Danger of the downward spiral

A friend on facebook posted this "article" about an Andrew Christian model that the author refers as a "role model". For those who don't know, Andrew Christian is an underwear label based in West Hollywood. Their design and advertisement is essentially soft-core porn and only marketable to gay men. Most professionals I know who have had dealings with them have nothing positive to say except to point out the pretty (but utterly unapproachable) eye-candy.

The company mentioned, Full Frontal Freedom, has no record of existence according to the IRS, with no clear use of its donations. I worked for them shortly for web design and they were utterly unprofessional. This aside, the idea that anyone -even in this sham of an article- would refer to this guy as a role model is short sided and dangerous.

So many wonderful examples of people that are doing great things; either directly as advocates or by example by being open, educated, productive individuals. So far this kid's career has consisted of him taking nearly-naked pictures. [strike]Andrew Christian models are notorious in LA for a lifestyle that is entirely meaningless and physically dangerous. The worst personification of West Hollywood one could picture.[/strike]

Edit: Andrew Christian, its models, and business practices have garnered concern from other businesses and advocacy groups in LA. Personal dealings with a couple of their models who have issues with honesty about their health status have also caused problems among mutual friends; generally fitting into trends of increasing HIV infection rates among young gay men in West Hollywwod as reported by AHF-they are not exclusively a problem.

I do believe that there are those that, in spite of work necessities like this, could rise above and use the money gained to pay for an education and such. In general though the ratio of success is extremely low. We already live in a sex-obsessed lifestyle and do give a bit of a pass to those we find attractive without any other evaluation. I just don't want to see young men trying to embrace the gay community in THIS way. So to those who are curious, read the article and even look up Full Frontal. I warn you though to think critically about what it is and not take it at face value. I.E. don't fall for the eye-candy.

One of the models featured has a pretty monstrous reputation in Southern California already, I'd hate to think that anyone would look at this as a proper role model of any kind.

http://revolutionarygaymagazine.tumblr.com/post/41282807563/americas-next-top-role-model-who-colby-melvin-really

I had no idea Andrew Christian had such a reputation but I guess if you run your company like a porn production house you get used to shadiness and vapid vulgarity. But I will admit that the aforementioned eye candy is quite a mitigating factor.
As for that kid he's either a well payed spokesperson, naively unaware of his organizations dubious status or working a really good PR angle which will help boost him toward the goal of being the "Gay Oprah."
I don't frequent WeHo too much but a good-sized chunk of the social scene (specifically in the bars and clubs) don't really seem to get how much activism went in to creating that community which has one of the highest overall property values in Los Angeles County.

Well aside from the shady stuff where else can I buy some of that underwear for the bf and I?? =P

It worries me too how many glbt youth look to models, porn stars, and other outwardly identifying professionals. It feels like more and more like the next generation of glbt is more worried about how others see them than how they feel about themselves and are searching for an external means of validation.

There are so many tremendous role models out there now. (Many more than when I was a teen in high school.) I wish more of our youth would look and see what a great impact they could have as doctors, scientist, engineers, lawyers and politicians.

I've seen a few glbt not-for-profits that don't looked on the up and up. Many don't release how much of their funding goes to the actual causes and I believe are really business profiting off of the marriage equality fever.

It's a more systematic problem then just the LGBT community. What bugs me is tonight in America 17 million( more then twice the population of New York, NY) children went to bed hungry, let's all cry about Beyonce possibly lip-Syncing the National Anthem or what Justin Bieber is doing. We need to get our priorities straight.

Yeah, it's always bugged me how a lot of youth (LGBT or othwerwise) look up to some of the worst people. The rise of reality television has only made things worse.

Once I'm more established in my career as a scientist, I'm planning on looking for an LGBT mentoring program. At the very least, if I can get just a few of these people to look into a career in science and engineering as opposed to pursuing a career in 'being famous', I will consider my time well-spent.

I spoke with a friend of mine about this. He also does modeling of a somewhat sexual manner. However, his is generally more artistic and more... gender bending... I suppose you could call it. However knowing him in person and seeing how incredibly negative the response can be from gay men who have the staunch view that we all should be ultra-masculine, he still holds to the conviction that you should be who you want to be regardless of public perspective.

On this I give him much more credit as a possible role model, especially since his philosophy isn't just about honesty in actions but also association; he would never support a fake charity for the sake of advertisement.

It isn't difficult to spend a few hours at a gym then just strip to your underwear for the camera. Guys like this one come a dime-a-dozen. I just hate the idea that so many people see it as a viable, sustainable, and -somehow- noble goal. I almost fell into that trap at a much younger age and learned that it's a horrible idea unless you truly are nothing but a pretty exterior with little substance.

