'No retreat, no surrender; that is Spartan law. And by Spartan law we will stand and fight... and die.'
Some of you may remember my first piece featuring Nicholas' (NICKET) work with Damien Mathew last Autumn. (HERE:) I really loved the images Nicholas had sent on and when he told me they had been shooting together again, I looked forward to seeing what he might be sending on. Nicholas sent on a great set of images of Damien, again shot out in the scenic fields and hills around Santa Cruz.
As hot as the 22 year old model looked, the location and wardrobe was very similar to the previous images I had used. There were some great new poses, but before choosing some final shots, I e-mailed Nicholas back to see if he and Damien had shot anywhere, or worked on anything a little different from the previous images that I had used. Nicholas got right back to me that indeed they had, thanks to something Damien had just recently found.
What Damien had found, was a striking, and a little intimidating helmet, one that reminded me of depictions I had seen in images and films of the Spartans, inhabitants of the ancient Greek city-state. When you google Spartans, several things come up, but at the top of the list are images of the helmet, as well as the phrase ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ.
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ (Molon labe)
Come and take (them), a classical expression of defianc eattributed to King Leonidas of Sparta as a defiant response to the demand that his soldiers lay down their weapons.
What is so interesting about the connection between the helmet, the Spartans and ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒΕ, is the tattoo Damien sports on one side of his incredibly hard, and incredibly sexy stomach. That tattoo stood out to me when I first featured Damien, so much so that I made it the title and theme of the piece. What makes the connections so interesting to me is that the helmet wasn't chosen to connect with Damien's tattoo, it was simply a twist of fate the brought everything visually together.
'The old saying one man’s junk is another man’s treasure definitely proved true for this photo shoot. The inspiration for this shoot came from the impressive helmet left behind when someone moved. Although a little big Anthony pulls off the look very well and makes a convincing warrior. Complimenting the wardrobe was the forest location by a hidden lake provided by Anthony. And of course Anthony’s excellent physique kept up with hard work and dedication.'
Damien doesn't appear the least bit intimidated by the powerful prop, and it almost looks like he's reconnecting with a piece of his history. Damien's steely blue blue eyes look ready for battle staring out from his spike adorned head piece. Now Spartan's (sadly) didn't wear grey Jockey briefs, but like the helmet, Damien wears them well and the entire look reminds me of a bit of a sexy fantasy game, one however, for grown ups only.
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