Wire Magazine Digital Issue 6.2020 Beautiful Russian Model David Lurs

DIGITAL ISSUE #06 | 06.04.20

FEATURE: CELEBRATING PRIDE IN JUNE HEALTH & WELLNESS: TIPS TO HANDLE ANXIETY FLIX: EMMA.

DAVID LURS

BEAUTIFUL RUSSIAN MODEL

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TABLE OF CONTENTS: 8. COVER STORY: BEAUTIFUL RUSSIAN MODEL DAVID LURS

Enjoy the photo essay of beautiful Russian model, actor and fitness trainer David Lurs by Moscow based photographer Stas Vokman.

14. FEATURE: WHY DO WE CELEBRATE PRIDE IN JUNE? REMEMBERING OUR HISTORY

Check out our article about Pride, its history, and why we celebrate it in June.

16. HEALTH & WELLNESS: WHAT ARE THE BEST WAYS TO HANDLE ANXIETY?

This is the first time any of us have experienced something like the COVID-19 pandemic, so The Gay Life Coach Brian Falduto offers some important tips on dealing with anxiety.

According to Alyn Darnay, EMMA is a treat for the eye. Find out what else he has to say about the film based on what he describes as "the tamest of Jane Austen’s novels."

WIREMAG.COM: ISSUE VIDEO Enjoy our video of digital issue 5.2020 with hot DJ/producer Nick Stracener, a Sexy Rides about the new Stingray Corvette and more.

PHOTO BY STAS VOKMAN

18. FLIX: EMMA.

Publisher/Editor in Chief

Rafa Carvajal Associate Publisher/Editor

Michael Bustamante Columnists

Joey Amato Alfredo Barrios Alyn Darnay Brian Falduto Michael W. Sasser Nick Sedbrook John Stein Official Photography Studio

Photo Studio Miami Staff Photographer

J.R. Davis Local Advertising

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Distributed in print in Miami, The Beaches, and Fort Lauderdale, and digitally worldwide through wiremag.com The views, opinions or positions expressed by contributors to and interview subjects of Wire Magazine are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions or positions of Wire Magazine, its staff or publisher.

Cover photo by Stas Vokman @stas_vokman Model: David Lurs

PUBLISHER'S CORNER

LET’S CELEBRATE PRIDE MONTH AND SPEAK OUT LOUDLY AGAINST INJUSTICE, DISCRIMINATION AND RACISM Our nation is in turmoil and pain because many of our fellow citizens in the black community have had their rights violated and have experienced continued injustices for many years. People are rightfully fed up and want racism to be addressed, remedied and stopped once and for all. It is up to all of us to demand change and speak out loudly against racism and police brutality, just like our brothers and sisters did at Stonewall against the injustices suffered by the LGBTQ community for years.

This month, our LGBTQ community is proud to celebrate Pride month – even in the middle of a pandemic and nationwide protests.

We have achieved many milestones in our struggle for full equality and for having all the same rights as the rest of our fellow citizens.

But our fight is not over yet. As a matter of fact, some of those hard earned rights are under attack from people who would like to see discriminatory laws and policies against the LGBTQ community reinstated. We must fight to prevent that from happening and be politically involved to elect officials who support equal rights for every American regardless of race, skin color or sexual orientation.

We must also unite our voices to speak out against the divisive rhetoric and hypocrisy coming out of Donald Trump’s mouth. On Tuesday night, I watched what Trump did live on TV. From the beginning when citizens were protesting peacefully in Lafayette Square in front of the White House, to the flashbang grenades and tear gas attack on peaceful protestors, to Trump’s bizarre walk to St. John's Episcopal Church, to posing with a Bible, to the walk back to the White House with his clan. It was disgusting, callous, self serving and bizarre. Trump exhibited all the traits and actions of a man with a sick dictator complex, rather than those of a leader and president of the United States.

Abraham Lincoln might as well have been referring to Trump when he said, "What kills a skunk is the publicity it gives itself."

We all deserve to live in a nation where everyone is afforded the same justice, respect, civil rights and economic opportunities. Trump is incapable and unwilling to support these most basic tenets of our democracy, so he and his aiders and abettors must be decisively defeated and voted out in November!

