Beautiful

And the winner is...

ROBERTO ARAUJO IS AN ACTOR AND AS AN ACTOR HE KNOWS HOW IMPORTANT IT IS HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO MAKE A SMASHING FIRST IMPRESSION. IF YOU DON’T NOW ONE IS GOING TO NOTICE YOU. ROBERTO ARAUJO IS ALSO A PHOTOGRAPHER AND AS PHOTOGRAPHER HE KNOWS HOW IMPORTANT IT IS TO BUILD UPON FIRST IMPRESSIONS. BECAUSE IT IS THAT ONE THING THAT MAKES THE IMPRESSION THAT GUARANTEES THAT YOUR NEXT SET STANDS OUT FROM ALL THE REST.

Award parties are hot. It doesn’t matter if it is the Emmys, Tony’s, Oscars or Golden Globes, each award festival is a reason for many to throw a party in glamour style. Offering ones guests to feel like a star for one night. Where champagne flows and no outfit is crazy enough. Expressive as he is, Roberto Araujo loves to host these kind of parties. And his New York circle of friends love to join.

Scott Lester only moved from Georgia to New York City a few months ago, but was able to settle in comfortably and make many friends. Roberto Araujo being one of them. So when Roberto decided to host one of his popular Award parties, this time dedicated to the Golden Globes, Scott was present. And all in the tradition of Award parties, Scott decided to make a splash, which he did wearing golden shoes. Which Roberto absolutely loved: “The shoes were a hit at the party and I jokingly said: "We need to do a photo shoot with those shoes. You just wearing the shoes."

Though starting as a joke, Roberto Araujo and Scott Lester actually started to play with the idea of a shoot based on Scott’s golden shoes. They talked about the idea and Roberto came up with the outfit. “Scott looks great wearing anything...or nothing at all. So we went through the whole range of him wearing the gold shorts with knee high socks to him wearing nothing but the gold shoes.” Roberto Araujo loves working with models who are not afraid of trying new and fun things. He has been very lucky to have found models who trust him and were willing and able to create fun, bright and sexy work. In Scott’s case it were the shoes that triggered the idea. It were the shoes that made the impression and that became the foundation of Roberto’s inspiration. And it looks like Roberto Araujo has once again a winner. –BM-

ROBERTO ARAUJO | BEAUTIFULMAG

BeautifulMag Cover Story | Villainy & Virtue

AFTER HE GRADUATED FROM HIGH SCHOOL, ALEX MINSKY ASKED HIMSELF THE QUESTION MANY YOUNG MEN AND WOMEN ASK. WHAT TO DO WITH THE REST OF HIS LIFE. ALEX WASN’T READY TO SETTLE DOWN. HE WAS IN SEARCH FOR ADVENTURE. AND SO HE SIGNED UP WITH THE US MARINE CORPS. A CHOICE THAT WOULD ALTER HIS LIFE PERMANENTLY.

Alex Minsky wanted adventure and he sure got it. After he joined the Marines he was sent to combat in Afghanistan. While on a midnight patrol there, Alex Minsky’s truck was hit by a homemade bomb. Alex was severely injured and soon realized that this was the beginning of his biggest adventure so far. Alex lost his leg and was told he would never be able to rejoin his men on the battlefield. Crushed by what happened to him Alex searched for comfort, which he found in alcohol. It went from bad to worse until events made him realize that he was on a self destructive path, and that wasn’t the adventure he had set out for. And so Alex fought and found the strength to come back.

Now, 24 yeas old, Alex Minsky is one of today’s most sought after male models. Martin Ryter, Michael Stokes, Eric Schwabel, Tom Cullis. They are some of the renowned photographers who already worked with the young veteran. And many are still lining up. Alex has learned to be positive and has come to realize his adventures have not ended yet. And that is how he arrived recently in the studio of Justin Monroe.

