cover image Sex, Love, and Fashion: A Memoir of a Male Model

Sex, Love, and Fashion: A Memoir of a Male Model

Bruce Hulse, . . Harmony, $23.95 (325pp) ISBN 978-0-307-38168-2

One of the world's top male models—working for Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren, among others—Hulse describes being a “star athlete” as a teenager, before going to Cornell, where he modeled nude for art classes; discovered his first guru, Maharaj Ji; and cultivated his passion for surfing. Once he realized that modeling paid better than carpentry, he commissioned a portfolio, signed with an agency and worked every booking he was offered. Soon, top photographers like Bruce Weber were hiring him regularly. While meditation helped him stay centered, and running and surfing kept him in shape, his sexual appetite was uncontrollable; he bedded countless models. Then he ran into a woman he'd met years before, and they both knew Hulse had to stop womanizing for their relationship to work. With newfound trust, the two married and had children together—an oddly conventional ending to an otherwise exotic life story. Hulse's unabashed kiss-and-tell, plus all his photos, add up to a surprisingly entertaining memoir. (Aug.)