'In high school, I had a fantastic teacher that I managed to utterly disappoint that really got me experimenting with what a face could say with a little twitch of the eyebrow. And I fell in love with the magic in that spectrum of facial expression. In my more delusional times, I like to tell myself I've got a face of rubber, molded by the world in my head.'
In a time that one can now find any amount of human genitalia on the Google waves, grabbing, let alone holding a viewers attention, requires more than just a picture pleasing penis and abs and of steel. Although many models focus on muscle mass, spending hours at the gym to be camera ready, most lovers of the male form in art are focused on more than just the initial visual, but also the energy emitted from it.
I have seen so many images of models, especially from nude shoots, where the model looks like they had a gun to their head. Although vulnerability can be erotic, a model looking completely miserable, for me is not. The longer I work on FH the more energy, personality and spirit become things I look forward in the images and artists I feature. I haven't encountered many models who exude and share the degree personality, character and erotically infused fun as 24 year old Denver model ZatBoofVGer. When I first discovered Zat's images I knew I wanted to spotlight his work. My desire to share Zat's work was solidified and even stronger after reading his MM profile.
'Big fan of the emotive and creative side of modeling as I'm an actor, first and foremost. But modeling has proven to be a fascinating intellectual exercise and I have a fair knowledge of art and visuals that I can put to good use. I've been told I shoot lightning from my eyes in photos. As a model I specialize in a wide variety of expressions and poses with most of my prior experience being multiple years of drawing classes. Suppose you could say I've been gravitating far more towards the art and street photography world as far as modeling is concerned. Something far more entertaining to me about the stories to tell.'
Given my focus 'story', I connected to Zat's words. Like myself, Zat has a a keen interest in the artist behind the camera in addition to the artist in front. There are just some people I think, who look at art differently. There those who jump up at the end of a movie, to get out and beat the crowds. Then there are others, who insists on watching a movie's closing credits until the very end Considering it an important part of the experience. I have had more than a few friends ticked at having to wait in the car for me to come out of the theatre.
The first image of Zat that grabbed by attention was the first images in the piece with Zat on the latter. I loved everything about the shot, from the way Zat's pose beautifully spotlights his amazing body and curves and his unique facial expression that lets you know instantly the 24 year old is not your run of the mill nude model. The shot was perfectly captured byKent, an artist who's work I have been following for several years. I love byKent's eye for creating a unique blend of the erotic and the whimsical and was thrilled he was supportive of my featuring his work with Zat.
'ZatBoofVGer was a joy to work with, really wasn't work. Just creative energy between us. He was as close to my dream model as I've experienced. I've never worked with someone whose quirky creativity was so in sync with mine. I like using props and Zat brought some and I had lots and I'd just hand him one and a few seconds later he was in some extraordinary pose.'
On Zat's profile page, he also invited viewers who liked what they read, as much as what they saw, to check out his writings on his Wordpress site. (HERE:) I certainly enjoyed the entire experience of getting to know Zat through both his images and writings, and with a writer in focus, I looked forward to finding more about the origins of his personality and confidence as well as the source of all of that energy, and of course all those faces.
ZatBoofVGer?
'ZatBoofVGer came about as a result of my love of video games and bodybuilding. On MM, I kind of just thought it sounded distinctive and rather odd so I rolled with it. Whatever pineapple shaped hat I can don to stand out in the endless sea of models as it were. ZatBoof is meant to be read in an obnoxious Ukrainian accent. More 'zaytbwoof' than 'zatboof' per se. And VGer should be saying the letters v and g then duct taping the 'er' bit on the end. It's all a joking way of saying 'that buff video gamer'. As you can imagine, fitness enthusiasts among the gaming community can be somewhat rare.'
Who or what got you started?
'So, it actually all starts with live theatre. In the halcyon days of 2007, I was an awkward teenager in high school when I decided to take an acting class. I'd played a lot of video games and watched a lot of movies growing up and an intuitive sense of drama has always been with me since then. I figured, eh, prancing about on stage would probably be fun. Turns out hardcore prancing was quite a lot of fun. Emboldened by my high school acting teacher, an endlessly awesome elderly gentleman that called everyone in class made up names, I rapidly took to the theater. Fast forward to 2010 and I'm out of high school doing shows at the local community theatre. I met a gentleman there roughly twice my age that was into naturism. He was very hush hush about it, but if there's one thing people find interesting about me, it's that I make it known that taboos don't exist in my world view. No topic is ever off limits in discussion.'
