FEATURED: DNA #284 – Sexiest Men Alive 2023 | BUY | Pocketmags Sexiest Men Alive 13 Issue Collection
Sexiest Men Alive time of year is always heaps of fun but, I’ll be honest, a bit of a challenge!
This year, the men we have chosen come from all over the world so that meant a lot of wrangling: contacting photographers, arranging interviews with men who are perhaps not used to media attention, and for whom English may not be their first language.
Our Sexiest Men Alive come from Japan, Spain, Cuba, India, Australia and Estonia among others. Cover model Alexo Prieto is US-born but identifies more with his parents’ heritage, which is Colombian. Ace Newbury identifies as Vietnamese American. Vladimir hails from Havana, lives in Madrid, and says he has no particular national identity.
This diverse is a great thing, but how do we make sure we are authentically choosing the men that DNA readers love? We don’t take a survey or a poll, we look at the stories that are posted to our website and our social media platforms and we take note of how many views and clicks they’ve attracted, what sort of comments have been left, and how many times the story has been shared. It’s a numbers game.
So, the best way to have your input into the Sexiest Men Alive issue is to visit our website and find us on socials and vote with your clicks.
Elsewhere this issue there are plenty of great reads. Andrew M Potts takes a deep dive into the story of Captain Moonlite and James Nesbitt. Moonlite was a notorious bushranger in Australia in the 1800s. He was, by modern standards, gay, and his life’s love was fellow gang member, James. Their story is colourful, poignant, and contains many heartbreaking twists. As I was reading Andrew’s story, it unfolded in my mind cinematically. This story could easily be Australia’s next great, gay feature film.
I also love Matthew Phillp’s take on the iconic gay enclave of Provincetown in Massachusetts. His visit came with some person realisations and some timely observations about what happens to LGBTQIA+ neighbourhoods once the process of gentrification begins. Most of us will have experienced that at some point; when our gay ’hoods become desirable real-estate and we get squeezed out! Anyway, it seems Provincetown is doing a pretty good job at resisting “stealth wealth” and Matt has some great stories about Cher, Jill Biden and a dead seal. Really!
Boundary pushing cabaret artist Reuben Kaye has a long conversation with Travis De Jonk in this issue and he definitely has some hot takes worth hearing. And please read the interview with Kyland Brown, Our Straight Mate this month. You may be tempted to just enjoy the pictures because he’s so freakin’ hot but his attitude to masculinity, his gay fans, and his gay daughter are like a gust of fresh air. We love him!
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