Jack is a friend of mine who models in the nude, and before we
get started with the questions I’d like to take a moment to thank Jack for
agreeing to this interview. Thank you,
Jack! (((hugs)))
We met back in the 80’s where we
attended the same summer camp as teens, and we were recently reunited on
Facebook. I wanted to interview Jack to get
an idea of what, where, why and who? You see, the summer camp we attended was a
Christian camp. So how does one go from there to here? (Let’s forget for a
moment that I write stories where my characters get naked - and I went to the
same camp).
So, Jack….you dig nakedness, huh? Have you always been an
exhibitionist?
No, but I’ve never
been shy and have always loved attention. I’ve sung in barbershop quartets and
choirs. I’ve acted in plays and musicals. I’ve even done standup comedy. People
have told me that I can make a conversation with a rock, I have a voice like a
broadcaster and have a pretty good sense of humor. All those things get me
plenty of attention, but I’ve found that the easiest way to get a higher level
of attention is just to take off all my clothes.
When did you start modeling nude?
I think I modeled for
my first nude drawing workshop in 2006. Of course plenty of people had seen me
nude before that, but it was always people I knew (i.e. gym shower, doctor’s
office, and a few select women). Modeling for a drawing class was the first
time I was the only nude person in a room full of strangers.
How did you get your start in modeling in the nude?
I’d been doing
commercial stock modeling for quite a while and had a pretty impressive on line
portfolio. At the same time, I was doing quite a bit of standup comedy at
various clubs around the city. One night, in a conversation with one of the
other comics, he said to me, “Comedy is not like other performance work. If you
sing, you finish the song and everyone applauds. If you act, you concentrate on
your lines and finish the scene. In comedy, the audience needs to respond to
everything you say, and if they don’t you get booed off the stage. You’re
extremely vulnerable up there. You might as well be naked.”
Well, I decided to
test his theory. I checked in the arts section of Craigslist, researched art
schools and joined Meetup. I made a whole lot of contacts with art teachers by
sending them a link to my commercial online portfolio. Eventually, someone from
a Meetup group in Bushwick, Brooklyn contacted me and said he’d give me a shot
at modeling for his drawing workshop. Once I landed that nude gig, I could
market myself as an “experienced” nude model. It didn’t take long before I was
modeling for drawing and sculpture classes all over New York City and even in
Westchester and Long Island. Before long, I was making contacts with
photographers (mostly students) for nude work as well.
By the way, it’s
NOTHING like standup comedy.
What is it like being in front of the camera with no clothes
on? And how did you find a photographer to do the job?
Whenever you’re not
wearing any clothes, one thought repeats itself in your mind the entire time:
I’m naked. Initially being in front of a camera nude was less intimidating than
being in front of a classroom full of students.
In the classroom, I
was fully aware that not only am I nude, but everyone else in the room is
dressed and is looking at me nude and has come with the express purpose of
seeing me nude.
For me, photography
was deceptive because it gives the impression that while I wasn’t wearing any
clothes, there was only one other person in the room who was seeing me naked.
The reality is, however, that in today’s Internet age, posing for nude
photographs had the potential of allowing countless people to see me nude,
certainly more that the 30 or 40 I had encountered in the classroom setting.
Because I had already
been involved in commercial stock modeling, I was on a modeling networking
site… kind of like social media for models. On that network, models can answer
casting calls and can make casting calls for themselves. I went to the casting
calls that were looking for nude male models and answered a bunch of them. Most
of them were looking for muscular 20 somethings. Remember, I was in my 30s at
this time. I’m not a body builder, though I’m trim and in very good physical
shape (I have what the industry calls a “runner’s body”… though I’m not a
runner) and I’m not in my 20s, so a number of the castings turned me down
before I even got to take my clothes off.