Cheers,

Rafa Carvajal Publisher & Editor in Chief rafa@wiremag.com

”IF YOU ARE NEUTRAL IN SITUATIONS OF INJUSTICE, YOU HAVE CHOSEN THE SIDE OF THE OPPRESSOR. IF AN ELEPHANT HAS ITS FOOT ON THE TAIL OF A MOUSE AND YOU SAY THAT YOU ARE NEUTRAL, THE MOUSE WILL NOT APPRECIATE YOUR NEUTRALITY.“

- DESMOND TUTU 6 WIREMAG.COM | DIGITAL ISSUE #06 2020

BEAUTIFUL RUSSIAN MODEL

DAVID LURS

By Rafa Carvajal | Photos by Stas Vokman

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PHOTOS BY DAVID VANCE. DAVIDVANCEPRINTS.COM

This week’s cover story is a photo essay of beautiful Russian model, actor and fitness trainer David Lurs

by Moscow based photographer Stas Vokman. It includes some information about David, so you can get to know him a little bit better.

DAVID LURS Profession: Model, actor and fitness trainer.

Born: St. Petersburg, Russia.

Sports growing up: Football, ice skating and Thai boxing.

Self description: Creative, hard-working and kind.

DIGITAL ISSUE #06 2020 | WIREMAG.COM 9

“I LIKE TO FIND SOMETHING NEW IN MODELING, TO SEARCH FOR A NEW WAY, A NEW IMAGE.”

- DAVID LURS

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Interests: Theaters, clubs, cinemas, traveling and meeting new people.

Staying in shape: Hard work in the gym, five times a week.

Nutrition tip: Care about what you are eating.

Food is the main thing.

Favorite photo shoot location: Sea and beaches with a sunset.

First photo shoot: Russian photographer Andrew Vishnikov.

Favorite food: Salmon.

Boxers or briefs: Briefs.

DIGITAL ISSUE #06 2020 | WIREMAG.COM 11

12 WIREMAG.COM | DIGITAL ISSUE #06 2020

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FEATURE

By Nick Sedbrook

WHY DO WE CELEBRATE PRIDE IN JUNE?

Today, Pride refers to the celebrations held in June where the queer community and our allies gather and celebrate in safe public spaces. However, not long ago, pride was seldom a word that a gay person would use to describe their feelings about their own sexuality. Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) peoples were not always able to proclaim their identities freely. The queer community has fought hard to ensure that people are respected regardless of a label. But, exactly how far has the Gay Liberation Movement come?

Flashback fifty-one years ago, when police raids were as American as apple pie.

People who rebelled against the traditional culture of the '50s were subject to discrimination. Like other marginalized groups of the era, gays had a limited amount of spaces to congregate and feel safe. Most of these places were bars – which were not even owned by members of the queer community. However, even in these supposed safe places, police still harassed them. Until one day, patrons of the Stonewall Inn – a gay bar in the Greenwich Village area of Manhattan – decided that LGBTQ citizens deserved equal rights.

That day was June 28, 1969. Ten New York Police Department (NYPD) policemen invaded Stonewall early that morning to perform a routine raid. Instead of accepting things the way they are, the customers in the bar chose to fight back. The scene erupted into more than 500 protestors challenging police authority outside the bar.

The next day, multiple NYPD precincts swarmed Greenwich Village to control the protests. They were met with nearly 1,000 rioters proclaiming their distaste for the current system.

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The protests continued into the next week. LGBTQ people grew tired of being oppressed. Rather than feeling ashamed, they decided to show Pride.

The Stonewall Inn riots were a series of violent protests against inequality based on sexual orientation. Thankfully, people like Marsha P. Johnson – an African American drag queen – resisted the oppression. The repercussions of the riots reverberated around the country. The message was clear – the LGBTQ community is here. Rather than feeling embarrassed for being different, they chose to celebrate it and fight for their right to express themselves. That night carved gay rights into the tree of the 1960s counterculture.

A year after Stonewall, on June 28, 1970, the first Pride marches took place in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Other cities around the world held similar events to commemorate the historic riots. Since then, most Pride events take place in late June. These celebrations are a way to see how far the queer community has progressed since 1969. So, although there may not be any parades or festivities happening for Pride this year, let’s give thanks that there is such a month dedicated to our community. Remember the people who fought for the rainbow to be worn proudly.

