Gay Side of Life

Petey Wright for VMan. Click on picture to enlarge

Petey Wright from Ford Models. Click on picture to enlarge

NEW YORK, NEW YORK!

About a year ago The New York Times published an article about the new comers in the Male Modeling.  The reporter followed few male models of Ford Models agency, among them Petey, AJ, Nico and Adam.

They are all young men, who just turn their eighteen. The first thing they have to do is to move from their country hometown to New York. And then they face the first problem : How can I afford the expensive rental rate of an appartment in New York ?  They usualy choose between sharing the $ 2,000 + of the rent with roomates, or use the models apartments of the agency for a $ 1,200 a bed.

But what a newcomer can expect as compensation for his performance? Runaway gigs today will pay any money. Instead he will receive a free sweater and sneakers, or a $1,000 credit to buy  clothes!. The clothes are all right but it’s hard to pay rent with a retro peacoat.

AJ Abualrub from Ford Models

AJ Abualrub for Cavalli Show . Ckick on picture to enlarge

Petey is 20, from Tenessee, he won the Vman Ford Model Search competition, on Fall 2008 and appeared on the cover of Vman. He was scouted in the restaurant where he worked, by a woman he was serving. She asked him if he has ever thought to be model and took a few photos of him, she send the test shots to Ford. His skinny body and dramatic Johnny Depp jawline were enough attractive to gain a multiyear contract with the agency. So , by September Petey has broken up with his girlfriend, move to New York and spent Fashion Week rushing from runway show to casting  to fitting to parties to get his face known.

FASHION WEEK

The Fashion Week is an opportunity for the young models to know each other and for some to become friends. At the Duckie Brown show Petey, AJ and Nico the fellow Ford  models, have to get there at 10:30am for a 1:00 pm show. An opportunity to them to know each over better and to joke and have fun, when they get prepared with make-up and by hairdresser.

Petey Wright. VMan Fall 2008. Click on picture to enlarge

DOLLAR, DOLLAR!

Financially speaking the male models have always made less than the women, and very few become big names. For most magazine work, models are paid less than $250. twenty per cent goes to the agency, which also billed models for their board and expenses. Ad campaign and catalog jobs are more lucrative, and it’s the only hope for models to make some sound money. But competition is getting fierce, once they used to get $5,000 for a job, now if theywon’t do $2,000, there is another guy right behind the wall who will.

Eugen Bauder

Emigrated to Cell (Rheinland, Germany) with his mother when he was 5 years old, Eugen Bauder has its origins in Kazakhstan. Eugen was curious for Fashion and Art, since his teen age.

He studied at Technical School in Binzen (Baden Wurttenberg), and started to pose as model at that time, but just for fun. But when he started to send the photos to some agencies, he quickly received sound proposals, even if he had no specific expectation at that time to become a model.
His appeal and his perfect body, result of 14 years of swiming practice were noticed by the fashion photographers and gave in the boost to start his modeling career.

Eugen is now living in Los Angeles. When not modeling, he is  spending his free time, practicing theater, one of his main interest since Universiy,waiting to be noticed one day by a director.

Eugen Bauder by Andreas Johansson for Tush. Click on picture to enlarge

Eugen Bauder. Click on picture to enlarge

BIO

Name: Eugen Bauder
Born on March 5th,  1986 in Almaty (Kazakhstan) from German origins
Agencies: Success (Paris), D’Man (Milan), DNA (New York), Vision (Los Angeles), Models 1 (Londres), Group Models (Barcelone et Madrid)

Ther are no interview available from Eugen Bauder, so details on his hobbies and other interests are difficult to find.

Details

Height: 183 cm
Chest: 102
Waist: 78
Suit: 48
Shoes: 43
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Blue-green

Campaigns: Armani, Dsquared², Hugo Boss, St-John, Exte, Cacharel, Guru, Crocker

Covers/ VMen (Mario Testino), Arena Homme + (Alasdair McLellan), Loaded Fashion Magazine (June Nakamoto), ID Magazine (June Nakamoto), Crash Special LV (June Nakamoto), Citizen K Magazine (Mark Squire), QVEST Magazine (Karel Kuehne), 10 Magazine London (Anthony Maule), Playboy German Edition (Christopher Meimoon), Pop Magazine (Lachlan Bailey), Italian Vogue (Bruce Weber), Genre Magazine (Karl Simone), Hommes Uomo (Jean-Philippe Guillemain), Hommes Uomo (Mike Georg)

Baptiste Giabiconi, is a French male model, and is today number one in the list of the World Top Male Models.

Baptiste Giabiconi. Click on picture to enlarge

Baptiste Giabiconi for Armani Jeans. Click on picture to enlarge

Baptiste Giabiconi. Click on picture to enlarge

Baptiste in Interview Magazine (December 2009) . Click image to enlarge

Baptiste Giabiconi for the Magazine Wallpaper. Click on picture to enlarge

BIO

Baptiste Giabiconi was working in an assembly plant for an areospace industry company in Marseille. He was scouted by a woman when he was working out in gym. The lady advise him to try modeling and the French photograph Laurent Piombo from Marseille, made Baptiste’s  first shooting.