Chemkarate-that is a far more noble goal that I'd love to see even more people strive to. There are a lot already that seem to not get the notoriety they deserve, but we continuously need more of that!

As for the idea that this problem is far grander than just the LGBT community: I agree. However, in the long standing of human civilization the general population has the foundation to choose whether or not to get tied up into these kinda of lifestyles or look up to these kinds of people. For our community this is new ground and I'd hate for the incredible examples of individuals in OUR history to be over shadowed by these terrible cliches.

I actually know some of the models personally and while yes they have lots of sex, quite a few of them are kind genuine people who are worth knowing. Now, as to the other type...yeah they're douche bags.

Edit:
I do agree though that there is a general problem in our community where we are hyper focused on appearance to exclusion of much else. However, lezbihonest, we have and continue to perpetuate this focus ourselves. If we want companies in our community to change we need to economically make it viable for them to do so.

yeah its kinda a self sustaining problem. Just doesn't help to prop up people who are an exception, not the rule.

I wouldn't doubt that some of the models are nice people... But having worked with them on a couple of community events I can say they aren't very different from many other "models" in the gay world. Alot of undeserved sense of importance when compared to the many other things people do and try to accomplish.

As I said, those who are using the situation to prop themselves up later through the investment of time, money, and connections gained through this have my respect. But given the fail-success rate... alittle too soon to call this kid a "role model". Also, as I said, Full Frontal Freedom has issues with credibility and -whatever the relationship is with Andrew Christian- there are problems.

P.S. I have no issue with people having lots of sex, I think sexual repression is a huge problem for our society in general... It's the lack of priority in protection and responsibility that I worry about common with this business.

Also Keioel,

Given your location we probably know the same model personally. And after being a friend to this person for a good decade now, I can tell you that his appearance as a nice, fun person (and at one point a huge Star Trek fan) hides a very dark, selfish, and dangerous side. Given our history I count my blessings that I emerged from our time hanging out together with my health, career, self-respect, and -mostly- spotless reputation.

Those that I have worked with at different events didn't seem to show much more substance than that one did... but I haven't met them all.

Well the friend I was referring to now lives in New York and he did the modeling and stuff on the side for shits and giggles. I think the major issue with our obsession on body image and hyper sexuality in our ghettos is the simple fact that our local "heros" are go go dancers and porn stars. So young impressionable minds see the adulation and worship that go go dancers and porn stars receive so they begin acting accordingly. Sadly, my biggest issue with our community, especially in LA not so much OC, is the complete lack of ambition and resistance to ending self medication. They just want to drink, fuck, rinse and repeat. Achieve something? Become something better? But then I won't have enough time to "party hard" with my "friends." ::punches in throat::

agreed, we do tend to worship the people at the bars over the people actually fighting for our rights.

HAHA, really? OC? I had a way worse experience there than LA. At least with the city you had a much larger community with greater diversity. You can easy see the douche bags and stay away from them. It's as easy as just keeping your distance from particular areas of the city or just not taking them seriously.

OC, more so than even my suburban nightmare of Riverside, is so saturated with repressed, spoiled children who have a lifestyle just as image obsessed, over medicated, and promiscuous as anyone in Weho. Only difference is that they are far less honest about it... which I find to be worse. In both your and my community you also have to deal with staggering amounts of racism within the gay community and over-obsessions with young twinks.

Now some of the people i knew from Laguna and Costa Mesa that were older, more established, and just had a preference for suburbs were much nicer and more stable. But that can be said about LA or any of the gay ghettos. Just depends on who makes it through the crucible of youth in first world spoiled society.

Speaking of Twinks (not that I have a problem with people who have that body type, just not my cup of tea.)

I think the another major issue in our community is how we appear to the outside world because of the actions of this younger and intensely vapid subset of our community who are obsessed with being the next Bobby Trendy or Perez Hilton. Who only gossip, throw shade and say or do whatever the hell is on their mind regardless of who they might hurt or alienate.

Example: There's a guy named Johnny who works in the JustFab division of my company. That's basically like Shoedazzle but Kimora Lee Simmons is our "creative director." She doesn't design the shoes and handbags and accessories, she just signs off on them like most celebrities-turned-fashion-designers and probably cant sow a stitch. I work in the skincare/cosmetics/haircare division DSBeautygroup so I don't have much dealings with him. He's in his early 20's, tall, skinny and of Phillipino descent and his fashion role models are Michael Jackson, Kurt Hummel and Peggy Bundy (we're talking leopard jeggings and heels).

Now if you act or dress contrary to your gender I don't have a problem with that. And I might actually like this guy and "as Cher Horowitz says:" give him snaps for his courageous fashion efforts, if it wasn't for the extreme ego that colors a caustically vapid personality. Everything this guy says and does is designed to draw attention to himself. Catty shade-throwing and random non-sequiturs laced with vulgar profanities is how to interacts with everyone in the company, even the CEO.

