Beautiful

Gotham Knights 2010

WHEN CALIFORNIAN MARK BINGHAM OPENED A SECOND OFFICE FOR HIS SUCCESSFUL PUBLIC RELATIONS FIRM IN NEW YORK CITY, IT BECAME OBVIOUS FOR HIM HE WOULD HAVE TO SPEND MUCH TIME ON THE EAST COAST. PASSIONATE ABOUT HIS SAN FRANCISCO RUGBY TEAM, MARK TOOK THE INITIATIVE TO FOUND A SIMILAR TEAM IN NEW YORK IN PARTNERSHIP WITH HIS FRIEND SCOTT GLAESSGEN. AND SO HE DID.

There are only 39 gay rugby teams worldwide and 22 of them can be found in North America. One of them is the San Francisco Fog RFC, the club that was co-founded by business man Mark Bingham. When Mark’s business transformed him in a part-time New Yorker, he teamed up with local rugby player Scott Glaessgen in order to create an East Coast equivalent of the successful Californian team. Their plans were cut short on September 11, 2001, when Mark was lost in the terrorist attack on United Airlines Flight 93 over rural Pennsylvania.

The inspiration of Mark’s life, work and dedication to rugby, led Scott and other New York City rugby players to meet in late 2001 to establish the Gotham Knights RFC. The team started practice for the first time in the cold, early months of 2002. Within weeks the membership grew exponentially. By late February the team had elected a president, officers, and a board, prepared for incorporation, ordered equipment, and chosen team colors. All though being a 100% gay rugby team, the Gotham Knights play mostly straight teams and is part of the straight rugby union. Simply because they are the only gay team in the Metropolitan Area of New York. In the 7 years of its existence they have gradually conquered a well deserved and respectful place for themselves among both gay and straight international rugby teams. With the exception of one time, they never had any issues in their choice of competitors. On the contrary, rugby is a game and the members of the competing teams usually have a lot of fun together, not only on the field but also before and after☺.

2010 brings another milestone for the Gotham Knights RFC. For the first time they will be available in print. Well known New York photographer Joe Oppedisano has been approached to shoot the men on their best and their sexiest. The result is a calendar full of hot strong men that can easily compete with well established projects such as the Dieux Du Stade releases. The Gotham Knights RFC are a tribute to Mark Bingham, the calendar a testimony to his vision. –B-

The Gotham Knights 2010 Calendar is an art-book quality collection of poster-sized prints, one for each month. Beautifully and professionally designed and produced, it is over-sized (18.25” x 12”), printed in bold color on glossy paper, and spiral-bound. Among several bookstores, the calendar can be ordered on the Gotham Knights RFC website.

Photography: Joe Oppedisano.

GOTHAM KNIGHTS 2010 CALENDAR | BEAUTIFULMAG

BeautifulMag Cover Story | Savoring Matt Schiermeier

THE CITY OF ST. LOUIS IS ALSO KNOWN TO BE THE GATEWAY TO THE WEST, AND TO HONOR THAT VERY SPECIAL POSITION THE CITY RAISED A HUGE MONUMENT CALLED THE GATEWAY ARCH BACK IN 1965. THE ARCH IS AN ICONIC ELEMENT OF THE MISSOURI CITY AND GIVES IT’S SKYLINE A CURVED IMAGE. BUT ST. LOUIS ALSO KNOWS SOME VERY DIFFERENT KIND OF CURVES.

Besides the already mentioned Gateway Arch, St. Louis has another cultural thing to be proud of: its cuisine. It is said that the people of St. Louis are obsessed with food, and it is true that you can find something good to eat in pretty much every neighborhood. The flavors of Asian, Indian, African and European cuisines have found a comfortable place next to the traditional Southern classics and the Cajun and Creole culinary cultures. So besides curvy, St. Louis is also a most savory place. And all those good things of St. Louis are combined in Matt Schiermeier.

Matt Schiermeier is a 32 year old model from St. Louis, Missouri, who started his modeling career as a good way to pay his way though college. But his well curved body and strong masculine look have landed him more than just a temporary modeling career. Matt has developed himself into a well sought after international male model, who guarantees striking and strong images with an intense energy that shines through his piercing eyes. No wonder everyone wants to work with Matt. Empyrean Photography’s Andre Deloach happened to be one of the lucky ones which resulted in an exclusive BeautifulMag series that encompassed so many stunning photographs that Andre and Matt placed us for the difficult but delightful task of shifting through them in order to present you a nice portfolio. Just remember, there is a lot more where this came from. All you have to do is ask. But anyway, to get to the point. As always when savoring a good dish, you ask yourself about the ingredients. So why not ask the chef. And thus we talked to Andre DeLoach.

