n<div class=\"vmZ XJ- jWP\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/7\/31\/c7abd61b\/dscf9845.jpg?w=374&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"MO9\"> Fendi blazer and jeans; Stylist\u2019s own top; Talent\u2019s own hat and shoes.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"yOD GLK\">\n<div class=\"ki0 kpP\">\n<div class=\"MNV\"><\/div>\n<p><label for=\"lightboxCheckbox-479529363\" class=\"QNb y8V St5\"><button aria-label=\"open lightbox\" class=\"kMc\"><\/button><\/label><\/div>\n<div class=\"C1C\">\n<div class=\"ZXG\">\n<div class=\"F6c\"><button class=\"ikQ VkL\"><\/button>1 \/ 2<button class=\"ikQ Olc\"><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"LOc\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"igl f5y\"><button class=\"ikQ Xfx\"><span class=\"Od1\">INFO<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"itG\">1 \/ 2<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>He wanted <em>Chuck Timely <\/em>\u2014<em> <\/em>introduced earlier this summer with lead singles <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=D_KTG0BzRiI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"T3D\">\u201cHigh Hopes 3000\u201d<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=_5yOOGy_lBo\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"T3D\">\u201cJoy\u201d<\/a><em> <\/em>\u2014 to feel like \u201ca journey that someone goes on, like one of those dumbass <em>Lord of the Rings<\/em> movies or something,\u201d he says. In this case, Pillsbury wrote about his quest for contentment and companionship after heartache. \u201cEven if I go into a healthy relationship, there\u2019s still something wrong that kind of eats me alive a little bit,\u201d he says. \u201cI am trying to figure out what that is, but I don\u2019t think dating or finding love can fully heal that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am deserving of something real, something true, someday soon,\u201d he sings on the album\u2019s opener, \u201cChuck\u2019s Mantra.\u201d The line is, in fact, Pillsbury\u2019s own mantra. The feelings he\u2019s singing about, Pillsbury stresses, are explicitly his own \u2014 though the facade of Chuck, he admits, is nice cover for getting deep: \u201cIt kind of removes me from things a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>After a decade in the industry, Pillsbury is still navigating where to draw the line between his public and private personas. His previous long-term relationship with Emma Chamberlain wasn\u2019t just public \u2014 it was intertwined with his career. She appeared in his 2022 music video for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=wR9XzsRdg1M\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"T3D\">\u201cneverletyougo,\u201d<\/a> from his debut album, <em>Rx<\/em>, and the pair hard-launched their relationship with a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gq.com\/story\/gq-hype-emma-chamberlain-role-model\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"T3D\"><em>GQ<\/em> cover story<\/a> on Valentine\u2019s Day 2023 before they reportedly split that fall. Pillsbury seemingly detailed the heartbreak that followed on 2024\u2019s <em>Kansas Anymore.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cKeeping things about music is what I\u2019ve learned. Otherwise, the internet just has a field day,\u201d he says. \u201cEveryone\u2019s a detective.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"sWr iGR CEt\">\n<figure class=\"Qf5 E1M\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:133.3608%\" class=\"vmZ F8Y ap2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/8\/4\/c537775a\/pro-400-9-of.jpg?w=375&amp;h=500&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"Yte pt7 okb\"><figcaption class=\"rv9 TrI\">The Society Archive top; Isabel Marant pants; Talent\u2019s own belt.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>Case in point:<\/strong> Since late 2025, Pillsbury has been linked \u2014 via <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2025\/12\/29\/dakota-johnson-role-model-together-dinner-photos\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"T3D\">TMZ<\/a> and various paparazzi photos \u2014 to Dakota Johnson. (Johnson\u2019s mother, Melanie Griffith, has also chimed in, saying she thinks Pillsbury is <a href=\"https:\/\/people.com\/dakota-johnson-and-role-model-cozy-up-in-la-as-her-mom-melanie-griffith-says-hes-fabulous-11943398\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"T3D\">\u201cfabulous.