Tomorrow we'll be featuring a couple of the most popular posts from the Hunk du Jour vault, hopefully giving you some good stuff to go back and re-visit as we take a mid-winter break next week.

Yep, winter has taken her toll on the Hunk du Jour staff -- draining away our energy into her icy grip. We'll take a week off, escaping to California for the weekend for a little sunshine and then drinking tropical beverages to convince our mind we're someplace warm and sunny (and not in dreary Seattle.)

We'll be back, all fresh and recharged on February 12th.

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Oh la la Paris reports today on the Stanford Swim Team screensaver -- sounds like a must-download to me! When you're on the Stanford site don't forget to check out the extensive photo galleries, too.

From the gallery you can order prints, as well as make a donation to keep this fine athletic establishment buoyant.

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[ Photos: D. Gonzales ]
[ Source: Oh la la Paris & Tottyworld ]

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As I mentioned earlier in the week, Hunk du Jour is taking a brief mid-winter's break. But never fear -- you can take this week to catch up on some of the great posts that you may have missed!

Some personal favorites have been Andy Baldwin (The Bachelor 2007), the delicious Calvin Klein underwear model Travis Fimmel, Dirty Jobs host Mike Rowe, football star Brady Quinn, or super man Brandon Routh.

If those don't float your boat, how about looking at posts by category via our tag cloud or just a sorted list?

Or check out our list of top referrers to find some folks who aren't on vacation!

We love you all dearly -- and will see you back in a week!

Take care,
The Hunk du Jour Crew

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One of Greece's top male models, Marios Lekkas has been seen in campaigns and shows for the likes of Versace, Polo Ralph Lauren, Louis Vuitton, GQ, Diesel, and Puma.

Check out a video after the jump of his runway work during the 2006 Milan Fashion Week -- with some short interview questions between runway walks.

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Not Your Hero hails from the U.K. This 4 member pop rock band sadly lost one of their members (Tim), but the three of them (Peter, Nick & Jonny) are going to continue on. You have to root for a band that is willing to take their pictures in towels! Check that picture out after the jump.

You can listen to their music on their MySpace profile.

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The delicious Daniel MacPherson is an Australian actor who started out as a triathlete. He started appearing as Joel Samuels in the soap opera Neighbours in 1998. After a few appearances on stage and television, he's most recently been seen on the show Tripping Over in the UK and Australia.

Check out the sexy photos of him on the beach... after the jump!

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Dani the Model was shared by Alan46 in the Hunk du Jour Group Pool on flickr.

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Joe Flanigan stars in Stargate Atlantis. The show returns to the Sci-Fi Netork in April for its fourth season.

Among our drugstore Valentines cards received was this diamond ring, Chris' review of the movie Because I Said So was posted today on Queer Beacon!

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Inside December's GENRE magazine you can find Kenny Goodwin, Jr. (On page 25 to be exact.) He is adorable! I love the models used in GENRE and hope to see more of Mr. Goodwin!

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Singer/songwriter Robin Thicke is the epitome of blue-eyed soul. The son of actor/singer-songwriters Alan Thicke and Gloria Loring, Robin is starting to make a name for himself in the world of R&B. A few years ago he had a minor hit with the funky tune "When I Get You Alone." I loooooove this song and since it got so much airplay and MTV exposure at the time, I thought for sure that Robin would become a big star. Alas, the only place that he's really made a big splash is Great Britain, where he's quite popular.

My boyfriend just gave me a copy of Robin's sophomore album that came out in 2006. It's been playing in my car cd player non-stop. Robin's got beautiful blue eyes and a beautiful voice, here's hoping that more people discover his talent.

Official Website
MySpace Profile
Robin Thicke on Amazon.com

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We caught up with David Serrano after hearing some of his tracks online. In true random hunk question form, we asked him about his life as a musician, a New Yorker, and a bonafide hottie.

You've been interested in music since you were very young, I see... How old were you when you wrote your first song?
I have been. I wrote my first song at 13. It was called "Dove in White Lace" and it was as bad as it sounds. But ever since then, I've been hooked.

When performing in bars or clubs do you drink? Be honest, now... when was the last time you got really trashed?
Of course! One or two drinks helps take the edge off and calms the nerves. I tend to not have anymore than that because three drinks calms the tongue and I start to slur. The last time I got really trashed was last year at karaoke. I had about five too many tequilas.

I read the story of your "8" tattoo online and was really touched. Your mom seemed to be very religious. Do you consider yourself a religious person, too?
Some would consider my mom religious but I would consider her spiritual. I would say the same goes for myself. I believe in God but my God isn't concerned with whether or not you place a star atop a Christmas tree, light eight candles, or pray towards Mecca five times a day; just be good to others and true to yourself.