Andre, how did you come to photograph Matt?
Andre: The inititative actually came from Matt himself. Through a mutual contact he expressed his interest in working with me as well as the wish to do something for BeautifulMag. Because I was – and still am – inspired by his looks, I saw this as an excellent opportunity to premier some of my new work with you guys. All of these photographs that I have submits featuring Matt have not been published anywhere else.

Wow, that makes us feel very special Andre. But what is it that makes Matt so special for you?
Andre: Well first of all he has this incredible physique. He has developed a body that strikes an excellent balance between muscle mass and definition. It makes him such a great model. I could throw my camera at him and still have a fantastic picture. Second, Matt has a type of face that I thoroughly enjoy photographing. There is this structural beauty about his face that gives him that distinctive handsome look. But most importantly, Matt came to the shoot prepared to do his best and had a complete trust in my vision for the images. Because of this, I was allowed to concentrate fully on creating outstanding portraits.

What was your goal for the overall photo shoot?
Andre: Plain and simple, I intended to create a set of images that allowed me to savor Matt’s beauty. I want those who see the work to savor his beauty as well. One of the best compliments anyone can give to me is to say that they found themselves returning to one of my photographs to drink it in. In addition I set out to make images that not only captured Matt’s sexy ‘heroic’ look, but also offered a more sensuous and emotional aspect of him.

Can you tell us where you found your inspiration for this shoot?
Andre: In general I’m currently finding a lot of inspiration from a sustained study of vintage physique photography magazines, like Physique Pictorial, Body Beautiful, Adonis and others. Though my inspiration is certainly being sparkled by some graceful poses of the models, the greater gift I am receiving is seeing my love and thirst for muscular male beauty reflected back to me in such an unashamed way in the ground-breaking, liberating work of Bob Mizer, Lon of New York, Bruce of LosAngeles, Vulcan, Alan B. Stone and many others. My re-exposure to this body of work, this history, has really touched me in an emotional way.

How is that?
Andre: I have realized that I am part of a long tradition of male photographers with whom I share a core set of aesthetic and erotic values, despite the fact that our styles are, in many ways, vastly different. I recently had the opportunity to personally express my debt and appreciation to Martin Reid, one of the physique models of the French-Canadian photographer Alan B. Stone. Martin is also a physique photographer and manages L’Archives Gaies du Quebec, a great visual resource for vintage physique photography. Without the courage and loving work of these men, I doubt that I would enjoy the same level of freedom and expression in my own work today. The freedom and expression that shows in the work with Matt.

What can you tell us about the direction your photography is taking these days?
Andre: I’m re-dedicating a significant part of my photography to the visual exploration and celebration of the muscular male body. What does this mean for my photography, given that I already shoot muscle men? It means that a majority of my future work will be intensely focused on visually answering the question: In what new ways can I express the boundless beauty of the muscular body. And again I can point out the work with Matt Schiermeier.

Do you, besides Matt, have other work that goes in this direction?
Andre, Yes, I have made definite strides in this direction with a current book project, entitles The Pleasure of Looking at TJ. In it, I joyously explore and linger my gaze on parts of porn star TJ Cumming’s ripped body, like the bunched up muscles of his neck and back, his lean butt and anus, and the fibrous muscles of his quad. A preview can already by found on my website. The book is scheduled to be released by year’s end. It will be one of my activities in sharing my work with those men for whom the muscular male body is a passion and for whom savoring physique photography is an essential source of pleasure. –B-

Empyrean Photography is among the talented artists featured in BeautifulMag’s photo book, BeautifulVision, The Men of BeautifulMag.eu.

EMPYREAN PHOTOGRAPHY | BEAUTIFULMAG
MATT SCHIERMEIER | BEAUTIFULMAG

X, The Ten Faces of Fred Faurtin

AMAZED BY HIS CHARM AND POWERFUL SEX-APPEAL, THE MEN OF EXTERFACE CHOOSE FRED FAURTIN AS THE MAIN FIGURE OF THEIR LATEST VENTURE. FOR THE THIRD TIME THE CREATIVE DUO HAS COLLABORATED WITH THE FRENCH INTERNATIONAL MALE ADULT STAR, AND THIS TIME IT HAS RESULTED IN MORE THAN A DIGITAL VISUAL POEM.

