Crotch Issue 7 by crotchmagazine

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issue 7

RESORT WEAR 21/22

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So much has happened since the last issue of Crotch: Britney’s free, Kylie’s moving back to Australia, and America is allowing us Brits back in. Speaking of big changes, we’ve made some of our own. Crotch has moved into new premises, with our own photography space so we can bring readers the best shoots possible. We tell you this good news to keep you abreast of developments and also so you can update your records for postcards, mail, and Christmas card lists (JK, sort of). We do love it when you guys reach out to us. Yes, we pride ourselves in finding beautiful sexy men around the world. Our internet stalking is off the scale. But we also love to hear from you. Whether you want to be photographed, have someone you want to see in Crotch or simply want to tell us who your favourite Crotch guys are, it’s always great to hear your feedback. This issue we celebrate going out again with the boys from London’s Hard Cock Life club night, profile the Dutch wonder that is Matthias Vriens and his latest venture in digital dick, bow down to all things redhead in the Red Hot phenomenon, and we’ve got the sexiest shoots of the hottest men from all around the world to share with you. Feedback on those much appreciated. And if you like what you see, show us some love by wearing it on your sleeve with your very own Crotch merchandise. Our Crotch tee’s are re-stocked, the popular white tee with ‘Crotch’ graphic is back, alongside the new black tee with white logo. And we have a new ‘Crotch’ mug. Perfect for your morning coffee, or to get your colleagues talking when you’re back in the office. Whether you’re back at work or just at play, until next time take care, Frank

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Editor-In-Chief Frank Strachan / Art Director Chris Williams / Editorial Director Colin Crummy / Editorial Consultant Jamie Hakim / Fashion Editor: Jessica Johnston / Editorial Assistants: Tom Lawrence and Cameron Long. Contributing Photographers; Christian Vermaak, Ramon Christian, Torian Lewin, Nicolas Aristidou, Antonio Eugenio, Matthias Vriens, Amer Mohamad, Thomas Knights, Eden Yerushalmy, Hubert Pouches, Alexis Robardet, Elie Villette, Monsieur Kay, Ivan Muselli, Peter Fingleton, Pisces Dreams. crotchmagazine.com Socials: @crotchmagazine Crotch, Studio 5, Make Space Studios, Newnham Terrace, London SE1 7DR Advertising and wholesale enquiries: editor@crotchmagazine.com

Special thanks to: James Probert, Gregory Vaughan, Christopher Shannon, Steeve Beckouet, David Roberts, Kay Barron, Simon Lyne, Steven Moore, Fascination Management, A&P Management, Massive Management, Ben Furnival & David Skelton, Annabel Caley. Theresa, Angela, Linda, Brenda, George & Harold, Richard Wilbraham, Cesare Polini, Jamie Golunski, Zack Tate, Jonathan Wheatley, Lauren Jones, Johann Andersson, Gavin Myall, Shane Jenek, Francisco Vargas, Mollie, Louise, Kylie, Steps, Pull The Pin Out, Cindy and Wanda.

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Red Hot A quick chat with Thomas Knights, creator of a red head stanning world

Can you explain how Red Hot 100 first came about? I was on holiday with my best mate and we decided to shave off my hair. I had dyed it blond for about ten years to escape being ginger. I always hated it. But I couldn’t be bothered to dye it any more and just got to that point when I thought ‘fuck it’. When I was back in London I started to get all this attention for being ginger, and for the first time I realised it was something different that I could be proud of, and that I could use to my advantage. That was a game changer. I suddenly ‘owned it’ and it felt good. It felt empowering. That feeling…. that was the moment I realised I needed to shoot a project about ginger empowerment, but it took a few years for that idea to become Red Hot. How has shooting Red Hot changed over the years? It started as a photography portrait exhibition that turned into an art book - mostly head and shoulder shots of guys against a blue background, all shot in my bedroom. Now the photography mostly focuses around two annual calendars both with full on productions, different themes and creative directions, often on locations with big crews. The calendar shoots are now events that we build the whole year’s creative around, and we are expanding further into underwear so we are shooting more editorials. The biggest change is socialmedia content. When we started there was no Instagram. Now we work with an army of ginger content creators around the world who shoot themselves. Has appreciation of redheads changed? There is now a much more acceptable love for ginger guys, especially in the gay scene. There is also a huge scene on social media where ginger guys are celebrated. When I started the project there was literally no positive ginger male representation at all, so things have improved massively. Beauty ideals have diversified since you started too - is that something you’ve seen? Totally. Now people who are different from the ‘norm’ can find each other and create whole movements that help other people celebrate their own uniqueness. At Red Hot we are telling the ginger story but there are