He moves to Paris and was recruted by the Agency MGM, and he is still under contract with them. But the real start of his career was when in 2008, Karl Lagarfeld find that the young man has a great potential. For Karl,  Baptiste looks like a Greek God, and is the new model of renewed manhood, far from the androgin models employed by the Fashion industry lately.

The young model has quickly reached the top and will appear in the major fashion magazines:  Numéro, V Magazine, Wallpaper, V Man, Vogue, and in add campaigns for  Chanel, Fendi, Giorgio Armani.

Karl Lagerfeld saw him as the ideal Ken for the 50th annivversary of the Barbie Dolls. Since then his career is more or less manage by Karl.

Is Baptiste Giabiconi gay ?

As I mentioned for Sean O’Pry this is the kind of question which is raised regularly, specialy by web surfers who have this sexual preference. As this blog is gay oriented let’s try to give you some clue. The following article is a translation of a post by Coco published on the French blog ‘Tendances de modes’ :

Between the worker with an handsome face (Baptiste Giabiconi) and the man with a catogan (Karl Lagardfeld) grows a friendship, based on mutual fascination. One being subjugated by a new world which becomes reachable, the other one being mesmerized by the youthfulness concept. Since then, the two men are always seen together: Baptiste appears by the side of  Karl, whatever the place on earth Karl is going to.

Sometime they are in Venice to work, and most on the time in Paris where the Artistic Director of Chanel ask regularly the presence of Baptiste. According to him, athe daily planning is as follows: they meet together at 15h00 to have a lunch, then they go to Chanel, each of them having ahis own agenda to follow,. They have a diner at 21h00, then go out down town to have  a drink or watch a movie to a theater…

Usually with people who are his favorites, Karl is extremely  generous and give without counting the cost.  He creates strong links and addiction from these people.

Bio details

Born in Marseille, France on November 9th, 1989

Height: 188

Hair: Black

Eyes: Brown

Shoe: 10

Woorker in the aircraft industry before modeling

Ethnicity: French parents from Corsica

Agencies: MGM (Paris), DNA (New York), Maga (Hamburg), d’Management (Milan), Sccop (Copenhagen), Premier (London)

Sean O'Pry

Sean O'Pry by Nicola Formichetti. Click on picture to enlarge

Sean O'Pry wearing swimwear. Click on picture to enlarge

Sean O'Pry for H&M Campaign Click on picture to enlarge

Sean on the Top

Sean O’Pry is a Top male model since few years now. He is classified number 2 as the most famous ones, currently.

His career started in 2006, he was 17 year old, and was scouted from his MySpace photo.

He has been featured in various advertisment  campaigns , including Calvin Klein, Giorgio Armani, Gianfranco Ferré, H&M, Lacoste, DSquared 2.

How Sean his great looking body , This is an answer from an interview he gave to a magazine:

Sean :  I see a lot of guys who come from football or sports have to lose weight. Luckily for me I got mono, so my chances for sports after I got mono was nil.  So the transition with the weight, and trying to control the body, wasn’t much.  But the mentality of it? Coming from a smaller city to the big city, New York City, it’s crazy. It’s the first time I had ever left the south.  I didn’t talk for three days and if anyone has ever met me, me not talking for three days is a big ordeal.

Is Sean O’Pry gay ?

This question is often raised for male fashion models. In the case of Sean, there is no evidence of his sexual orientation. As most models, who have a very busy life (travels, shooting, campaigns, shows, …) he appears being single and just having  some selected friends in the modelling sphere.

One clue could be the answers he gave in an interview in July 2009.

Have you heard any good pickup lines from girls in New York?
I was dating a girl for two and a half years, so I never really got into the dating scene since I’ve been here. I spend most hours of the day in my apartment. I’m here for my job, I do my job and that’s all I really do. I’m quite boring.

What are the ups and downs of male modeling?
My least favorite thing is the perception that if you’re a male model, you either take your clothes off for everything, or you’re gay. And I mean, some people are and some people do, but I don’t like that perception. When you hear these perceptions—let’s say in a blog—when people who don’t even know you decide things about you, that’s the thing I don’t like.

So is up to you to make your mind up. What we can learn from his statements is that some models are ‘gay’ and some are ‘taking their clothes off for everything’. Anyway the door is not totally closed to answer No to the question. )

Generally speaking, we believe that the male models have to be cautious, they just can’t forget that the gay people are, for a lot of them, addict to Fashion and they are most of the time the ones who contribute the most to build the success of the models.