Corporate Steel, Garden of Concupiscence, Genesis Hybris, Nemesis, Knight & Dragon, Wanderlust, The Neon, Embrace, Dust Dogma, Wicked Mantis, When Spring Dies into Summer and Manatomia. All this is Fred Faurtin in the new upcoming photo book release by Exterface, entitled X, The Ten Faces Of Fred Faurtin. It is rare a book is dedicated to one porn actor only, but Fred Faurtin is not just anybody and so much more than only a porn actor. Kind and humble, smart and deep, and above all irresistibly sexy, Fred has conquered many, including the two men behind the name Exterface.

After five year dedicated to graphic design Stéphane and Julien created Exterface, their photographic signature. In the past four years they have worked for numerous magazines, brands and personalities, as well as established their own personal work, focused on striped masculinity, esthethic sensuality and pshychological duality.

With X, they transformed the celebrated adult actor into a strong, ambivalent and mysterious symbol. Imagined by Exterface, Fred sees himself as ten different characters, in ten different themes, alone or in the company of flamboyant partners such as François Sagat, Vin Costes and DJ Leomeo. It is an emotional journey, a travel through times and locations where baroque, romanticism, fantastic, thriller, punk and even antiquity are mixed. -B-

X, The Ten Faces Of Fred Faurtin by Exterface is a 128 pages photobook and will be available as of November 5, 2009.

X, THE TEN FACES OF FRED FAURTIN | BEAUTIFULMAG

BeautifulMag Week 43-44 | Sugar & Spice

Everything in life needs to be in perfect harmony. Each thing, every sensation, needs to be balanced with its counterpart. It is a fact that is given in the oldest writings already. Good and evil, man and woman… But sometimes you need something else, something more exciting, something more spicy. Sometimes you secretly yearn for a bit more bad then good. And when it comes to sex, the combination of man and man can certainly heat up things. But here we are not saying anything new to you, are we.

You can’t go wrong with the sweet taste of sugar. It is equivalent for all that is good and joyful. Sugar is reliable, trustworthy and loyal. But is it enough for you? When everything is sweet, where is the excitement? Sometimes you just need to spice it up a little bit. Sometimes you need to look in his eyes and see something else than the usual kindness. To ask yourself is he gonna beat me up or beat me off, the feeling of being on dangerous grounds and loving very second of it.

We need sugar in our existence. We need to taste the sweet things life has to offer us. But it is the spice that make live worth living. Because without that ingredient, sugar can never be as sweet as it should be. –B-

BEAUTIFULMAG | SPICE UP YOUR LIFE

Jeff Brewster's Latin Cowboys

FROM THE FOUR STATES THAT CONNECT DIRECTLY WITH MEXICO, TEXAS IS THE ONE THAT HAS BY FAR THE LONGEST BORDER. 1,200 MILES TO BE PRECISE. SO IT SHOULDN’T BE SURPRISING THE LONE STAR STATE IS KNOWN FOR ITS LARGE COMMUNITY OF LATIN IMMIGRANTS. SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN SUBJECT FOR DEBATE FOR MANY YEARS. BUT THE LATIN HISTORY OF TEXAS GOES MUCH FURTHER BACK THAN THOSE YEARS.

The origins of the Texan cowboy as we know him lies in… Spain. The medieval Iberian peninsula was a country of dry climate with sparse grass which introduced the cattle range tradition known as the Spanish hacienda system. Because there was need to cover distances greater then men on foot could manage, the horse-back mounted vaquero made his entrance in the Spanish culture, to be adopted in the 16th century by the Americas under the English name cowboy, a direct translation. So you see, the cowboy really is one of the first imported products in the United States. As were horses, considering the original equines – horse like animals – were extinct in the Americas since the ending of the prehistoric ice age.

Jeff Brewster is anything but Latin. Nor is he a cowboy. He is however a photographer who originates from Texas and thus should be regarded upon as one with great knowledge of modern day cowboys. Over the years he has been shooting many beautiful young man, that easily can be seen as the modern day urban Texan cowboy. Cowboys are sexy and so are Latino’s so you can imagine what you get when you combine one with the other. Jeff Brewster’s men, as we all know, are all natural charming, well built and sexy young American men. But now he has added a whole new gallery to his portfolio: Latino's. Texas houses many Latino’s that origin from Cuba, Puerto Rico, Central and South America and of course Mexico. The result is that Texans are a very colorful and mixed kind of people and for Jeff there is plenty of fish in the pond. –B-

Jeff Brewster is one of the talented artists featured in BeautifulMag’s photo book, BeautifulVision, The Men of BeautifulMag.eu.