\u201d<\/a>) Pillsbury is trying to keep his relationship private, he says, but he does admit that they\u2019re together. Johnson is<em> <\/em>also featured on <em>Chuck Timely. <\/em>The actor performs a spoken-word bridge on \u201cLove I You,\u201d a standout track that details Pillsbury\u2019s loneliness during his single days of desperately seeking companionship and drinking his sorrows away. It culminates in a tipsy, flirtatious conversation between Pillsbury and Johnson.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHey, I think you\u2019re perfect,\u201d Pillsbury says on the bridge.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou say that to everyone,\u201d Johnson replies.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cK, well, is it working?\u201d he says.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYeah, but don\u2019t tell anyone,\u201d she answers.<\/p>\n<p>Pillsbury always planned to include a female voice on the song, though Johnson\u2019s cameo happened somewhat by accident. \u201cI had a lot of names to pick from for that, and then Dakota came to the studio one day, and Mason [Stoops, guitarist and producer] was like, \u2018Why don\u2019t you do it?\u2019\u201d Pillsbury recalls. \u201cI was like, \u2018Stop! We\u2019re not mixing work and relationships. She was like, \u2018I\u2019ll do it,\u2019 and stood right up and got in the booth and knocked it out better than we could have imagined. So I was like, OK, if she\u2019s down \u2014 I mean, that\u2019s an amazing cameo.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"sWr iGR Idm\">\n<div class=\"QYV Qev\">\n<div class=\"uES fEt\">\n<div class=\"uT7\">\n<div class=\"FDO\">\n<div class=\"vmZ XJ- jWP\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/7\/31\/e06ad056\/pro-400-10-of.jpg?w=374&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"FDO\">\n<div class=\"vmZ XJ- jWP\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/7\/31\/4e25abb4\/pro-400-11-of.jpg?w=374&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"MO9\">Giorgio Armani clothing; Talent\u2019s own shoes.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"yOD GLK\">\n<div class=\"ki0 kpP\">\n<div class=\"MNV\"><\/div>\n<p><label for=\"lightboxCheckbox-480820882\" class=\"QNb y8V St5\"><button aria-label=\"open lightbox\" class=\"kMc\"><\/button><\/label><\/div>\n<div class=\"C1C\">\n<div class=\"ZXG\">\n<div class=\"F6c\"><button class=\"ikQ VkL\"><\/button>1 \/ 2<button class=\"ikQ Olc\"><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"LOc\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"igl f5y\"><button class=\"ikQ Xfx\"><span class=\"Od1\">INFO<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"itG\">1 \/ 2<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Elsewhere, on a song called \u201cGood Thing\u201d \u2014 and then again on his couch \u2014 Pillsbury details his incredulity that a new romantic partner could actually be, well, a good thing: \u201cI expect the worst-case scenario, always,\u201d he tells me. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t change that about myself. I think it\u2019s good to have those questions and not just be diving headfirst into things based on attraction or a first date going well.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s also \u201cStain,\u201d where he sings about an ex calling his house and making him feel like \u201ca backup plan,\u201d and \u201cThe Wedding,\u201d which he wrote after attending his first nuptials as an adult last year and feeling \u201cweirdly moved\u201d by the experience. (For the record, he did not attend Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce\u2019s wedding: \u201cI couldn\u2019t go,\u201d he says. \u201cI was busy in the middle of an album rollout, but it looked amazing.\u201d)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMarriage is not that romantic to me,\u201d he says. \u201cBeing with someone for life is romantic to me. But the whole idea of going into a church and inviting all these people? \u2026 That was never attractive to me. Then I went to my first wedding, and I cried.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The tears stemmed from a sense of his own stagnation and \u201cwatching people\u2019s lives move on,\u201d he says. Shortly after that wedding, his sister got married, resulting in \u201ca double whammy\u201d of self-reflection. \u201cThat one also kicked my ass.