West Phillips

Zhengzhou: Xavier, part 4

Added 2021-10-19 12:01:02 +0000 UTC

It was cold and snowy out, so shooting underwear and/or nude outside wasn't an option - though I would have been game if he were! Eh, too many people milling about anyway, so not really. We made do with my warm little studio where I was living. The tile floors were heated and I was quite a few floors up, so my own floors mixed with all the people below me made for quite a toasty apartment. Usually in the winter I'd have to leave the window open to try and cool it down, so needless to say, hanging out in underwear or less was most comfortable.

We met at a cafe down the street first and chatted to break the ice and get to know each other a little bit. Boyishly handsome and cute with a shy, but sort of mischievous look in his eyes - I was intrigued and eager to take photos of him. I was a little surprised that he wasn't as shy as I'd expected when it came to taking his clothes off and posing and such. I realized that maybe that mischievous smile was a bit of confidence as well or instead of. Though slim, he had a lean and tight, firm body, which I could tell he had been working on to improve and break away from that 'skinny Asian boy' stereotype.

The shoot was a success and a lot of fun and we ended up doing another one the following week before he went back down to university. We stayed in touch a little and chatted from time to time, but I'm sad to say I haven't talked to him in quite some time. I hope to cross paths with him again one day - maybe here in the U.S., which was his goal after graduation.

China, December 2017