JEFF BREWSTER | BEAUTIFULMAG

BeautifulMag Cover Story | Dylan Rosser's Indian Summer

EVEN THOUGH THE TERM INDIAN SUMMER ORIGINATES FROM THE UNITED STATES, IT HAS MADE ITS ENTRY IN THE REST OF THE WORLD WERE THEY KNOW SEASONAL SHIFTS AS WELL. GENERALLY USED FOR A PERIOD OCTOBER AND NOVEMBER WHEN THE WEATHER IS EXCEPTIONALLY WARM, IT IS ALSO EQUIVALENT FOR A FALL WITH A STUNNING PALETTE OF RICH EARTHY COLOR HUES.

Personally we like the typical late October, beginning of November period when the temperature rises to a comfortable 21 degree Celsius and an ocher sunlight colors the leaves in hues of gold, copper and reds. It is like a sweet reminder of the joyful Summer days and a soft interlude to the colder days of Winter that are to come. When it happens it is doubtless the most poetic period in the year. A sensation that Dylan Rosser perfectly and subtly captured with his latest series of portraits, featuring the equally stunning Matthew Smith.

It seems an understatement to say Matthew James II Smith is passionate about fitness. Just looking at the man says enough. In fact, Matthew is a qualified personal trainer and aims to make this his full time job. For the moment he does it in his spare time, while during the day he – currently - works for a TV company, after having worked three years for the Royal Bank of Scotland. Matthew is 21 years old and lives, together with his partner for four years, in Central London.

Dylan Rosser needs of course hardly any introduction here on BeautifulMag. The man is always on the move, searching - and obviously finding - new models to shoot. Just having released his second photo book RED, he is already expending his online portfolio The Male Form with more male beauty, such as Matthew Smith. Matthew and Dylan met online, through the professional model/photographer website Model Mayhem. Matthew had some experience in modeling already before he joined Dylan, and is hard on his way to create an impressive portfolio that will certainly help him getting further on this career path.

Matthew Smith’s favorite season is summer, and that is not so surprising. But he is also the perfect candidate to illustrate an Indian Summer concept. His light complexion and blond hair take on sublime color tones and brilliance in Dylan Rosser’s light, like the beautiful reminder of hot summer nights, where as his light blue eyes bring that melancholic promise of crispy winter days. Matthew Smith is enough to keep us warm when the temperature goes down. –B-

Dylan Rosser is one of the talented artists featured in BeautifulMag’s photo book, BeautifulVision, The Men of BeautifulMag.eu.

DYLAN ROSSER | BEAUTIFULMAG
MATTHEW SMITH | BEAUTIFULMAG

The Colorful Life of Moxy Hart

WORDS ARE SO RESTRICTIVE, MERE UTTERANCES, BLACK ON WHITE. FEELING IS THE LANGUAGE OF THE SOUL AND IT’S IN BIG, BOLD, BRIGHT, FANTASTIC TECHNICOLOR. THIS IS HOW I SEE, THIS IS MY WORLD – Moxy Hart.

Life can sometimes take strange turns, as Moxy Hart proofs. Moxy saw the light of day for the first time in 1975, in a small town in Gauteng, South Africa. Born in a family of non-artiss, Moxy was a bubble of creativity since his earliest childhood, ready to explode. This resulted in him often escaping from his reality into a world of imagination and art. Young as he was, he was a driven and passionate artist, and at the early age of 6, Moxy Hart got his first paying job when a primary school teacher commissioned him to draw flashcards. It was around this time that the brave young Moxy went to his parents and duly announced it was time to leave school and become a serious artist…

When Moxy Hart grew older, his parents, even though touched by his passion, convinced him to attend an academic high school with no art subjects, so he could learn a ‘real’ job. Needless to say, the sensitive Moxy spent some miserable years before eventually being sent to Art School, which turned out to be the place to be for the young artist. At Art School Moxy was introduced to the world of window dressing, the ‘only art form that would make a living.’ It was all Moxy needed to hear to convince him a change of lifestyle was necessary. And thus, enthusiast and motivated, Moxy left his home town and headed for the big city, determined to make a glorious career in fashion design.

 Moxy Hart spent three years in fashion, which was followed by a career in shopping center decorations and decor design. It was this last stage that offered him finally the opportunity to really utilize his multiple artistic skills. He started his own design company, and soon made name with extra ordinary event designs, that characterized itself by huge canvas backdrop paintings. It was the re-introduction to the canvas, that awoke Moxy’s original passion for the fine art.

 Moxy Hart sold his company and decided to dedicate his life to his happiness: painting. He is now a renowned painter, has sold to art galleries and collectors and completed a large selection of commissioned works. Since several years now he operates from Cape Town, where he has been concentrating on depicting the male form and beauty. –B-

MOXY HART | BEAUTIFULMAG