The Abercrombie Guys: The Trailer

An aspiring male model hopes a meeting with Abercrombie and Fitch’s former CEO could be a career break. But it's far from a dream opportunity - revealing fashion’s dark side.

This is World of Secrets: Season 1 - The Abercrombie Guys, an investigation from BBC 5 Live and Panorama.

The Abercrombie Guys: 1. Silenced

Sometimes it only takes one person to speak, for others to be heard… An aspiring male model hopes a meeting with Abercrombie and Fitch’s former CEO could be a career break. But it is far from a dream opportunity. “It's probably the darkest experience I’ve ever dealt with,” he says. After reading a cryptic tweet, Rianna Croxford follows a trail which leads to the most intensive investigation of her career. MeToo has empowered women to speak out – now men say they want to be heard. This is World of Secrets - Season 1: The Abercrombie Guys, an investigation from BBC 5 Live and Panorama. Have you got a story to tell? Email [email protected]. Let us know what you think of the season using the hashtag #WorldofSecrets

This podcast refers to sexual abuse and contains interviews that some listeners may find upsetting, as well as some occasional strong language. If you've been affected by any of the issues in this series, please contact support organisations in your own country. For a list of organisations in the UK that can provide support for survivors of sexual abuse, go to bbc.co.uk/actionline.

Archive: Paramount Pictures: Mean Girls (2004) This podcast is made in collaboration with BBC Panorama. If you are in the UK, you can watch Panorama: The Abercrombie Guys: The Dark Side of Cool on BBC iPlayer now, or on BBC Select if you are in the in the US. World of Secrets: Season 1 - The Abercrombie Guys is a BBC Long Form Audio production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.

The Abercrombie Guys: 2. Who is Mike Jeffries?

He made Abercrombie and Fitch a millennial megabrand, marketing "sexy clothes on sexy people”, as one former colleague of Mike Jeffries put it.

At home he had model-like men washing his cars and staff to chauffeur his dogs around. But what else was going on at his Hamptons mansion? “There was something about it that was strange,” according to a former staffer, “why wouldn’t anyone talk about it?” Rianna decides to investigate.

Have you got a story to tell? Email [email protected]. Let us know what you think of the season using the hashtag #WorldofSecrets

Archive: CBS: Sharon Chin report (9th May 2013) Warner Bros: Ellen DeGeneres - (May 2013) BBC: Sophie Hutchison news report (24th Jun 2009) BBC: Hugh Schofield news report (26 July 2013) International Business Times: A&F Company outlook (24th May 2013) Bloomberg: Report on Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries to Step Down (9th Dec 2014) Bloomberg: Jeffrey Hayzlett joins Trish Ragen and Adam Johnson on Bloomberg's Street Smart (9th Mar 2013) NBC: Report on ‘half-naked models’ (30/11/2002) Fox News: The O’Reilly Factor Report on Abercrombie & Fitch marketing (1st Dec 2015) BBC: BBC 4- Love Thy Neighbour (14th Oct 2008) This podcast is made in collaboration with BBC Panorama. If you are in the UK, you can watch Panorama: The Abercrombie Guys: The Dark Side of Cool on BBC iPlayer now, or on BBC Select if you are in the in the US. World of Secrets: Season 1 - The Abercrombie Guys is a BBC Long Form Audio production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.

The Abercrombie Guys: 3. The Marine

A former US marine turned reality TV star is invited to Mike Jeffries' mansion in the Hamptons. He dreams of being an Abercrombie and Fitch model, and he hopes to impress the fashion mogul. But the mood at the event begins to change and he says he soon realises this is not the interview he was expecting: "I didn't feel like I had control”. Have you got a story to tell? Email [email protected]. Let us know what you think of the season using the hashtag #WorldofSecrets

Archive audio: Bravo TV: Below Deck (2013) This podcast is made in collaboration with BBC Panorama. If you are in the UK, you can watch Panorama: The Abercrombie Guys: The Dark Side of Cool on BBC iPlayer now, or on BBC Select if you are in the in the US. World of Secrets: Season 1 - The Abercrombie Guys is a BBC Long Form Audio production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.

The Abercrombie Guys: 4. The Mysterious Mr Smith

Who is the other Abercrombie guy, Matthew Smith? “Witty, strict and secretive” says a former colleague.

