Enlarge Photo | Credit: Richard Gerst/Bello Mag

Check out these photos of Renato Ferreira, who is prominently featured in the latest issue of Bello Mag. Renato appears in Boys in the Hood, a fashion editorial from Richard Gerst.

Says Gerst of the shoot:

Renato is truly polite - clear, calm, direct- and "strong" in all aspects of his personality.

When I put him in front of the lens he became this concentration of energy, barely containable by that rippling physique of his -- which he obviously has worked very, very hard perfecting!

"Boys in the Hood" was conceived as a fall fashion shoot and shot with Cameron K. Carpenter styling, someone I have worked with before. He is always great fun to work with.

The strobed throw back shots obtained outside during the day came from the concept of street-wise toughness and action. I wanted something beautiful and atypical.

The editors at BelloMag agreed - and loved the look.

Check out three more outtakes from the shoot after the jump -- a big thank-you to Richard for sending them over!

[ Bello Mag #12 ]
[ Richard Gerst Photography - Official Site ]
[ Renato Ferreira - Major Model Management ]

Enlarge Photo | Credit: Hudson Wright

YVY Mag brings us some work from the fantastic Hudson Wright, with fashion editor Nole Marin. Please meet (and possibly fall in love with) Stelios Niakaris.

[ Stelios Niakaris by Hudson Wright - YVY Mag ]
[ Hudson Wright - Official Site ]
[ VNY Model Management ]

Enlarge Photo | Credit: Richard Gerst

Photographer Richard Gerst sent over these snaps of "physique architect" Maik Wiedenbach for your approval. Apart from having an awesome physique, Maik is also working on a fitness book which he hopes will be taking off soon!

[ Richard Gerst - Official Site ]
[ Maik Wiedenbach, Alder Training - Official Site ]

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Hunk du Jour HQ is all a-twitter (and we aren't talking about our @HunkDuJour twitter account here) over the Mika concert coming up tomorrow night at The Moore theater in Seattle. Mika's had a spell of bad luck lately, though -- he has an injured foot at the moment. According to his twitter stream it has afforded him the opportunity to make up a few new right-foot-centric dance moves.

There's one more tour stop after Seattle for our Canadian neighbors to the north in Vancouver, BC. After that Mika heads to Australia and south east Asia for a few stops in late November. European fans will have to wait a little longer to see him perform again, when he returns for a UK and Europe set of tours in early 2010.

Fellow Seattlites, enjoy the show -- perhaps we'll see you there!

Bonus: Check out our pictures from when Mika was last in town at the Showbox SODO. He may or may not have taken his shirt off. (Hint: He did.)

[ Mika - Official Site ]
[ @mikasounds - Official Twitter Stream ]

Enlarge Photo | Credit: Sarah A. Friedman/ESPN Magazine

ESPN Magazine brings a new spin to the swimsuit issue with their latest issue -- the Body Issue. The issue's choice of covers include NFL football player Adrian Peterson, NASCAR driver Carl Edwards, and NBA basketball player Dwight Howard.

Check out the entire issue on newstands, or go green and buy a digital edition.

Enlarge Photo | Credit: Sarah A. Friedman/ESPN Magazine

[ ESPN Magazine - Official Site ]

Enlarge Photo | Credit: Sonny Tong

Our friend, photographer Sonny Tong sent over these photos of actors Michael Walker and Chris Salvatore, who appear in the movie Eating Out 3: All You Can Eat which is making the film festival rounds this month.

We're planning on attending the screening at the Seattle Lesbian and Gay Film Festival on October 17th, perhaps we'll get a chance to say hello to these boys in person!

[ STong Photography - Official Site ]
[ Chris Salvatore - MySpace ]

Enlarge Photo | Credit: Maurizio Fiorino

The boys over at YVY Mag sent over these shots of model Michele Graglia which photographer Maurizio Fiorino shared with them. Thanks, boys!

Enlarge Photo | Credit: Maurizio Fiorino

[ Michele Graglia - YVY Mag ]
[ Maurizio Fiorino - Official Site ]

Enlarge Photo | Credit: Braden Summers

This photo of Lance Bass has been making the rounds this morning in a cropped-and-watermarked form. But you're (literally) only seeing half the picture, and photographer credit has been hard to come by!

So I did my research this morning, and here's the scoop: the shoot was done by New York photographer Braden Summers with make-up by Chris Lanston. I really encourage you to visit Braden's site and check out his other work, I definitely enjoyed it!

[ Braden Summers - Official Site ]
[ Chris Lanston - Official Site ]

Enlarge Photo | Credit: Brad Walsh

Photographer Brad Walsh caught up with Will Wikle for a photo shoot amongst the Tiffany-blue walls of Will's apartment. We had a fantastic chat and interview with Will just last year -- though you may remember that amazing Rick Day photo of his tush more...

Enlarge Photo | Credit: Brad Walsh

[ Brad Walsh - Official Site ]
[ Whither Wikle Goest - BradWalsh.com ]

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Toby Madigan is and up-and-coming recording artist who is getting involved and coming out for marriage equality. His song Stand for Love is one of four finalists in the Equality Song contest for the October 11th National Equality March.

Chris M, Lead Hunkologist: How big of a culture shock has it been moving from Michigan to Los Angeles?

Toby Madigan: I grew up in Michigan, but I went to high school and college near Toledo, OH, which was a fairly decent-sized city, so I'm not a total country boy, but LA is way different than anything in the Midwest, that's for sure.

Toby Madigan: First of all, we have seasons . . . but who's complaining? It's basically the weather they die for where I am from every day in LA.

Toby Madigan: I would say the biggest cultural shocks were positive ones. There is much more diversity in LA and it seems like a place where everyone is following some kind of dream or passion. Of course, with that comes a little bit of ambition and self-centeredness that you can sometimes run into, but it's much more exciting and much more open-minded.

Toby Madigan: The only thing I miss is the spaciousness and fresh air . . . oh yeah, and the leaves, I love the fall leaves back home . . .

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