From the Skybox: A Labor of Love

I love putting together our annual swimsuit issue. When we did our first swimsuit issue in 2007 we made a point to photograph outstanding athletes who were making a difference just by being who they really were. And I am proud to say the same holds true for our ninth annual swimsuit issue.

This year’s participants are truly outstanding individuals as you will see from their photos both in swimsuits and in their athletic gear. West Hollywood Dodgeball sent two of their own dodgeball greats to the photo shoot, Chris and Allan. Besides dodgeball, Chris played soccer growing up and Allan wrestled and played baseball. As sports lovers, they joined WeHo Dodgeball early in the league’s formation.

Arizona was also well represented by two amazing athletes. Trent is a triathlete and runner who is a member of the Phoenix Frontrunners while Baylen runs with the Frontrunners and also plays for the Arizona Gay Volleyball Association.

All our athletes shine both on their respective fields, courts, tracks, etc. In fact, this year we decided to include pictures of the swimsuit participants in both their active wear and swimsuits. This is something we may make a part of future swimsuit issues.

As always, it takes many talented people to produce a photoshoot of this caliber and we want to extend our deepest appreciation to our photographer Leland Gebhardt and our stylists from TUC Shops.

We are very proud to work with so many amazing organizations that include professional athletes, amateur athletes and weekend warriors in their membership. They are changing the face of the old homophobic sports culture with every game, match or tournament they play, making sports diversity the new rule rather than the old scarce exception. And we are already looking forward to making an even bigger splash with next year’s 10th Anniversary Swimsuit Issue.

Sport On,