Papers reveal the influential role he had in the life of his partner, the former Abercrombie CEO Mike Jeffries. A former staffer reveals how he frequently requested large sums of cash, sealed in white envelopes – what was it for? Have you got a story to tell? Email [email protected]. Let us know what you think of the season using the hashtag #WorldofSecrets

World of Secrets: Season 1 - The Abercrombie Guys is presented and investigated by Rianna Croxford Series Producers: Ruth Evans and Alys Harte Senior Producer: Emma Close Development Producer: Hannah Livingston Investigation Editor: Ed Campbell Podcast Editor: Richard Fenton-Smith Executive Editor: Emma Rippon Studio Engineers: Neil Churchill, Andy Fell, Gareth Jones, and Ali Rezakhani Production Coordinators: Debbie Richford and Sophie Hill Commissioning Editor: Dylan Haskins Commissioning Executive: Louise Kattenhorn Assistant Commissioner: Natasha Johansson This podcast is made in collaboration with BBC Panorama. If you are in the UK, you can watch Panorama: The Abercrombie Guys: The Dark Side of Cool on BBC iPlayer now, or on BBC Select if you are in the in the US. World of Secrets: Season 1 - The Abercrombie Guys is a BBC Long Form Audio production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.

The Abercrombie Guys: 5. Midnight in Marrakesh

A model is made a lucrative offer to meet the Abercrombie Guys in Morocco: “I'm going to Marrakesh, this is awesome!” But events, he says, take an unanticipated dark turn.

Why was the event in Marrakesh, according to another man, “one of the sketchiest times”?

Have you got a story to tell? Email [email protected]. Let us know what you think of the season using the hashtag #WorldofSecrets

The Abercrombie Guys: 6. Inside the Operation

Do you know how much money I was getting paid?"

A former assistant who travelled with The Abercrombie Guys agrees to talk: "They were trying to act so perfect,” he says - what could they have been hiding?”

Have you got a story to tell? Email [email protected]. Let us know what you think of the season using the hashtag #WorldofSecrets

The Abercrombie Guys: 7. Do You Remember Me?

The Abercrombie Guys’ alleged main recruiter is tracked-down to a small town in Wisconsin and asked about his involvement in the operation: “Nobody went into this without their eyes wide open.” One high profile American lawyer examines the team’s evidence and calls for prosecutors to investigate.

Have you got a story to tell? Email [email protected]. Let us know what you think of the season using the hashtag #WorldofSecrets

The Abercrombie Guys: 8. The Fallout

A lawsuit is filed revealing new allegations, but what did Abercrombie and Fitch know? An anonymous source speaks about Mike Jeffries' time at A&F, but the company won't answer all our questions.

Meanwhile, another staffer recalls his time working for The Abercrombie Guys: "I only worked for them for a year, and I hated every second of it."

Have you got a story to tell? Email [email protected]. Let us know what you think of the season using the hashtag #WorldofSecrets

This podcast is made in collaboration with BBC Panorama.

If you are in the UK, you can watch Panorama: The Abercrombie Guys: The Dark Side of Cool on BBC iPlayer now, or on BBC Select if you are in the in the US.

World of Secrets: Season 1 - The Abercrombie Guys is a BBC Long Form Audio production for BBC Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds.

The Abercrombie Guys: 9. The FBI is at my door

The FBI is investigating following allegations made in World of Secrets. The Abercrombie Guys vehemently deny wrongdoing and an old acquaintance comes to their defence, with a different side of the story. "Which one’s true? The audience will have to decide," he says. Meanwhile another man reports what happened when he went on a luxury cruise with Mike Jeffries and Matthew Smith - and says he faced the consequences of saying no to the former Abercrombie boss. #WorldofSecrets

The Abercrombie Guys: 10. Final Fantasy

"I thought I was gonna die." A man fears for his life after attending an Abercrombie Guys event. Mike Jeffries time as Abercrombie and Fitch CEO comes to an abrupt end, marking the end of an era. Meanwhile, in 2024 the allegations against him and Matthew Smith continue to mount. "The courtroom is where we will deal with this matter," say their lawyers. #worldofsecrets

The Abercrombie Guys: 11. Mike Jeffries Under Arrest

"Anyone who thinks they can exploit others by using the so-called casting couch system... prepare to trade that couch for a bed in federal prison."

Prosecutors in New York send a stern message, as The Abercrombie Guys, Mike Jeffries and Matthew Smith, are arrested on charges of sex trafficking and interstate prostitution, along with their alleged fixer Jim Jacobson. They've denied wrongdoing.

Reporter Rianna and producer Ruth head to New York to watch the court proceedings unfold, just a stone's throw from Mike Jeffries' Hamptons mansion.