As an adolescent, Russian artist and producer Alexander Abramov (better known as Abramov Lex) struggled with his health and his weight.
“I had problems with my lungs and at the age of 13, I underwent a serious operation on my intestines, which left me hospitalized for four months and put an end to my normal existence as a man,” he says in a release about his new photo book series, “Uncovered.”
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But you’d never know it flipping through the photos, which feature Abramov modeling as five characters: a Wrangler, a Mercenary, a Woodsman, a Journeyman, and a Seafarer.
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The project was born out of Abramov’s old diary entries as he spent years growing stronger, mentally and physically.
“I started keeping journals 18 years ago,” he says.
“My diary is about awareness of my homosexuality… It is also about human imperfection and struggle, drugs and fears, scars and past troubles. On the whole, it tells of becoming the man I have wanted to be: a man who is able to inspire others to makes changes for the better.”
And while Abramov is no stranger to posing for photos these days — his Instagram account has nearly 300K followers — he says putting the book together was no small feat.
“I knew it would be a long process, but as a person who has never been a professional model and also never published a book before, I had no idea it would be this challenging,”
He adds: “I hope these beautiful images will resonate and inspire people to be the best versions of themselves, inside and out, as well as inspire them to travel to gorgeous places and live outside of their comfort zones.”
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The first two volumes of the series are currently available on his website.
Scroll down to see more of Abramov:
Hillers
Always a delight to see a former twink daddy up. No hate for the twinks (who are cute in their own right), but following your body’s natural trajectory and making it the best it can be as you get older is a plus.
thomas prentice
Sad that he couldn’t just be himself, immersed as he is in the toxic hypermasculine hypermilitariatic hypercommodified world of Trump and Putin.
Kangol
Abramov Lex’s story is inspiring. I’m sure he also knows it would be much, much harder to be himself in overtly homophobic Russia, which has basically declared war on gay people.
mhoffman953
@Godabed
Why should people be ashamed of working out, eating healthy, and taking care of their personal health?
Nedra
This story is a non-story. Gay man feels inadequate about his body and so worked to change it to please OTHERS or at least to what he believes others approve of. He is just another victim of the sad reality in which the gay community operates where it comes on to image and self-acceptance.
unreligious
Funny I see it a a man who had a serious disability, succumbed to self-loathing and drugs and then decided he wanted to be a healthy man. Sorry but despite what people like you and the others think it is not the normal condition for mankind to be fat, lazy slobs. Gay people who work to maintain a healthy body should be celebrated not told they have self image problems.
tdh1980
While I sincerely commend him on overcoming his health and body-image issues, his physical transformation mirrors that of almost every other Insta-famous gay man. If we’re being honest with ourselves and each other, we’ll admit that this devotion to “fitness” is all about getting laid — or increasing our Q rating in order to increase our chances of getting laid.
Xzamilloh
I don’t see the problem in wanting to increase one’s Q rating, but you are right in that these guys are becoming damn near indistinguishable from each other, which puts a whole kibosh to that “I want to be an individual” nonsense… not that he said that.
CastleSF
Although the person this artist has transformed into is not exactly the type I would aspire to be like — I don’t think everyone is destined to be a “daddy” once you get older — I do admire his efforts to keep his body in an excellent shape. Let’s be honest, every pair of jeans we guy, every T-shirt or swimming trunks we put on, every car we drive, they are to enhance our being and self expression. It may or may not have much to do with hooking up with more guys.
tdh1980
Xzamilloh: I’m just over these gay social-media types pretending that their fitness obsessions have more to do with healthy living than drawing a certain type of attention. Don’t get me wrong. I’m all for doing what one needs to do to feel good about himself, but often the reasons are about as deep as a puddle of water. There’s more to exuding a positive body image and self-confidence than constantly being in your get-it-girl panties online.
jpcolter
No, it’s not. You are just projecting your own hangups onto an entire community. What you say may be true of some gay men but it certainly is not true for most.
tdh1980
jpcolter: #isaidwhatisaid
Carry on.
CastleSF
I understand where you are coming from. Real self-confidence and positive energy indeed come from inwards, but for a lot of people it starts outwards, getting some quality designer clothes, good skin care, working out, hanging out with the right people at nice wine bars instead of anonymous Grindr hookups or worse visiting sex clubs. Most people have to feel good about themselves first before they can work on their self confidence. Just saying.
Smith David
Well, I am a chubster and I think he looks great. As long as he is happy, that is all that should matter to him. I think the variety within this “gay community” everyone keeps going on about, allows many of us to find sexual partners that attract us for different reasons.
The simple fact is, men are visual and we tend to appreciate a more socially fit aesthetic. It is what it is. This will not change and so I have chosen to accept myself at the weight I am and hope that someone will come to love me for more than what I look like. What’s more, I see more single muscle dudes than anything. So, how are they doing any better than me? We will all get old and these fit bodies won’t last into old age for most of us. Just be happy with how you look and do the best to change your image for yourself and not to please anyone else but you.
Kangol
Have you gone to Provincetown Bear Week or visited a meeting of a nearby chapter of Girth and Mirth? Or try one of the many bear and chubster sites, including ones geared towards men of different backgrounds. You might find more than a few people who are into you.
Smith David
@Kangol…I’ve never been to one of those in my life. I’m a black otter type. I get a lot of attention from young somewhat fit Latino guys who only seem to want me as a fetish. But, I might look into these bear camps:)
CastleSF
I disagree with you. People don’t just want you as a fetish. It’s their preference that leads them to discover you but the it’s up to you to turn that preference to your advantage, to show them you are more than just a “black otter”. Besides, we are all being fetishized, regardless of our race. It is a reality so use it to your advantage.
Smith David
@CastleSF….Awww that might be the nicest comment you’ve made to me. Good advise though. I think you might be spitting some truth.
silveroracle
Agreed David.
DavidIntl
To each his own, of course. But for me, he was VERY attractive in the ‘before’ photo, and of no interest in any of the later ones. So, mostly a lot of time wasted at the gym as far as I am concerned.
gravityyaoi
I agree actually. There’s being healthy and then there is bulking to get attention. I’m sure it’s done wonders for his career though. No one ever thinks what they’ll look like when they get too old to work out like this and everything just starts to sag.
Lacuevaman
just be yourself
silveroracle
Exactly
lkeels
He was adorable before…too bad he felt he needed to change.
lkeels
“put an end to my normal existence as a man”…anyone have the details on what he is referring to here? A colostomy or what? I can’t find any information.
Donston
I’m not willing to jump on the “toxic masculinity” train when I see something like this, because that’s often not the case. But it does seem that there’s a ton of natually fem or simply “regular” dudes who buff up and tattoo up just to feel more comfortable within “gay culture”, to feel more adequte and/or to appeal more to gay men. All these dudes really are starting to look the same.