So you moved to New York and sold your car, leaving your current world behind you, all to pursue a dream - any regrets?
Just one, that I didn't have the balls to do it sooner.

What is the worst job you have ever had?
The worst job I've ever had would have to be my first job upon returning to New York. It was with my brothers tree removal service Aspen Tree Service. My brother is great but the job wasn't. You have to be constantly alert or you could get hit by a falling branch, log, entire tree, or get dragged into a wood-chipper. NOT FUN! Everyday I came home with either twenty new puncture wounds or poison ivy. Let's just say I earned every penny.

How about the worst gig?
The worst gig I had was in a bar in Hell's Kitchen that shall remain nameless. The sound system was horrible and the drag queen hostess was evil. She too, will remain nameless.

How was performing at NYC Pride? How many guys hit on you? Don't be modest!
It was amazing and not so great at the same time. It was amazing because I was performing in the World's Best Pride Parade on one of the most popular floats within that parade, the Next Magazine float, for thousands of people. It was crappy because I didn't know that when performing in a parade, you should lip sync. I couldn't hear anything.

As for getting hit on, I had a lot of competition on that float. I was surrounded but a dozen scantily clad guys, some of which were porn stars. Plus, all the spectators were behind a baracade. It's kind of hard to hit on someone from thirty feet away buried in a sea of flag-waving homosexuals.

We were just in NY in December and lived at a bar called XES Lounge. Where do you hang out in NY?
Actually, if I am not at Barracuda or Pieces, I, too, am at XES. They have the best karaoke in the city and as a matter of fact, that's where I got wasted last year.

You see three hitch hikers on the side of the road in the pooring rain. You have to pick up one, but you can only take one. The other two are left for dead. Which one do you pick up? Kathy Griffin, Margaret Cho or Ellen Degeneres?
Oh now we get to the real questions. This is a hard one. I think I would have to give up my seat and save both Kathy Griffin and Margaret Cho while I died with Ellen. I really love them all but the Cho must go on.

Thanks so much, David -- we're so glad you took the time with us for our silly questions. With that Hunk du Jour gives David Serrano our seal of approval and wish him the all best. Be sure to check out his music or catch one of his shows in New York City!

Visit David Serrano's MySpace Profile to listen to his music and see more pictures! His song "Not Again" is also available for purchase from iTunes!

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Check back on Friday for another fantastic Hunk du Jour interview! I got the chance to speak with a fantastic guy. He's currently modeling in Los Angeles and just happened to have graced the cover of a little magazine called Playgirl. (What? You've heard of it?)

...what's funnier yet is that I didn't know about the cover until a little ways into the interview! (Those fact-checking monkeys are falling down on the job!) Check back on Friday for my interview plus some great photos of our mystery man.

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Personal friend and friend of the site Eric Gregory shares a few photos from a recent session with Zack done for an online underwear retailer. Eric's photography portfolio can be found on his website, EricGregory.com.

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D&G remains one of my favorite fashion sites to visit. While checking out their 2008 Winter collection, I saw that they have updated some desktop goodies! These pictures are stunning, but then again they always are.

Enjoy!

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A self-portrait of flickr user lars nyc. Check out his photos as well as the work of his partner, stuper.

Last week when American Idol's 6th season revealed their top 40 performers I was intrigued by the hot blond with the beautiful voice that performed in the group sing with two of my other faves from this season, Chris Sligh and Blake Lewis. I thought to myself, who is this poised hottie with the voice of an angel? I wasn't surprised to see him move to the top 40 and thought for sure that when the group was narrowed down to 24, I and the rest of the world would get to know him better.

Alas, delicious Tom Lowe did not make it to the AI semifinals round. Shocking, especially after seeing his initial audition from Seattle (damn! this cute boy was in my city and I didn't know about it?). They never aired his audition here, but did in the UK, because Tom is British and hails from Manchester. Thank goodness for YouTube:



There's a lot of rumour and controversy brewing about why Tom might not have made it into the voting rounds. Was it because he had already had some limited success in the UK as a member of the boy-band North and South? Could it be because Tom is openly gay and has posed on the cover of Harvard University's sex magazine kissing a boy? (Tom's the one on the left - too bad you can't see his face or body)

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For now we'll have to content ourselves with keeping tabs on Tom through his current Boston-based band called Tommy and The Tigers or by watching old student films that he did at Harvard.

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Josh Holloway -- from LOST and the new face of Davidoff Cologne.

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I see the appeal of country singing star Kenny Chesney, even though he's not my type. He has an incredible body and nice eyes, and a nice voice too if you like that genre. Last week Kenny appeared on "60 Minutes" to explain the vague and mysterious circumstances of his divorce to Renee Zellweger last year and to dispel rumours that the divorce occurred because he's gay.