At the company Holiday party we had a dance off and he made it to the final round. As the competition wore on he started stripping off his cute little ensemble until he was just in his skinny jeans with his Andrew Christian underwear poking out. At one point during the final round he bent over, lowered his jeans and underwear and spread himself to the audience. Yes, the whole company saw his anus and I know it made people uncomfortable. I really felt the need to go around to my fellow coworkers and say "we're not all like that."

I know it made a lot of people uncomfortable and since this was a work function those would be ample grounds for sexual harassment and an immediate dismissal but most people know that Johnny has been cited by HR for sexual harassment before and got off scott-free with a slap on the wrist. He's the web designer for JustFab and a prominent member of the "creative team" and is also featured heavily in Kimora Lee's reality show and our own marketing campaigns and Kimora loves him to death. So he does as he likes and sachets around the office not giving the time of day to anyone beneath him like he was Kimora Lee Simmons and he was a high-profile celebutant. I know a lot of talented gay people (my BF included) who could do his job way better without all the spectacle.

There are about 6 other "Out" employees at the company and we all just collectively SMH whenever he performs another antic to garner attention. I ask myself why anyone would willingly debase themselves and embrace such a vapid persona in the name of personal validation? It's ok to live out loud and want to be fabulous and let your freak flag fly, I'm all for it but there's gotta be more to it than a desperate need for attention. The pursuit of fame for fame's sake is one of the greatest follys a person can commit.

I would call him a Bitch but he would probably say "Yes, honey I am a bitch and proud of it." So I'll call him an ass instead because that's what he makes of himself everyday and I feel it reflects very poorly on the rest of us. Is he a successful gay professional in the beauty industry? Yes, totally but the attitude he projects is one that is consistently negative, shallow and painfully stereotypical of a large chunk of this town's gay community and he celebrates it. And so do a lot of other young gays just like him and I find that terribly depressing. Its unapologetic, in-your-face, rude and all in the name of "I'm fabulous and can do whatever I want." Ugh!

(sigh) There.. Rant over, I've been holding that in since December :laugh:

I was specifically referring to having a sense of ambition or desire to better oneself, I find OC to have far more of them in the gay community then LA. Now the I can see why you had a much worse experience in OC then LA when it comes to the "scene." It's gotten better, especially in Santa Ana thanks to Vlvt, but if you attend any of the "mainstream" gay community parties or clubs it's even worse then LA.

I don't agree with your post about Laguna and Costa Mesa being where the current generation is headed, we don't know what they're going to be like at that age because their experiences have been radically different.

Holy Shit, he debased himself in front of the entire company and he still has a job? ::mindblown::

On a side note I may or may not have made out with Bobby Trendy before he was Bobby Trendy.

That's ok Keioel, I may or may not have had a little tryst with John Blaine from the Cho Show to get back at a manipulative ex-boyfriend. ;)

We ought to all go kick it out in WeHo sometime. :)

Quote by dtjohnsonanimated

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Andrew Christian models are notorious in LA for a lifestyle that is entirely meaningless and physically dangerous. The worst personification of West Hollywood one could picture.

I lived in West Hollywood at Santa Monica and Kings Rd for 11 years before moving to the Valley, and I've never heard anything like you describe. What is the source of your information that holds that Andrew Christian models are "notorious" for leading lives that are entirely meaningless. Who has said these things? Just curious.

--Rob

I spent the past couple of years doing out reach and charity work through AHF and the Gay and Lesbian Center of LA. On several occasions we did work with Andrew Christian as a means to promote the event or give them the opportunity to promote themselves (helping the local businesses).

Heard many negative stories from people as well as negative comments about their attitudes at the event. I should have specified that a lot of this comes from the pros and businesses I worked with who felt the actions and appearance of the company was unprofessional. Maybe the behaviors of the people individually isn't all that distinct from many in the West Hollywood area; the issue comes from it's interaction with an advocacy and fund raising group. Boys in underwear really isn't the vanguard you want in expressing a desire for civil rights, as much as we may see it in LA. As far as the Center is concerned; working with them has as many issues as working with companies like Sean Cody, Randy Blue, or Corbin Fischer. It's not bad that it exists; but its out of place and giving the wrong idea.

My apologies if this comes off as overly hostile. My concern was mainly with the falsehood of Full Frontal Freedom and and the consideration of an underwear model as a "role model".

I'll revise the wording to show that the concern is more of a professional complaint, not to be aggressive against the models personally.

I read this article about gay men and body image. I think this is a lot of the reason why models and porn stars are so looked up to in our community. Thought you all might find it interesting. :P