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so many more stories out there and so many more to tell. Everyone has a space and a voice on social media and then that is informing brands, advertisers and magazines. It’s a super exciting time, a lot is changing. Who has been your favourite lad to shoot? Ken Bek is always fun to shoot. We grew up together during the crazy whirlwind of the Red Hot 100 exhibition tour. We have shot together loads of times over the years and always get amazing shots; there is just a trust and chemistry between us. We collated these images into an entirely Ken Bek calendar for 2022. Who has been best most exciting find? We just found a guy called Tom Knight on Instagram who caught my eye as he was literally my namesake and has turned into our latest underwear model for the new Core Collection. He is amazing and is a totally new find, never modelled before. You can see him all over our website at the moment. Has anyone scammed their way into the Red Hot 100 with hair dye? Not intentionally, but some guys now actually dye their hair ginger and message us which has never happened before. It’s tricky to police, but we do try our best to only shoot natural ginger guys. Does the full-frontal aspect make it trickier to find men? It’s got easier to find guys to go nude. This year’s full frontal calendar, ‘The Red Hot Motel’, we had about fifteen guys in one picture which was the most we have ever shot. We have a legacy of calendars so the guys know it’s going to look awesome and quite often they want to be seen in that way. It’s a massive boost to their confidence to be celebrated like that, especially if they have grown up thinking they were unattractive. We always do a non-nude calendar. This year it is called ‘Super Gingers’ and showcases guys with that superginger, neon-orange hair. We often feature guys on our social media with just portrait shots and are about to start a video series called ‘Red Hot Stories’ - a screentest-style series going to the heart of our ‘Own It’ slogan. www.redhot100.com @RedHot100 @ThomasKnights

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Strip Meet Vincenzo from Palermo, Sicily who describes himself as a ‘boy next door’, and is our fantasy neighbour

Self portrait

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@HausOfVins

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Dick Matters A longer conversation with photographer Matthias Vriens about his latest online adventure

Matthias Vriens is primarily known as a global fashion

up supermodels - he was creative director and editor-in-

and celebrity photographer but the Dutch-born, Los

chief of the groundbreaking Dutch magazine. An early

Angeles-dwelling

advertising

pioneer of gender fluidity, sexual expression, and street

creative director, a magazine editor, interior-design

fashion, Dutch caused photographers to rethink their

expert, and a gallerist. In November 2021 he added

stories and models their poses and positions. It paved

another title to his outsized resume, that of digital creator;

the way for magazines such as Full Service, Document,

He launched Dick Matters, a site that offers enlightened,

Perfect and, even the Crotch you are holding in your

adult, digital content and which celebrates sexuality,

hands now.

creative

has

been

in particular male sexuality, without the restrictions of regular social media platforms.

Born and raised in Amsterdam, Vriens was schooled as a classical ballet dancer, but a leg fracture ended his

Dick Matters is arranged in a magazine format, with

career prospects in dance and saw him focus on his other

stories and topics under the umbrella of a curated point

interests, design, and publishing. After Dutch, Vriens

of view. It’s different from Instagram, Vriens explains,

served as creative director for Armani, senior art director

“we welcome selfies of your dicks, videos of you jerking

at Gucci, and, after developing his photography skills

off or having sex with someone, plus content showing

and relocating to New York, he shot for the likes of I-D,

your passions, interest, and lifestyle. We are encouraging

The Face, Vogue Hommes International and The New

celebrations of not just dick, but also fashion, art, film

York Times. He has since become a chronicler of the star-

and television, literature and erotica, design, music,

making machinery of show business, the arts, fashion,

interiors, cookery, embroidery and textiles, gardens,

music, and entertainment, at the helm of memorable, sex-

floral design, among other ingredients on our menu of

positive photo sessions with Rihanna, Cate Blanchett and

delicious, tantalising content.” Content providers can

Jennifer Lopez.