Through my networking,
I eventually found a student photographer who cast me to do some nudes for a
class photography project. When I got there, she told me that because it was my
first nude project that it would be best if I took off my clothes right away
and just remained that way throughout the session (most photographers don’t
operate this way… I found out later). She told me it would make me more
comfortable posing nude for the camera. Figuring she knew what she was talking
about, I disrobed. It was strange because she hadn’t even set up her lighting
and equipment and she even asked me to help her get everything ready. So there
I was in the studio nude, helping her adjust the lighting and set up the
background tarp. She told me there was water in a cooler if I wanted some and
when I went to get one, she asked me to pick one up. After all the equipment
was set up, she sat on the floor with her laptop to show me a story board of
her concepts and asked me to sign the standard model release. It was probably a
good 45 minutes to an hour between when I first took off my clothes and when we
actually began shooting.
Having never modeled
nude for photographs before, it was strange. Clothed modeling usually
incorporates the clothes into the pose (ie. hands in the pockets, straightening
the tie, etc.). None of that’s available when you’re not wearing any clothes.
You really have to get creative. But since I’d modeled for classes before, I
got used to it pretty quickly, plus I had been hanging out nude in the studio
with her for about an hour already anyway. What did take some getting used to
was having her direct my poses. When I modeled for classes, I would just pose
however I wanted. During a photo session, the photographer tells you things
like “hold your chin up more,” “give me more of a pouty expression,” or, better
yet, “turn a little more to the right so I can see your penis.” You never hear
instructions like that in an art class.
Anyway, from there, my
nude photography work took off… pun intended. I found myself doing a broad
variety of nude projects after that. Now, between classes and photography,
about 85% of my modeling is nude.
Do you have a diet and exercise regimen you follow?
Nothing
earth-shattering. I have a pretty big appetite and generally eat what I like. I
don’t exercise, per se, but I stay pretty active, opting to walk places rather
than drive there, etc. I do drink a lot of Snapple. I don’t know if that plays
any kind of role. I think I’m blessed with a good metabolism, so I figure I
should keep modeling nude as long as I can get away with it.
Have you ever had anything embarrassing happen to you while
in the nude?
My leg went numb when
I was modeling for a class in Brooklyn once. When it came time for me to take a
break, I fell flat on my face when I tried to walk. A bunch of the students had
to help me up and guided me as I walked until I could feel my leg again.
I think the most
embarrassing thing was when I was modeling for a class that met in an
industrial garage. One side of the garage had windows that faced a parking lot.
The class was in the fall and began in daylight but it got progressively darker
outside and the modeling session progressed. When you model nude for classes, they
shine bright lights on you so as it got darker outside, I became increasingly
visible to anyone out in the parking lot. Anyway, at around 4:30, a small crowd
of high school girls had gathered in the parking lot. I knew they were high
school girls by their uniforms. Although, the windows were shut because it was
chilly outside, I could hear the girls chatting and giggling, and, of course, I
could see them. As the crowd grew, so did the noise they generated. As the
model, I wasn’t supposed to move or cover up so I maintained my pose until it
was time to take a break. When I finally put my robe on, I could hear a
collective “Awww,” from the girls. During the break, the instructor pulled down
the shades so the girls wouldn’t get any more of a show than they already had.
I asked the instructor why she didn’t pull the shades down earlier and she
explained that she didn’t want to disturb the concentration of the artists
during a posed session.
I’ve seen some of your photos, and they aren’t in a studio!
How on earth did you get the shots in the NYC subway, on Wall Street, and on a
pile of tires? Those are very public places.
Outdoor nude work is
always a challenge. To get the best shots, you need to take risks, but it’s all
about careful planning and strategy. The subway and Wall Street bull shots were
done by the same photographer. We shot at 6:30 am on a Sunday. As you may be
aware, the financial district is a virtual ghost town on weekends anyway, and
is that much more deserted at that hour on a Sunday morning. Even still, the
photographer brought a woman along to function as a lookout for buses, cabs and
police cars. She warned me any time something approached that could get me in
trouble.
The tires shoot, one
of my favorites, was an accidental discovery. The photographer and I were
looking around in Sunnyside, Queens for a creative location for a nude shoot.