“This soldier is no joke,” Justin Monroe comments on his collaboration with Alex Minsky. “There are so many hot things about him. Studying his tattoos is like going to an amusement park. You want to follow everything line, color, and word until you have taken it all in. Just when you think your eyes have had enough, you are slapped in the face with his stacked body. Tattoos cover his entire body and he told me he was not going to stop until there was no skin left. I said “Alex, please do not tattoo your beautiful ass or face!” He just looked at me and laughed.” Villainy and Virtue is a song by Dead to Fall in which they pass judgment on fake people. “You pretend to be part of the flock and somehow you convinced us all that you are something you are not” is one of the phrases from the song. Alex Minsky is certainly not part of the flock. “He is one of the most unique individuals that I had the pleasure to have in front of my camera. There are so many things about Alex worth taking note of. He is a walking piece of art and a gay man’s wet dream. This 24 year old is a survivor. After surviving a terrible bombing incident in Iraq, where he lost his leg, he was in coma for 58 days and almost lost his life. He rebuilt his mind body and spirit from the ground up. Photographers everywhere are seeking him out and he is becoming the muse for many.”

Justin continues: “When he came to the shoot, he seemed a little shy but very eager. He was excited to see what madness I had in store for him. I told him that I was going to photograph him in a rhinestone skirt and jewels. He laughed and said, “Lets do it!” I get a sense that this boy likes to be crazy. I did not want to shoot him in the typical jock/athletic manner, which seems to be the current trend when it comes to Alex. He is much more than that and enjoys the creative process. The afternoon was very fun. His enthusiasm made time fly by. Not only was he extremely easy on the eyes, I feel like I made a new friend.” Alex Minsky went through hell and back and came out stronger. He learned to embrace life once again and that there are other adventures waiting for him. Not only is Alex a war hero. He is also a hero of life. –BM-

ALEX MINSKY | BEAUTIFULMAG
JUSTIN MONROE | BEAUTIFULMAG

ES Collection Gourmet

IT IS NO SECRET THAT THE SPANISH ECONOMY IS FAR FROM CONFORTABLE. AND SO IT SEEMS LOGICAL THAT SPANISH ENTREPRENEURS REACH OUT TO EACH OTHER AND TRY TO HELP EACH OTHER. JUST TO PROMOTE THE MANY GOOD THINGS SPAIN HAS TO OFFER. WHICH CAN RESULT IN SOME UNEXPECTED COMBINATIONS. BECAUSE YOU MIGHT WONDER WHAT SPANISH FOOD HAS TO DO WITH SPANISH UNDERWEAR. THOUGH THE ANSWER IS SIMPLE. IT’S BOTH DELICIOUS.  

The country of Spain is known for many things. First there is of course the nice summer temperatures. The Spanish coast has many beaches offering plenty of opportunity to enjoy the sun and the sea. Spain is also known for is festive character. Many dance parties originates from the Iberian peninsula. But besides sun, beach and fun, let’s also not forget the excellent Spanish cuisine. Spain offers many traditional dishes that are mouth watering and, experimental as they are, the Spanish are not afraid to experiment with some exotic ingredients to make their homemade dishes even more spicier.

ES Collection offers product that are 100% Spanish made. The designs are done in Spain, the fabrics are made in Spain, and the products are manufactured in Spain. Even Joan Crisol, the photographer who is responsible for the many steamy campaigns, is Spanish. Yes, ES Collection is a pure Spanish dish. But don’t make a mistake. There is nothing traditional about it. On the contrary. Each season ES Collection manages to surprise both friend and foe with new designs, new fits and new technologies that make their product even more comfortable and more hot.

For the Spring/Summer 2013 season ES Collection presents Gourmet, the latest underwear collection. Gourmet presents new and daring colors, sexy patterns as well as changes like the double push-up without the patented cup. Underwear that simultaneously highlights one’s front and rear attributes without the need for any foam filling. All of this comes with the brand’s quality guarantee as well as the distinction of having been designed and produced in Barcelona. Do you like quality? In that case, you will love Gourmet.