At one point, being gay was synonymous with being a criminal. Never feel guilty for being different, and always show your PRIDE!

PHOTO CREDIT: © DEPOSITPHOTOS.COM | ANDREIORLOV

REMEMBERING OUR HISTORY

HEALTH & WELLNESS

::::::::::: By Brian Falduto, The Gay Life Coach ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

ASK BRIAN: WHAT ARE THE BEST

One of the things that have been interesting during this time is the almost completely opposite counterbalance of struggles that I think people would generally identify with. For example, I suffer from chronic anxiety and have found that a lot of my symptoms have alleviated during this pandemic because, in a way, a lot of the variables of day-to-day life have become more fixed and controlled. My peers who would not normally call themselves anxious are struggling to cope with all the uncertainty and risk. In a similar parallel, I consider myself to be both an introvert and a master at disassociation at times, and my extroverted peers who seem to seamlessly integrate themselves into the flow of things as their standard are now coming up against some new territory that require skills that to me have always felt very familiar and perhaps even commonplace to how I function.

A point I want to make (and I’m not sure everyone who suffers from this will agree with me) is that I wouldn’t trade my anxiety for the chance to not be anxious. I’ve done the work – and I mean a lot of work – on my relationship with that voice inside my head that contains all the wonderful feelings that come with anxiety that

16 WIREMAG.COM | DIGITAL ISSUE #06 2020

are honestly too many to name. And also, scratch that – I haven’t done the work, I’m doing the work, and it’s a constant battle. But even before COVID-19 showed me the benefits of the survival tactics I’ve picked up over the years, I knew that there was a sensitive, creative, and vulnerable part of me that my anxiety came about to protect. Sometimes I need to gently ask my anxiety, whom I call Justin, to step into the next room so that I can be present with whatever I’m doing. But Justin is just a part of me as everything else I hold dear to who I am and I’m well aware he’s not going anywhere, so it benefits me more to create space for him.

If you’ve stopped reading because you’re convinced I’m a schizophrenic, that’s fine. If you’re still with me, I shall stop bragging about how many surprisingly adequate tools I’ve found in my toolbox for dealing with the global pandemic, and I want to instead move on to sharing some of what I practice with you because it’s never too late to start building your toolbox. After all, toolboxes are filled with items meant to help with starting a project or fixing up an old one, and it’s certainly true that the world needs some fixing up at the moment and perhaps even a restart.

PHOTO CREDIT: © DEPOSITPHOTOS.COM | KIUIKSON

WAYS TO HANDLE ANXIETY?

PHOTO CREDIT: © DEPOSITPHOTOS.COM | AARRTTUURR

Brian Falduto

Justin is an example of a tool. Even just naming that voice that fills you with fear is a massively productive way of bringing awareness to it. Awareness is the greatest agent for change because it takes a problem that you’re facing and it stops it from creating a tornado of thought inside your head, and it instead allows you to hold the problem in your hand and look at it with some perspective. Right now, the entire world is experiencing a tornado of negative information, doubt and uncertainty, so one can only imagine what is going on inside someone’s brain. What should be understood about anxious individuals is that at any given moment on any given day, and sometimes even for no particular reason, a tornado of worrisome thought can appear out of nowhere. Fishing into that toolbox in response to that hurricane of thought becomes a necessity.

My suggestion for those who are not used to the presence of their Justin in their lives would be to stop fighting him. This is the first time any of us have experienced something like this. It is unprecedented.

Of course, Justin is going to try and swoop in and protect us with all these fight-or-flight thoughts inside our brain. Protectors don’t just go away when we ask them to. Ever heard of an overbearing mom or a cop who gives out too many speeding tickets? Sometimes they overstep and, similarly, everyone’s Justin is probably getting a little carried away with his attempts to protect them. But just like the world needs moms and the world needs cops, you need your Justin. So stop fighting him and instead create some space for him.

If you do not have a mindfulness practice or a way to create space around the thoughts that are taking over your head during this time, find your anxious friend and ask them to help you start building a toolbox. I guarantee they know your struggle and they want to help. Choosing to stay in the eye of a tornado of thoughts seems peaceful momentarily, but really you’re just trapped.

