Out of the Blue: Erik B by Bodytorium

'I had doubts about whether it would ever happen....'

Phil Diab

Photographer Phil Diab, (Bodyotrium) may have had his doubts, but as you can see from this series of images, it all worked out in the end.  Sometimes in life, relationship connections take time to solidify. We don't always connect with people right away, sometimes it's more about timing and finding just the right specific moment.

That's certainly how it was with Phil and Erik B.  They originally met over a year ago at an outdoor gym. They were with a group of mutual friends, but there wasn't really an opportunity for much one-on-one time.  

Phil usually likes to get to know a perspective model a little before just throwing out that he'd like to shoot them naked.  Phil remembers Erik coming off like a bit of a bad boy, and he seemed not to really trust people and kept mostly to himself.

Over the next several months they continued to see each other from time to time.  They ran into each other at friends birthday parties, and other get-togethers, and events organized by the street workout community.  Over time however, Phil noticed he was seeing Erik less and less and before too long, they lost tough.

'Out of the blue, one of my friends who dabbles in gymnastics said “I’ve got a model for you!”. I asked, “Is his name Erik?” And this lead to Erik and I reconnecting again and eventually (although I had doubts about whether it would ever happen) doing a photoshoot.'

19 year old Erik maintains that incredible body of his through his training in competitive gymnastics.  In what little spare time he does have between training, practices, not to mention his studies, Erik also mentors and couches other upcoming gymnasts.  

It has been far too long since I've featured  Phil's work and on one of my recent visits to his site Bodytorium, I noticed several new models that I knew I had to bug him about.  Erik was definitely near the top of that list.  If you check out Erik's galleries on Bodytorium you'll find literally hundreds of images of Phil and Erik's shoot in the woodlands.  In addition to playing between the tree's and doing naked backflips, you'll see much more of Erik and his work with Phil.

Bodytorium