To make Gourmet ever spicier – if that is already possible – ES Collection’s photographer Joan Crisol decided to shoot the collection in the kitchen of one of the most trendy restaurants in Madrid. And there is more. Because ES wouldn’t be ES if they wouldn’t invent something new. In this case the additional ingredient of two of Russia’s hottest male models of today: Kirill Dowidoff and Vladimir. Two men who most certainly know how to show off ES Collection superior quality and steamy designs. With Gourmet, ES Collection has once again a product line that is well-prepared and well-seasoned. Buen apetito… -BM-

ES COLLECTION | BEAUTIFULMAG

Introducing Troy Phillips

WITH SO MANY YEARS OF BEAUTIFULMAG UNDER THE BELT YOU’D THINK WE’D SEEN IT ALL. BUT NOTHING COULD BE FURTHER FROM THE TRUTH. TROY PHILLIPS HAD HIS WORK FEATURED IN BRUNO GMÜNDER’S VISION AND NIGHT VISION. BUT SOMEHOW WE MISSED OUT ON HIM WHILE WE RELEASED BEAUTIFULVISION. BUT INSTEAD OF REGRETTING THAT WE SEE IT AS AN OPPORTUNITY. BECAUSE NOW WE CAN INTRODUCE HIM TO YOU TODAY.

Maybe the name isn’t that familiar to you yet, but we are sure you have seen his work around. Troy Phillips. Artist and expert when it comes to editorial, fashion, fitness, beauty, fine arts and portrait photography. And with a diversity in work like that it is almost impossible you haven’t seen any of his work before.

Troy Phillips was born and raised in Oklahoma, USA. With a background in counseling psychology and design, Troy also has a passion for photography which started in his early teenage years. And as we have seen many times already, once that kind of passion is found, it will never go away anymore. Troy’s love for photography followed him like a shadow. He took it with him when he moved to Japan for studies. And it followed him back to the United States when he settled in New York City in the early 1990’s. Still it would take another handful of years before Troy Phillips would give in to his affection for the art and turned it into a career. A successful one as well.

As mentioned before, Troy Phillips work has been widely published. And if you don’t recognize his name, for sure you will recognize his style. Not in the least because he collaborated with Abercrombie & Fitch, and the many celebrities he had in front of his camera. Such as NFL Football player Thomas Jones, international ballet dancer Roberto Bolle, gymnastic world champion and Olympic medalist Alicia Sacramone, actors Cheyenne Jackson, Ben Curtis and Aiden Turner and reality TV star Billy Jeffrey. Troy debuted his professional photography career in 2005 with a fine art portrait exhibition in the prestigious National Art Club in New York and has since then displayed his fantastic work in shows in Osaka, Tokyo, Toronto, NYC and Brooklyn.

Asides from his collaboration in not two, but three Bruno Gmünder photo books, Troy Phillips work has been published in numerous international print magazines. DNA, M Mensuel, reFresh and Blue among them. His portraits have graced many covers and soon he can most likely ad a BeautifulMag cover to that impressive list as well. Today we give you an introduction to Troy’s amazing work and if this visual treat isn’t enough for you, we can strongly recommend you to visit his Facebook page or his official website. Or you can wait for our follow up, which is guaranteed to come soon. –BM-

TROY PHILLIPS PHOTOGRAPHY | BEAUTIFULMAG
TROY PHILLIPS | BEAUTIFULMAG

BeautifulMag #137 Week 19-20 | The Greatness of Positive Thinking

EDITORS LETTER

I’ve always been interested by the notion of time and how it influences our lives. The result is that I love reading books about both sci-fi futures and real history. But not only do I feast on novels, it also triggers my own thinking. Since a few months now I am more focused on our past and how it was lived by those living it. Currently I’m indulging myself with the famed novel series The Accursed Kings written by Maurice Druon between 1955 and 1977. A series of 7 novels that tell the true but romanticized stories of the French kings that lived and ruled during the 14th century. The stories are really captivating and they teach us a lot about life and politics during the Middle Ages, which truly doesn’t differ that much from today.