'It can put people off and alienate a few, but long ago I decided to live by the rule that if a person can't handle talking about their pube shaving habits in front of a stranger then I probably won't have much of a chance of discussing Russian cinema of the 1970's with them either. Funny how that works. Anyway, long story short, my naturist friend ending up nude modeling for an open drawing group. I ended up modeling for them as well through him, for a love of art in general, as well as for the payment for something I viewed as an intensely creative activity. Through these interactions, I began to do a few open drawing classes in NE KS where I'm from and I was introduced to the photographer byKent that took the photos. Funny how the chain of events goes, eh?'
Odd or strange shoot stories?
'So, the second photo shoot that I did was still fun. But there was a moment when the guy was attempting to reposition my junk without asking me and I had a definite 'do not cross this line' moment. It was a learning experience. I don't believe the guy had any negative intent or anything, but it hadn't been discussed. So, now I know to be clear with what I expect. Nothing terribly bizarre to report otherwise, the artists I've worked with have all been incredibly professional. Again, alas, not too much to report, I'm afraid, due to a lack of experiences to draw on.'
What factors did I weigh before deciding to show all?
'I guess the operative question here would be 'What factors did I not weigh'? Truthfully, nudity has never really been a taboo in my life and the reasons that it is are entirely based in history and basic anthropological tendencies. Another thing you could say about me is that I'm a creature of logic. Being scared of being nude doesn't make sense to me. Clothes make sense. But being scared of taking them off? Ha. No. I don't have time for 24/7 modesty, nor should anyone else.'
Anyone from your day job discovered your nude work?
Na, I work in construction. Not that I keep any of this modeling thing a secret from anyone curious.
Any worry about a body part with mind of its own?
'Naaaa. Zero arousal at both of my modeling shoots. There are some females at the open drawing classes, but I pride myself on a healthy professionality. If an erection isn't specifically requested, it definitely ain't happening. I've even fantasized while doing a long pose, but I've got pretty excellent self-control as well. Enough to shoot down the old blood sponges when it wouldn't be proper.'
Body part your most happy with?
'Probably the expressiveness of my face? I've always had great fun experimenting in the mirror with different faces or trying to imitate different faces I'll see in art or film or video games or comics. Creates an endless repertoire to play with and make my own. Every face tells it's own story by nature of being duct taped onto my skull. So to speak.'
'It was definitely in high school when this all came into its own. Sometimes I'd perform a little jig for my mom here and there but it was never a big deal. My parents were hardly what I would call 'artistically inclined' and I was, as a child, and, when I'm not lying to myself, as an adult as well, painfully shy. In high school, I had a fantastic teacher that I managed to utterly disappoint that really got me experimenting with what a face could say with a little twitch of the eyebrow. And I fell in love with the magic in that spectrum of facial expression. In my more delusional times, I like to tell myself I've got a face of rubber, molded by the world in my head.'
Favorite experience So Far?
'I Suppose you could say the shoot with byKent went the best. Outdoors works best. I met Kent looking for additional art modeling gigs via my naturist friend. It took me awhile to get an interview/initial posing with Kent as he basically coordinates models with the KC metro for art modeling, but once I did he seemed receptive to my style. He showed me some of his art and gave me a few artists that were role models to him and I looked into them and we chatted about them a fair bit.
I do so love looking up new art and the discussion thereof. I don't quite recall how it came up, but I believe he mentioned I'd be a natural at photography modeling and he showed me some of that work he'd done. The prospect was quite interesting to me and I said, what the hell, y'know? Only live once and all that cliched shit, right? He said he basically gave full creative reign to the model and I said that sounds good to me. I brought some props, as did he and we just kinda shot freestyle for a while with him showing me the various photogenic sections of his backyard. He was very considerate the whole time and worked with me on finding the right poses that worked here and there. All in all, a fantastic experience, it was quite a shame I had to move before we were able to get any further sessions in.'
2 comments:
The guy personifies "hunk" and "erotic." Looking forward to MUCH more by him.
Love this guy! An incredible body and expressive face. Here's to more posts of him in the future!
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