I grew up with the „Boy Next Door“ and his name was Dorian.
At around age 15, Dorian started working out, while I pursued photography.
He would come over to have me to capture his „muscle gains“ which I happily obliged.
At age 17, Dorian Quarterbacked his team to State Champions with his „signature“ moves.
At age 18, despite dozens of offers for a future in football, Dorian signed with a modeling scout & moved to New York.
I had graduated a year earlier and was already living in New York, when Dorian the Male Model came to town and looked me up. I had not seen him in over a year and he looked like a dream. The Boy Next Door moved in and became The Model on My Couch.
Dorian became an overnight sensation as a top model known for his graceful yet masculine moves in front of the camera.
His success as a model helped to finance a Master’s Degree in Dance from a top New York Institution.
At age 27, Dorian returned to our hometown high school and did double duty as Chair of the Drama & Music Department and Head Coach of the Football Program. He was honored as „Educator of Year“ and he wanted me to shoot his headshot for the printed program and publicity requests. I made sure he looked handsome, but respectable and relatable. What a difference 10 years can make since his first portrait as a teen.
Around this time I had heard there was an Italian fitness model who was making headlines with his day job as a math teacher. I wanted to bookend our 10-year collaboration with a few body shots which had never been released until now.
Photographer’s Note: The entire story „Dorian Dreams of Dancing“ is a work of fiction, meant to accompany images of a model who was a master of change. Some images were taken over a two day period during our first shoot when Dorian was 24 years old; other images were taken one year later. The total span of the portrait series was only one year, and not 10 years.
Dorian is not currently active on social media. For more intimate shots of Dorian and other models, follow my work on the web:
Text and Images by Photographer Roger Nguyen
Instagram: @timeoutdigital
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