In the second novel, a minister that goes by the name Enguerrand de Marigny gets executed. He was one of the most trusted advisors of Philip IV the Fair but didn’t survive the and court intrigues during the reign of Philip’s son Louis X. Marigny is described and known as one of the most brilliant politicians in the history of France. And that made me wonder. Though the political games didn’t change that much over the centuries, the stakes have. So if Marginy would have lived today, would he still have been such a brilliant player? In other words, what are the circumstances that makes one great. So great that he or she becomes a true historical personality?

Greatness comes in many degrees. Some strive for it. Make it their objective in their life. Not all succeed. And some never give it any thought but faith decides differently for them. Some people reach a form of greatness simply because of what they represent. They become an example for others. I believe that some people can become great by the actions they take. But I really think that true greatness lies in the fact of how some are dealt a bad hand by life, turn this around with strength and determination and make the best of it. The greatness of positive thinking. –BM-

BEAUTIFULMAG | Everything That Is

Statuesque and Lyrical

IN THE OLD TIMES, WHEN A KING WAS LOOKING TO MARRY HIS FUTURE QUEEN, AND DIDN’T HAVE TIME TO GO OUT AND MEET HER, THERE WAS ONLY ONE WAY TO CHECK WHETHER SHE WAS SUITABLE OR NOT. HE WAS SHOWN A PICTURE. OBVIOUSLY WE ARE TALKING ABOUT A TIME WHEN PHOTOGRAPHY WAS NEVER HEARD OF. AND SO THIS PICTURE HAD TO BE PAINTED. A TIME CONSUMING BUSINESS, BUT THAT WAS HOW IT WAS.

In the old times the means to immortalize people were limited to only a few techniques. You could paint or draw a portrait of someone, or sculpt a statue. Two skills that took an enormous amount of time and sometimes the result didn’t even reflect the reality. Photography, and especially digital, has made all that a lot easier. Now you can just pick up a camera and start making photos. And if they aren’t good enough, you just erase them and start again. It really doesn’t have to take too much time either.

But some people like to approach things a little differently. Some still like to conceptualize and visualize an image that is born in their creative mind. Some like to play with elements and create a composition. Much like sculptures liked to play with a block of marble or a piece of clay, and painters with a blank canvas and a spectrum of colors. David Wagner is such a person. David lives and works in Los Angeles and in this city of angels he has access to some of the most beautiful models in the country. Which should make his work a lot easier. But David is not the kind of guy to for for easy. David is a visionary, who likes to imagine first what he wants to create before looking for the right ingredients.

“What I was trying to do with these images was to create a set that was very simple and emphasized the lines of the body (thus the plain white background contrasting with the models darker skin tones). I wanted to create images that were statuesque yet fluid and lyrical. Those are somewhat opposing themes: statuesque and lyrical. But in my mind I saw this body that could create the wonderfully fluid lines that could evoke movement in static poses. So I did a casting for a model/choreographer.” Obviously David Wagner wanted a lot more than just shooting a model in a studio. David had an image is his head for which he planned to use his camera as a chisel. All he needed to do was to find the right person who could function as his block of marble.

Brandon Anthony, hails from Indiana and holds a BFA in Theatre, Music, and Dance from The Theatre School Conservatory of DePaul University in Chicago as well as certifications from ACE and Schwinn. He is the master trainer for the YogaWorks DanceWorks program, leading trainings nationwide, and has been featured in SELF Magazine, The Los Angeles Times, and on E! Entertainment as a dance and fitness instructor. Brandon is also an accomplished musician, choreographer, and dancer and that fire and love of music drives every one of his incredibly Fun and Epic classes. Brandon basically grew up on stage, has been dancing his entire life and created choreographies ever since he was 10 years old, influenced and inspired by Bob Fosse and Michael Jackson. Brandon Anthony was exactly what David Wagner was looking for.