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"sWr iGR m4B CEt\">\n<figure class=\"Qf5 E1M FnM\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:74.9858%\" class=\"vmZ F8Y ap2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/7\/31\/96444f9e\/pro-400-2-of.jpg?w=375&amp;h=281&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"Yte pt7 okb\"><figcaption class=\"rv9 TrI\">Versace clothing; Repetto shoes.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Pillsbury is close with his family. Despite having spent nearly a decade in Los Angeles, \u201chome\u201d for Pillsbury is still Cape Elizabeth, Maine, the small oceanside town just south of Portland, where he was born and raised. Living across the country from his parents, sister and brother, and baby niece has been hard. \u201cThis time every year, I have a bit of a crisis of like, \u2018What am I doing?\u2019 I miss home a lot as soon as summer starts creeping up, and it\u2019s hard for me to focus on anything else other than I want to be home,\u201d he says. \u201cI was like, there\u2019s obviously deeper things going on \u2014 book me a [therapy] appointment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>These Pillsburys, to be clear, have no relation to the Doughboy-famous pastry dynasty \u2014 Tucker\u2019s dad was a real-estate appraiser, and his mom was a special-ed teacher. (Not that that stopped classmates from poking his belly as a kid.) Still, he\u2019s proud of his name and regrets not just using his birth name as his stage name. \u201cI get made fun of for it,\u201d he says, \u201cbut I\u2019ve always loved my name.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When he visits Cape Elizabeth, he stays in his childhood bedroom where the walls are still covered with a forest motif of animals that his mother painted when he was a kid. (\u201cI go home a lot because I like the normalcy,\u201d he says.) Eventually, he\u2019d like to buy a home in Maine and split his time between coasts. \u201cI need another \u2018Sally\u2019 in the books and I\u2019ll do it,\u201d he deadpans.<\/p>\n<div class=\"sWr iGR CEt\">\n<figure class=\"Qf5 E1M\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:125%\" class=\"vmZ F8Y ap2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/7\/31\/843f2121\/pro-400-13-of.jpg?w=375&amp;h=469&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"Yte pt7 okb\"><figcaption class=\"rv9 TrI\"> Fendi blazer; Stylist\u2019s own top; Jaeger LeCoultre watch; Talent\u2019s own hat.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>This go-round, he\u2019ll spend his album release day playing his first-ever <a href=\"https:\/\/www.pressherald.com\/2026\/07\/08\/role-model-launches-international-tour-with-aug-7-concert-in-maine\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"T3D\">concert in his home state<\/a>, something he\u2019s \u201calways wanted,\u201d he says. \u201cI love Maine so much, and I think I\u2019m just now beginning to feel loved by it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When I point out that his passion for his home state resembles fellow New Englander Noah Kahan\u2019s connection with Vermont, Pillsbury notes that Kahan\u2019s 2020 EP, <em>Cape Elizabeth<\/em>, is named after Pillsbury\u2019s hometown. \u201cIt\u2019s a small world. We have some mutuals and some mutual favorite spots in Maine,\u201d Pillsbury says. \u201cMaybe we\u2019ll throw a festival someday. That\u2019d be awesome.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"sWr iGR Idm\">\n<div class=\"QYV Qev\">\n<div class=\"uES fEt\">\n<div class=\"uT7\">\n<div class=\"FDO\">\n<div class=\"vmZ XJ- jWP\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/7\/31\/72036937\/pro-400-5-of.jpg?w=374&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"FDO\">\n<div class=\"vmZ XJ- jWP\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/7\/31\/793e06fc\/pro-400-6-of.jpg?w=374&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"MO9\">The Society Archive top; Isabel Marant pants; Talent\u2019s own belt.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"yOD GLK\">\n<div class=\"ki0 kpP\">\n<div class=\"MNV\"><\/div>\n<p><label for=\"lightboxCheckbox-479818225\" class=\"QNb y8V St5\"><button aria-label=\"open lightbox\" class=\"kMc\"><\/button><\/label><\/div>\n<div class=\"C1C\">\n<div class=\"ZXG\">\n<div class=\"F6c\"><button class=\"ikQ VkL\"><\/button>1 \/ 2<button class=\"ikQ Olc\"><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"LOc\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"igl f5y\"><button class=\"ikQ Xfx\"><span class=\"Od1\">INFO<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"itG\">1 \/ 2<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><strong>When Pillsbury first thought<\/strong> about leaving Maine, he\u2019d hoped to go to the Savannah College of Art and Design or a school in New York or Los Angeles. But he ultimately chose Point Park University in Pittsburgh because it was \u201cthe only one that gave me money,\u201d he says with a laugh. He attended on a film scholarship but found college isolating; while struggling with depression, he began making rap mixtapes using his friends\u2019 music equipment and uploading his creations to Soundcloud.