We noticed that the driveway next to an old warehouse was accessible, so we
went exploring. Behind the warehouse, we discovered the big pile of tires and
some forklift palates and decided to give it a try. It wasn’t entirely private
though. On one end was a chain link fence with the Sunnyside train yards on the
other side. Amtrak locomotives went by several times while we were shooting,
but we didn’t consider them a threat because we figured they wouldn’t be very
likely to call anyone while they were operating a train.
I also did a nude
session at Five Pointz in Long Island City, Queens. It’s an old factory where
graffiti artists come to practice their craft. Again, it was an early morning,
weekend shoot. Some shots were done in full view of the elevated number 7 train
above, but at that hour, the trains are practically empty. I’m sure someone saw
us, but no one reported anything.
So you’re Just Jack, an average everyday guy. Would you
agree that what you’re doing is taboo, which makes it more exciting and
fascinating?
Absolutely. Most
people with whom I have casual contact would never imagine me to be the kind of
guy who would model nude. If you pass me on the street, you see a
conservatively dressed, seemingly normal man. It’s exciting for me to know that
countless people have seen me naked through my photo sessions, and I often
wonder how many of them pass me in the street and don’t even realize it’s me. Occasionally,
I encounter someone who recognizes me, but can’t quite figure out why.
Sometimes it hits them and they’ll say something like, “Ah. I didn’t recognize
you with your clothes on.” Other times, it simply escaped them. Those are the
times I wonder if they’ve seen my nude pics. When I consider that in the age of
the Internet, my nude pictures have been viewed all over the world, and at all
times of day or night, is it a guarantee that someone who doesn’t know where
they recognize me from has seen me naked? No, but it’s certainly a distinct
possibility.
Nudity has always been
a part of Western art, but the advent of photography introduced a more
authentic means of depicting it. Sculptures and drawings are artist’s
renderings of what you look like nude, a photograph is an actual depiction of
what you look like nude. It’s different. People always feel a little naughty
when they see someone nude… man and women alike. The photographers I’ve worked
with like the fact that they don’t need to do much photoshop work on me. What
that means is that when you see a nude picture of me, you’ve pretty much
actually seen me nude. If that makes you feel a little naughty, I actually kind
of like that.
Quickies:
Tea or Coffee? Coffee
Cat or Dog? Dog
Beer or hard liquor? Beer
Vanilla or chocolate? Chocolate
Naked or clothes? Naked!
Tell us FIVE things about yourself that you normally don’t
share with anyone:
1. I don’t wear
underwear from March to October… even when I’m dressed up.
2. I have a Master of
Divinity from seminary because I wanted to be a minister at one point in my
life.
3. I can read Greek
and Hebrew (it’s a bit rusty though… I don’t use this skill much)
4. I don’t put milk on
dry cereal.
5. I’m left handed.
When people discover this, they often say something like, “Why didn’t you tell
me you were left handed?” as if it’s something I need to put out there right
away. Well, consider yourself told. You’ve seen me naked so that’s something
you deserve to know.
So what’s up for Just Jack in the near future? Anything
exciting going on?
Right now, the biggest
thing I’m working on is the Just Jack 2014 Nude Calendar. I expect it to be
available in early November. I realize that’s a little late, but it’s still
early enough that my fans can get one before the new year and even give them as
gifts if they want to. It will only be sold on-line and I’ll provide the link
on your blog and on my Just Jack Facebook group when it’s ready.
Speaking of the Just Jack
Group, it’s a secret Facebook group. Only members can see what I post there as
well as comments and “Likes” by other members of the group. The advantage
twofold. First, I can post nude pics there. Second is that is that husbands,
boyfriends, other friends and children have no idea what you’re doing on the
group and you can visit as often as you like, interact with me, comment and
“Like” my pictures. It’s a lot of fun.
***If you want to join Jack’s private facebook
group to keep in touch with him - and see his other photos (like the one on the
pile of tires), let us know and we’ll get you added.
#####
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