I personally loved that rumor, and was hoping it was true. Oh well, maybe I'll start one about Billy Ray Cyrus.

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I haven't seen it yet, but apparently Columbus Short steams up the screen pretty well in Stomp the Yard -- where he plays a young man excused from juvie so long that he attends college at Truth University, where he is then courted by rival fraternities needing him to win the annual step show.

I actually have been watching him on Studio 60, but with rumors swirling about that show's hiatus (and pending demise?) I'm not sure if Columbus can count on that paycheck for a whole lot longer. Luckily for him, he's got a handful of upcoming projects to keep him busy.

Columbus was previously seen in movies such as Save the Last Dance 2, Accepted, War of the Worlds, and You Got Served. Aside from being an actor, he's a dancer/choreographer. Earlier this year he also made it onto the gossip radar after sleeping (and JUST sleeping, no sex says he...) with Britney Spears. Photos of them also surfaced sharing a smooch.

At any rate, he's a fine man -- with an unfortunate lack of high quality photos to be found! If you've found a fan site or photos -- share a link in the comments!

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Oasis Magazine is a web publication that's been around for quite a while now. Nearly a decade ago I did my first real online writing there -- nothing about my articles were particularly earth shattering, but it provided a snapshot into my life for my future-self and for other gay youth in the world.

Today Oasis is still going very strong and my friend, site owner Jeff Walsh, now nourishes a community of queer youth writers while contributing feature pieces and interviews of his own.

A little while ago he told me that he'd be interviewing one of my favorite performers from our recent New York trip, Howie Michael Smith. Jeff was so sweet, he offered to throw in a few random hunk questions for us -- I immediately accepted his offer.

Check out Howie's responses to our questions below, and read the entire article at Oasis Magazine to hear about the life of a broadway actor as well as his experience coming out.

What would your porn star name be? (Street you grew up on, First Pet's name)

Chad Narrows.

Marry-Boff-Kill... Jessica Simpson, Paris Hilton, and Mary-Kate Olsen. (Which would you marry, which would you boff, which would you kill...)

Marry Mary-Kate.
Boff Jessica.
Kill Paris.

Marry-Boff-Kill... Mario Lopez, Milo Ventimiglia, and John Stamos

Marry John.
Boff Mario.
Kill Milo (Who is he, again?)

What is your favorite scary movie?

Evil Dead.

With the love and support of your family, friends, and fans -- where do you hope to be in 5 years?

Just continuing to be an entertainer and acting, doing projects that I love. That's the most important thing, doing projects that make me happy.

Thanks, Howie... and thanks so much Jeff for passing our questions along!

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I was fortunate enough to speak with the gorgeous model Ryan Diesel this week about working in the industry, being a Playgirl campus hunk, and his upcoming projects and aspirations. Enjoy!

You've already been traveling quite a bit... Where was your favorite on-location shoot?
I'd say Italy. The people in Italy are so laid back -- they're all about enjoying life and not the hustle and bustle of America. Once you get used to it, it's cool -- but at first it's hard to get used to.

I saw that you will be appearing in a calendar or two for 2008 -- what can you tell us about that project?
Gerry Garcia is doing an Industry Los Angeles (ILA) calendar -- we're actually thinking of doing my own too! We've also got some interesting stuff coming up too, like message ringtones and wallpapers and stuff.

How did you get started in the modeling industry?
Well, I kinda fell into it. My major in school is photo graphics and we'd have to do projects -- my classmates would request to shoot me. One guy used me and won some awards for the picture. People must have thought that I had more to do with it, because the word got out, "Ask Ryan, he'll get naked!" (I was raised in Europe and I'm really comfortable with nudity and my body.) I started doing some stuff locally, and got a book cover for a local author in New Mexico.

I went and got an agent, and started shooting some things. A photographer in LA had asked to shoot with me, so I went up there... but he wasn't so great and tried to take advantage of me. When I wouldn't fool around, he tossed me out on the street at 4:00 am. I didn't know anybody in LA -- except thankfully I'd been talking to Gerry online and he happened to live down the street.

That's how I met Gerry in person, and I started getting a lot of work after that. Gerry really opened a lot of doors for me.

Tell me about some of your recent projects.
I'm appearing right now on the cover of GT International magazine. Gay Times International -- look at your local Borders or Barnes & Noble stores! I'm also shooting a movie called The Drive In right now... kind of a scary slasher movie.

How long have you been in LA?
It's all kind of a blur... I think in October is when I got out here. I've gotten really lucky and have been doing a lot of work, but I want to finish school and want to do more than modeling. I'm interested in creative direction, and would really love to direct music videos at some point.