charge for their content or not, and someone who isn’t

The morning Vriens and I speak, he’d just had a post

providing content is free to roam around the site without

censored on Instagram. “I’m too old for this hypocrisy,”

having to pay. The only thing required is registration for

laughs Vriens. “Actually, everyone is too old for this

proof of age.

hypocrisy. I have fought for the permission to celebrate

Vriens is a master of content. During the last hurrah of print fashion magazines in the 1990s - glossy bibles all dressed up in Chanel and Armani and exquisitely dolledWords William Norwich

sexuality my entire career. And taking this fight to the next level is the leitmotif for starting Dick Matters.” “Fashion models who have started Only Fans to make

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some money and control their content, and have some

enjoyment of sex is hard won in a society that would,

fun instead of just sitting around waiting for their next

and does in places, outlaw it – so sexual welcome and

job, are usually dropped by their agencies when they

permission are the governing principles of a photo or

find out! It’s that same hypocrisy, as I have experienced.

video shoot with Matthias Vriens.

Be sexy, but not too sexy. When I’m shooting advertising

With Dick Matters Vriens is also going to be a subject

campaigns or magazine covers and being told by the

of his work. “When I’m asked what my favourite body

editors that my work is too homoerotic, and to cool it,

part is, I don’t politely say oh, nothing, or it’s my eyes, or

that is what pushed me to me to create this platform. I’m

my beard, I say unabashedly, without any hesitation, that

hoping to create a more perfect union of sexuality, sexual

it’s my dick,” he says. “So, I will have a profile on Dick

expression, and commerce.”

Matters too. Jerking off or having sex with someone.”

With the latter in mind, Dick Matters invites brands

What will the style world make of that? “I am happy to

willing, and wanting, to offer new, provocative, sensual,

be a subject of my own work, and if the fashion set is

and sexy stories and engaging content. The ethos is

shocked, well, be my guest, find it scandalous. I don’t

to give new resonance and honesty to the venerable

care. I’m past that point. I’m proud of my sexuality and

advertising adage, sex sells.

my expression of it.” to

Vriens is relaxed around all matters dick related. He

sexuality,” Vriens says. “We are all obsessed with sex,

reminds me that the past few years he’s spent as the sole

while the various reincarnations of censorious types

photographer for Taschen’s Big Penis Book, scheduled

like Anita Bryant and Ronald Reagan and all the Popes

for publication in 2022. “I’ve seen so many dicks in the

attract so much media attention. But it’s really important,

past few years, it is no big deal for me to see a gay guy, a

especially now, to be honest about sexuality. After the

straight guy or bi man pull down his pants, fluff himself,

pandemic, and during the pandemic that still lingers,

and get hard for my camera. My acceptance also extends

there is not just a need but a lust for touching, to touch

to myself.” Vriens is busy completing photography now

others, to touch ourselves. To feel, and to flirt, and

for the book, which also means there’s an invitation

celebrate the electricity of sexuality, the vitality.”

he’d like to extend to readers of Crotch. “Anyone out

“Americans

are

schizophrenic

when

comes

taking

there with a big whopper let me know,” he says. “If I’m

photographs of models and celebrities, encouraging his

in your neighbourhood, I’m happy to photograph you.”

subjects to be sexual, vital, and energized. He asserts that

Dickmatters.com

For

his

entire

career,

Vriens

has

been

it is thanks to being a gay man - gay man’s pride and

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Strip Say hello to Nic who is a Minneapolis-based photographer and a people watcher who is worth looking at

Photography Ramon Christian

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@itsniclafrance @ramonchristian.photo

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Photography Amer Mohamad

LAR

N O I

IRC

MOT

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Amermohamad.com @ShootMeamer Model Dmitry Averyanov

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COME ON AND

LET THE BLISS BEGIN

Photography Eden Yerushalmy

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