<\/p>\n<p>One such track caught the attention of Pittsburgh native Mac Miller, and Miller\u2019s team flew Pillsbury to Los Angeles. After a quick trip home to grab his things, Pillsbury spent the next six months couch-surfing with friends and staying in Airbnbs while he networked and found his footing in the city. \u201cI think everyone should go through that, but that was rough,\u201d he says. \u201cI remember texting my sister for $5 so that I could get a McDonald\u2019s breakfast for the day, saving half of it for dinner.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the years that followed, Pillsbury\u2019s status has, obviously, skyrocketed. He performed on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=1uRjXrQ5ZWU\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"T3D\"><em>Saturday Night Live<\/em><\/a>, sold out Radio City, and was hand-selected by Lena Dunham to costar \u2014 under his own name, not Role Model \u2014 in her upcoming Netflix rom-com <em>Good Sex<\/em>, opposite Natalie Portman. \u201cI had to do a chemistry read with her, and I was f*cking terrified,\u201d he says. \u201cBut as soon as I got there, somehow the nerves went away, and I did a good enough job to get the part.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"sWr iGR CEt\">\n<figure class=\"Qf5 E1M\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:133.2779%\" class=\"vmZ F8Y ap2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/7\/31\/4ef32894\/pro-400-14-of.jpg?w=375&amp;h=500&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"Yte pt7 okb\"><figcaption class=\"rv9 TrI\">Giorgio Armani clothing.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>The lifestyle shift that comes with fame has \u201cbeen difficult,\u201d he says. \u201cThere are amazing parts of it, and there are benefits that you can\u2019t deny are great, but the part that I struggle with is you sometimes are in environments or around people of this certain level of status that make me feel very separate from the rest of the people in my life and where I\u2019m from.\u201d In particular, he takes issue with the \u201cluxury of it. I don\u2019t like that stuff. I joke a lot on the internet about wanting a G-Wagon, and the Birkin thing that went on for like two years, and it\u2019s not real, obviously. That is not me.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He struggles with the expectation that he\u2019s in line to be \u201cthe next big male pop star,\u201d as he puts it. \u201cI\u2019ve never said that I want to be that. Maybe because I\u2019m not wearing a bunch of glittery leather jackets and nice clothes onstage or to events, people are like, \u2018Oh yeah, no, this isn\u2019t it. We want something shinier,\u2019 but I\u2019ve never said that that\u2019s going to happen. Like, I\u2019m going to continue to get a shirt that has stains on it and wear it for the next two months because I love that shirt.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"sWr iGR Idm\">\n<div class=\"QYV Qev\">\n<div class=\"uES fEt\">\n<div class=\"uT7\">\n<div class=\"FDO\">\n<div class=\"vmZ XJ- jWP\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/7\/31\/7f3bf2ee\/pro-400-3-of.jpg?w=374&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"FDO\">\n<div class=\"vmZ XJ- jWP\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/7\/31\/dcf9b6d0\/pro-400-6-of.jpg?w=374&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"MO9\">Isabel Marant jacket and pants; The Society Archive vintage top; Stylist\u2019s own belt.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"yOD GLK\">\n<div class=\"ki0 kpP\">\n<div class=\"MNV\"><\/div>\n<p><label for=\"lightboxCheckbox-479818226\" class=\"QNb y8V St5\"><button aria-label=\"open lightbox\" class=\"kMc\"><\/button><\/label><\/div>\n<div class=\"C1C\">\n<div class=\"ZXG\">\n<div class=\"F6c\"><button class=\"ikQ VkL\"><\/button>1 \/ 2<button class=\"ikQ Olc\"><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"LOc\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"igl f5y\"><button class=\"ikQ Xfx\"><span class=\"Od1\">INFO<\/span><\/button><\/p>\n<div class=\"itG\">1 \/ 2<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>He continues: \u201cI don\u2019t ever want to set the bar for people. If I got a stylist and was like, \u2018Put me in the nicest sh*t every time I\u2019m onstage,\u2019 then, if you step out onstage in a little T-shirt and jeans, people are like, \u2018Oh, this is the downfall. This is the flop era.