“Brandon submitted his photos and resume to the casting call. We met, discussed the concept and I did a couple of test images. From just the three test images that I took, I could tell immediately that Brandon was the perfect choice.” From the moment David Wagner and Brandon Anthony started the shoot, magic happens. From the very first click of the shutter, Brandon’s posing and movements were bringing David’s thoughts to life. Every movement that Brandon made felt like a beautiful composition. The experience was one of art and expression and at the end Brandon brought David’s concept to life, under the skilful eye of the photographer himself. -BM-

DAVID WAGNER | BEAUTIFULMAG
BRANDON ANTHONY | BEAUTIFULMAG

Star Maker

THERE ARE MANY, MANY PHOTOGRAPHERS AND A GOOD DEAL OF THEM ARE FOCUSING ON MALE MODEL PHOTOGRAPHY. BUT NO MATTER HOW MANY THERE ARE, THERE ARE ALWAYS MORE MODELS. FOR SOME THAT IS PERFECT. THEY LIKE TO FISH IN THE EXISTING POND. OTHERS HOWEVER LIKE TO WORK WITH NEW FACES. AND THAT SOMETIMES REQUIRES SOME COACHING. AND RISK TAKING.

Calvin Brockington has quite some years of in the modeling and photography industry under the belt and we can safely say that he knows what he wants. Recently he partnered up with a good friend of his in order to search and launch new talent. Calvin’s friend is an experienced, well-known stylist and model coach and that combined with Calvin’s skills in photography made the perfect scouting match. And so they set off to find the new male model.

It was in the first week of their endeavor that Calvin Brockington stumbled upon Lenn Johnson. Though they only met online, Calvin was super excited to find this fresh, new face, and well, the body. After only one week, Calvin thought himself to be in heaven. However, he soon learned that it wasn’t at all that simple. Calvin soon experienced that when you approach a guy with the question if he is interested in being developed, you get resistance. A lot of resistance. Calvin realized that today’s world is a sceptic one and people find it hard to believe that others can see potential in them. But after a bit of convincing that he was the real thing and not after his money or some scandalous proposition, Lenn agreed to except Calvin’s help.

Calvin Brockington and his business partner really wanted to do this in a very serious way. They made a list of items that each model had to agree with. Knowing from experience what it takes to groom a model, they had to be in agreement otherwise they wouldn’t take them on. So Calvin was in heaven after he came to agreement with Lenn. But when he proposed him to his partner, his excitement got squashed pretty fast. Apparently Calvin’s partner had already worked with Lenn once and the experience was far from satisfying. Lenn came with several issues. Attitude and bad skin. No model personality and expression. And he was lazy. In fact there was a long list why Lenn wasn’t the perfect model, but for Calvin that really wasn’t a problem. Because wasn’t that what they had set out to do? Make a model?

Calvin decided to give in to his partner and promised to scout a few more faces. But he couldn’t get Lenn out of his mind and eventually came to the conclusion, Lenn was his boy. And so they met in person. The first thing Calvin noticed that his partner had spoken the truth. Lenn’s skin was not in model condition. Doubtful at first, the two star makers then set out to develop Lenn. They got him a skin care routine and started with physical coaching. They taught him how to walk, how to move, how to pose. It soon became obvious Lenn Johnson did not at all have a bad attitude. He was simply a shy guy. He was also calm, sweet and smart, which showed in the fast progress he made every week of the training. Lenn wasn’t the only talent Calvin and his partner had taken on, but he soon became their star student. In no time he started to carry himself different. Better. He rapidly learned how to move and pose. His runway training got him in one of Dallas’ largest shows. Lenn Johnson discovered his sexy character and he liked it.

Calvin Brockington and his business partner invested time and energy in their muse, and it truly paid off. Though there is still work to be done, and Lenn is not signed yet, they are proud of their 23 year old protégé. Lenn is clever and sexy. He really found his niche and is passionate about it. For Calvin this couldn’t have ended better. To know where they started and to see how well it is going to end, that is what developing a person is all about. –BM-

CALVIN BROCKINGTON | BEAUTIFULMAG