Magnotta attended I. E. Weldon Secondary School in Lindsay.[13] In 2003, he began to appear in pornographic videos, occasionally working as a stripper and an escort.[13][15] He appeared as a pin-up model in a 2005 issue of Toronto's fab magazine, using the pseudonym Jimmy.[2] In 2007, he was an unsuccessful competitor in OUTtv's reality series COVERguy.[16][17][18] He had multiple cosmetic surgeries and auditioned for the Slice network television show Plastic Makes Perfect in February 2008.[19]