Editor's Note Brian Falduto is an ICF certified LGBTQ life coach, but he is best known for his child actor days as "that gay kid from School of Rock." Recently named by PrideLife Magazine as "one of the 20 most influential, outspoken and optimistic individuals on the planet," Brian wrapped a cross country #PrideTour this past summer inclusive of Sacramento Pride, RI Pride, Brooklyn Pride, Dallas Pride, and more. His Now This News interview has reached an audience of just under 5 million, and he's had similar reach with his Advocate essay. Brian's latest single, "Like a Wave" dropped just last month and is now rippling its way through the digital streaming world. Brian is the lead in a new series, Fishing, which will hit the web soon. Additionally, Brian has launched "The Gay Life Coach Podcast," which will be hosted by Brian and will feature some of the queer community's most prominent storytellers. Meanwhile, you can catch his latest press and content updates on his website, brianfalduto.com.

DIGITAL ISSUE #06 2020 | WIREMAG.COM 17

FLIX

EMMA.

There’s something unique, beautiful, and visually stunning about the way that British filmmakers try to recreate a certain era of their history. I’m referring to the Georgian/ Regency era when big manor houses dotted the countryside and the polite society of upperclass nobility lived a charmed and somewhat jaded existence.

It’s a historic period that Jane Austen wrote about with a deft pen, a Wiley sense of humor, a heartfelt understanding of, and a not so hidden love for.

EMMA, probably the tamest of Austen’s novels, has been brought to life many times, four movies, of course a BBC series, and also as a pop musical featuring hit songs by legendary girl groups. Perhaps the most interesting film interpretation for our times was Clueless, the witty comedy set in Los Angeles starring Alicia Silverstone and the late Brittany Murphy. The thing about EMMA that makes the story so timeless is its sensibilities toward love, kindness, forgiveness, empathy, and generosity amid the humorous antics of its broad cast of oddly driven characters.

DIRECTED BY: AUTUMN DE WILDE SCREENPLAY BY: ELEANOR CATTON

CAST: ANYA TAYLOR-JOY, JOHNNY FLYNN, JOSH O'CONNOR CALLUM TURNER, MIAGOTH, MIRANDA HART, BILL NIGHY EMMA. Rating: 3.5 stars (out of 5) Rated: PG (for brief partial nudity) Running Time: 2 hours & 12 minutes

Unfortunately, this film came out in February, just as the COVID-19 pandemic was escalating, and its release was cut short before it could find a broad audience. Now, however, on a new digital release, and on streaming networks, it will finally get a chance to transport its viewers to a beautifully envisioned time when matters of the heart reign supreme.

and everyone’s attempts at finding their own happy ending.

Twenty-one year old Emma Woodhouse (Taylor-Joy), whose charmed life and social leadership has led her into a series of misguided and meddlesome matchmaking efforts, has to constantly find ways out of the entanglements she herself has wrought.

As travails descend upon her from a myriad of directions, she finds herself drawn into the matchmaking fray, when her own sense of desire rears its head, and Emma discovers she also needs love and affection.

This film version of the story, visually sumptuous as it is – and it is a real treat for the eye – is a bit too long for its own good. At over two hours the story tends to drag in several places. It also lacks some of the book’s humor, which fans have come to love about it.

What is terrific though, is the total recreation of the period.

The smallest detail is painstakingly and meticulously placed in front of your eyes. Each scene is its own painting of the bygone era. It’s as if a museum came to life. And it didn’t stop with the scenery. Under the watchful direction of Autumn de Wilde, the actors themselves did a brilliant job of recreating the verbiage of the times, the walk and movement of the era, even the mannerisms or reactions expected of people of that time.

My take… EMMA is a treat for the eye. However, if a story Here’s the storyline… doesn’t grab me in the first four minutes, then it takes me a while EMMA, written in 1815, is one of to get into the film. That’s the Jane Austen’s most beloved problem here. This film caught books. It’s a comedy/drama and held me with its visual about love within a tangled web content; unfortunately, the story of woe-begotten relationships never reached the level of the novel.

Alyn Darnay is a film critic; feedback is encouraged at adarnay@wiremag.com.

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