R
Ronnie Kroell came upon the public’s attention as a contestant on Bravo’s Make Me a Super Model. His down-to-earth appeal, intellect and humor caused a sensation on the first season. The openly gay man was really one of the first at the time to spark the term, “bromance.” He had quite a crush and camaraderie with a straight and married contestant on the television show. Since then, Kroell has branched out into the world of runway modeling but has always been an interested party in
the development of acceptance for LGBT people while also spreading the gospel on human rights for all. Just last month, he appeared in his birthday suit for Playgirl magazine. It was his idea to cross boundaries with the spread with the hopes of creating dialogue about male nudity and sexuality in the process. As he gets wet for our July editorial, The Rage Monthly wanted to dive in to learn more about his thoughts on posing in Playgirl, his passion for modeling and Political Science, plus the one thing he’s working on now to change within himself. Ronnie Kroell is a force of nature…both physically and mentally. Read on.
Ronnie has described his Playgirl spread as “an art
project.” Here he elaborates on this description and his decision to pose nude in the magazine. “Playgirl contacted me about six months ago. In the beginning, I was a little hesitant. I wasn’t sure if it was something I wanted to do. I also saw that it could be a really great opportunity to really be an artist and share some things that have been close to my heart for quite some time. How I feel about American’s view of sexuality and how we have kind of demonized and made filthy the human body. As a model, I realized that the body could also be viewed as art and beautiful. At the end of the day, when we drop our labels both figuratively and literally, we’re all the same.”
“I really wanted people to have conversations. I think that’s the only way we learn and grow as a community as a whole. Getting people to talk about sexuality and not being afraid to talk about our bodies.”
Taking the reins of his decision to be in the magazine,
Kroell describes his ideas of what he saw in the opportu- nity to do June’s Playgirl spread. “I’ve worked very hard in the fashion industry to get where I am. I really wanted to have a high-fashion styled GQ-esque fashion photo shoot. I wanted to do something different and have a message behind it. When I brought this to the table, with my high-fashion team and photographer, Lope Navo, they said, ‘Ronnie. You go ahead with it and run with it.’ I couldn’t be more pleased with the outcome.” As a Political Science student at The New School in
New York, Kroell speaks of his true motivation in doing Playgirl. “I really wanted people to have conversations. I think that’s the only way we learn and grow as a commu- nity as a whole. Getting people to talk about sexuality and not being afraid to talk about our bodies. I didn’t do this because I felt I had the best body in the world or the biggest dick in the world or the best ass or whatever…I really wanted to do this as a political scientist as well.”
RONNIE KROELL
“Without Risks, There’s No Rewards.”
MODEL, HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST AND POLITICAL SCIENCE STUDENT by bill biss
Photography: Riker Brothers
rikerbrothers.com Art Direction: Marcellas Reynolds Stylist Assistant: Zach Wescott Location courtesy of Sal Saenz
Apparel:
AndrewChristian.com Original Penguin
HouseBoisandiego.com
JULY 2010 | RAGE monthly 47
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