Beautiful: BeautifulMag Cover Story

CHRISTMAS IS BY TRADITION A TIME OF REFLECTION. A TIME OF SLOWING DOWN AND TAKING A CLOSER LOOK AT OURSELVES AND THE ONES CLOSE TO US. A TIME OF CELEBRATION AND HAPPINESS. AND A TIME OF ENLIGHTENMENT AND SHARING. AND FOR SOME IT IS A TIME OF CLOSURE. A MEMORABLE DATE TO FINISH THE OLD AND START SOMETHING NEW. BUT ABOVE ALL CHRISTMAS IS A TIME OF BEAUTY. BEAUTY IN EVERY SENSE OF THE WORD.

When you are young, Christmas is probably the most wonderful time of the year. There are lights everywhere and beautiful trees decorated with silver and gold. The time of Santa Claus and his magic elfs. And presents. Many presents. And than, when you grow up the magic becomes thinner. Santa disappears and makes place for hurried days full of preparations, planning and organization. And when Christmas is finally there, it just doesn’t feel the same as it used to. It has often become a time of obligations and the presents, if there are any, are not as surprising as they were when you were young.

If you are one of those who feel they have lost the magic of Christmas, rest assured. It is still there. You just need to look a bit further then when you were a kid. And you need to believe. Christmas is no longer the promise of red fire trucks and Barbie dolls is shiny gowns. But there is still a lot to be grateful for and a lot to be shared. And so especially for you we have prepared a gift that is unique. It is a gift of beauty. It is only for the ones close to us and it is memorable in the sense that it is probably the last of its kind. Our gift to you this Christmas is Brad and the last (almost) nudes he shot with Malemodel.nl photographer Gert Kist.

You might remember him from some months ago. Gert Kist introduced us to Brad in April this year as the model that comes by only ever once in a while and makes your mouth fall open in awe. It happened to him. It happened to us. And apparently it happened to a handful of agencies and fashion houses as well. Because since then, Brad, Dutch from Croatian origin and barely 18 years old, has moved on to an international modeling career and has become a well sought after model for some of the biggest fashion brands of today. And as it is often the case when young men sign contracts with renowned agencies, they move out of reach of the masters of artistic photography.

Christmas is by tradition a time of reflection. And so let us think a little bit on this phenomenon. We live in modern times and we all know what a naked man looks like. At least I certainly hope to. Still most of the time when models enter the exciting world of fashion, they are no longer allowed to pose for artistic nudes. It is rather strange. It looks like agencies and fashion labels still use their models as coat hangers, and seem to forget in the process that most of these men – and women – are human beings with emotions, with beauty and – yes – with sexuality. Brad for example is the personification of male beauty. Well shaped, well proportioned and masculine in every sense. It is a shame it all needs to be covered up. And lets face it, when you see a beautiful man on a runway, don’t you sometimes wonder what he looks like underneath those designer outfits?

So here he is gentlemen: Gert Kist’s Brad in all his glory. His last and final nudes. Our Christmas gift for you. And how wonderful he looks against that blue backdrop, covered with tiny silver water drops. A flagship photography set that explains what Malemodel.nl is all about. Beautiful, sensual and sexual men. Of course we wish Brad all the best in his fashion career, but still, we carry a tiny flame of hope that this won’t really be the last time we see him in all his glory, without a Prada suit. And if that happens, if that veil of taboo lifts we can sit back and relax. Because then Christmas really is here. –BM-

GERT KIST | BEAUTIFULMAG