Well, you've accomplished a lot in such a short amount of time! What are your big-picture plans right now?
I'd love to launch my own underwear line, the movie is in progress, plus I've been working with photographers associated with other well-known magazines.

What has the defining moment in your life and/or career at this point?
Honestly, I have a 2-year-old daughter -- she's in New Mexico and I go to see her as much as I can. She lives with her Mom, who's an awesome mother, and it's really tough being away from her. She's the light of my life.

Career-wise, this is really strange, but when I was younger we lived in Germany and my Mom rented out the house to my Aunt and some of her sorority sisters. When we got back to the house, there was a box in the garage and it had Playgirls and stuff in it. I found the issue with Sylvester Stallone in it and I remember getting it and going "I want to do this!" -- I was about 11 and my Mom thought that it was crazy. But I did -- I always wanted to shoot for Playgirl, I thought it'd be really cool.

I actually shot with Playgirl and was on the cover -- the 2006 Campus Hunks issue in November. I shot that in Fort Lauderdale -- it was a great experience and lots of fun!

Marry, Boff, Kill : Janet Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Jenny McCarthy
Boff Jenny McCarthy...
Marry Jennifer Lopez...
I guess I'd have to kill Janet, but I don't want to!

Marry / Boff / Kill : Justin Timberlake, Brandon Routh, Jake Gyllenhaal
Boff Brandon Routh...
Kill Justin Timberlake for messing with Britney Spears (I'm friends with one of her friends, she's a nice girl)...
I'll marry Jake Gyllenhaal.

What is your porn star name? (Street you grew up on & first pet's name)
Duke Luna... yeah, though I should have made it up and said Hunter Spears.

What was your worst gig ever?
I just did an underwear shoot for this little independant underwear company and they had some crazy stuff. I had to hire a friend whose a porn star to do half of it because you could see EVERYTHING.

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I found this adorable model on Myspace and was very happy that he agreed to answer a few questions! Yeah for nice hot models!

What is your favorite gig that you have had or appeared in?
My favourite gigs are actually the charity runway shows. I love partying with the old rich people at the after parties. They are so much fun when they get drunk!

How hard do you have to work at having your figure?
I am actually very lucky and am a model who needs to gain weight and not lose it. I get to eat my McDonalds and drink my Starbucks without worrying about not being cast for being a few pounds overweight. I do go to the gym though and train very hard because I love to be phyiscal and it helps me stay toned.

Who is your biggest supporter?
My biggest supporter is definately my mom. She has always told me I can do whatever I want and to do what makes me happy. She is there for me during my ups and downs in my career. I would defintately not be where I am today without her.

You have been out drinking at a club and are unable to drive yourself home. One of the following three have to drive you home. Who do you let have the keys to your car - Mel Gibson, Paris Hilton or Nicole Richie?
I would definately choose Paris! That girl can get herself out of any problem or scandel. She would probably cause a 10 car pile up and would have us both booked on the cover of GQ the next month because of it.

You can only eat food that comes from one fast food restaurant for the rest of your life. Which one do you pick?
I would have to say Wendy's. I have been going there since I was a kid because my parents hate McDonalds. I love the Spicy Chicken Sandwich and Frostys!

Where do you live currently and is that where you see yourself living in 5 years?
I live in London, Ontario, Canada. It is such a great city to live in. It is not to far from Toronto so I get the best of both worlds. I am currently working in L.A. and I could definately see myself living here in 5 years.

Who are more bitchy - Gay male models, straight male models or hand models?
That is a really hard one!!! Male models are bitchy no matter who they are into. I am one of the exceptions hahaha. I would probably say the gay models who are lable whores hahaha. The ones who would do anything to keep the Gucci after the shoot.

What was the last movie that you saw?
I go to movies all the time and there have been tons of great ones over the last little while. I just saw Volver and loved it. Penelope was amazing! I also really liked Pans Labyrinth!

Thanks for chatting with us, Chad! Be sure to visit his MySpace profile.

Check out this post at A Socialite's Life for the men of the red carpet at last night's Oscar awards.

We hosted a little gathering at the Hunk du Jour World Headquarters with a gaggle of gays, and our own pop culture princess Kathryn won our contest to see who could best predict the winners of each category.

Who do you think was the best looking lad at the ceremony this year?

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Jonas Armstrong stars in Robin Hood, which is making it's way stateside on BBC America.

A friend of mine recently pointed out that I seem to like the shaggy hair guys. I've always thought I was more into the clean cut types, but maybe my friend is right. Mr. Martinov has some pretty sexy bangs. The rest of him isn't so bad either. Long hair or short hair it doesn't really matter as long as they are hot!

These photos have been removed, as requested.