\u2019 I don\u2019t want to set people up for that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He doesn\u2019t want to set <em>himself<\/em> up for disappointment, either, which is why he avoids specific career goals or aspirations. \u201cI don\u2019t want to get let down, so I think it makes the highs feel a little bit more high. It makes the lows feel a little bit less low,\u201d he says. \u201cI don\u2019t have any goals. I\u2019m going with the flow.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"sWr iGR CEt\">\n<figure class=\"Qf5 E1M\">\n<div style=\"padding-top:131.9189%\" class=\"vmZ F8Y ap2\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imgix.bustle.com\/uploads\/image\/2026\/7\/31\/5f4ed8ce\/pro-400-12-of.jpg?w=375&amp;h=495&amp;fit=crop&amp;crop=faces&amp;dpr=2\" alt class=\"EdX\"><\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"Yte pt7 okb\"><figcaption class=\"rv9 TrI\">Versace clothing.<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Pillsbury will spend the fall away <a href=\"https:\/\/shop.heyrolemodel.com\/pages\/tour?srsltid=AfmBOorW8oreN64lJyi6_Fxe4YYp5ehi7oT1pV7Fwjqz-TnZMKOD7Ned\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" class=\"T3D\">on tour<\/a> \u2014 he\u2019s retiring the \u201cSally\u201d cameos, though he\u2019s not ruling out the possibility of a new bit bubbling up \u2014 but he\u2019s also, finally, found a way to make Los Angeles feel like home when he\u2019s here. The artwork on the walls around us are all reminders of Maine: a painting of an ocean wave; an embroidery that reads \u201cTo a friend\u2019s house the road is never long.\u201d \u201cWhen I don\u2019t have success or when my career isn\u2019t doing well,\u201d he says, staring up at the ceiling as our session comes to a close, \u201cI\u2019m trying to set myself up to be happy.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><em>Top image credit: Versace clothing; Repetto shoes.<\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"sWr iGR\">\n<div class=\"Hvl Qpa\">\n<div class=\"F2P\">\n<p><em>Photographer: Nick Dorey<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Stylist: Karolyn Pho<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Writer: Ashley Spencer<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Editor-in-Chief: Lauren McCarthy<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Creative Director: Karen Hibbert<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Groomer: Barbara Guillame<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Video: Rachel Chapman<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Photo Director: Jackie Ladner<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Production: Kiara Brown, Danielle Smit,<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Fashion Market Director: Jennifer Yee<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Fashion: Stephanie Sanchez, Ashirah Curry, Noelia Rojas-West<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Features Director: Nolan Feeney<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Social Director: Charlie Mock<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>Talent Bookings: Special Projects<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"BdA\">\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NYLON Guys Role Model Is Setting Himself Up For Happiness After two albums of singing about romance and heartbreak, Tucker Pillsbury is trying something new on Chuck Timely &amp; the Hourglass: moving on. by Ashley Spencer 3 hours ago NYLON Guys August 2026 Where should we begin? Perhaps at an LA bungalow, where Tucker Pillsbury [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,256],"class_list":["post-2077066","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nylon-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2077066","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2077066"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2077066\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2077066"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2077066"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2077066"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}