(To read  the complete interview in BlackBookMag.com click here)

Sean O'Pry by Mariano Vivanco. Click on picture to enlarge

BIO

Born: July 5th, 1989 in Kennesaw, Georgia USA

Name: Sean Richard O’Pry

Height: 1.85m (6ft 1in)

Collar: 15.5 US

Suit: 40 US, 50 EU

Shoe: 11.5 US

Eye: Blue

Hair: Brown

Ethnicity: American

Agency VNY Model Management

Arthur Sales

This young Brazilian model  is a rising star in the Fashion Models industry.  He had performed in November 2009, the very remarkable  2010 campaign for Butch men swimwears. As a proof of his fast rising in the Top Male models list, the French men fashion magazine “L’Officiel Hommes” has released an issue (First Quarter 2010) with 200 pages dedicated to Arthur Sales.

Arthur Sales in the Butch swimwear campaign

Arthur Sales in Butch Swimvear campaignButch Swimwear campaign with Arthur Sales

L'Officiel Hommes (Paris), issue #19, special Arthur Sales

Arthur Sales by Milan Vukmirovic for L’Officiel . Click on picture to enlarge

Arthur Sales by Greg Vaughan

Arthur Sales and the girls

He likes European Girls, and says that the Brazilian are hotter. To much focus on his job (travel, shooting, working out) that now, he prefers to stay single .

Here are some answers from Arthur Sales exracted from interviews:

Q: What kind of outlook do you look for in girls and What features attract you the most ?

AS: I have attraction for smart girls and one good conversation this is the most important.

Q: What was your most embarrassing /ackward moment?

AS: I did one editorial with one naked girl and I was taking a deep breath every 5 seconds.

BIO

Brazilian, born in Recife Pernambuco North East of Brazil

Now lives in New York  City

18 years old

Education : Attending University before modeling, in a School of Law.

Agency: Elite ( Milan) Elite (Barcelona)

Origins: Brazilian and Italian

Height: 184cm, Shoes: 44 EU,  Chest: 93cm , Hair: Brown,  Eyes: Green, Waist: 74 cm, Suit: 96

Hobbies:  loves practicing jiu-jitsu, surfing, and hanging out with friends.

Recommended sites : Made in Brazil

Ryan Taylor

BIO

Canadian

Born : in Burlington, Ontario, Canada in May 1990.

Ethnic Origin: English, Scottish, Irish, German, Egyptian

Height: 6’2″ / Hair: Brown / Eyes: Blue-Green / Suit: 40R / Waist: 30 /  Inseam: 33 / Shirt: 15 / Shoes: 11

Known for his lips.

Friends: He his friend with Blaine Cook, Terron Wood, Sean O’Pry

Agencies: DNA (New York), Why Not (Milan), PMA Hamburg, Success Paris

Career: 2006 signs with Publi Image Worldwide, in New York, and Why Not in Milan. Debuts in shows, Fendi and Prada in Milan and Lanvin , Yves St Laurent in Paris. Appears in Pop magazine photos by Mert Alas and Marcus Piggot. papears in Vogue Homme International editorial.

2007 Shows in New York for Kim JOnes, Lacoste, Michael Kors and Marc Jacobs. Appears in V Man spring issue, photos by Will Davidson, in Arena Homme +, photos by David Amstrong, in July shows in Milan for Valentino, Bottega Veneta, Moschino. August, appears in Details editorial. Fall, models for Moschino catalogue.

2008 Shows in Milan and Paris for Jil Sander, Alessandre dell’Acqua, Missoni, Moschino.

2009: United Colors of Benetton

The video is based on the hit “Bad Roamnce” by Lady Gaga, featuring hot and sexy men. Among the models who are included in the video montage, there famous ones like Arthur Sales considered as a rising star in the men’s fashion industry, Sean O’Pry who is a confirmed model is also appearing.

Lady Gaga is said to be gay friendly and had several opportunities to demonstrate her tolerance to people claiming same sexe preference.

She is becoming more and more a Gay Icon.

Pictures from the clip:

Lady Gaga

Lady Gaga

Arthur Sales Brazilian Model

Fashion Model

Chris Cuba, fashion model

Arthur Sales for Butch Underwear Campaign

This video is an original  montage which includes shots from the Butch Swimwear campaign casting the fashion model Arthur Sales  and pictures of Ryan Taylor (see above details about the models).

The Video:

(if the video does not appear, please click here)

Stills from the Video:

Travis Davenport

Arthur Sales

Ryan Taylor

The clip is dedicated to young male beauty and teen fashion. The clip is supported by a soundtrack which includes Martin Solveig hit Boys and Girls (official site : http://www.martinsolveig.com/) which is available on free download  here. The record is a co-production between the French DJ Martin, and Jean-Paul Gautier, the French Fashion Designer.

Arthur Sales

Arthur Sales in Butch Swimvear campaign

Arthur Sales in Butch Swimvear campaign

Arthur Sales in Butch Swimvear campaign

Brazilian

18 years

Agency: Elite ( Milan) Elite (Barcelona)

Height: 184cm, Shoes: 44 EU,  Chest: 93cm , Hair: Brown,  Eyes: Green, Waist: 74 cm, Suit: 96 cm