Michael Gunning and Alexis Stone lead the Attitude Body Issue
Professional swimmer Michael and drag superstar Alexis lead an issue celebrating the power of the body in all its forms.
By Will Stroude
Welcome to the Attitude Body Issue 2021.
As our annual edition celebrating the body beautiful lands, two inspirational LGBTQ figures whose life’s work has been defined by their relationship with their bodies – albeit in very different ways – take to the cover to reflect on the hurdles they’ve faced to achieve success. (You can download and order globally now here).
From dressing Lady Gaga to beating a crippling cocaine addiction, the artist with a thousand faces, Alexis Stone, has had a trajectory that rivals the endless celebrities she has paid homage to in her incredible drag transformations.
Alexis wears motorcycle corest by Selfhood Official for the Attitude Body Issue, out now to download and to order globally (Photography: Mateusz Sitek)
The British drag superstar – who ranks as one of the world’s most successful drag artists never to have set foot in a Drag Race workroom – speaks to Cliff Joannou about fame, the perils that come with it, and why her body is the ultimate canvas with which to explore her queer creativity.
British-Jamaican swimmer Michael Gunning has spent his career making a splash for equality and diversity in sport.
Michael Gunning for the Attitude Body Issue, out now to download and to order globally (Photography: Dean Ryan McDaid)
After narrowly missing out on qualification for this month’s Tokyo Olympic Games, 27-year-old Michael speaks more candidly than ever before about the racism and homophobic he’s been forced to confront on his journey towards achieving his dreams.
Elsewhere in the Attitude Body issue:
Cabaret, drag, opera and theatre star Le Gateau Chocolat swings by to reveal a few of his favourite things.
Le Gateau Chocolat
Members of the LGBTQ community who live with physical reminders of seismic moments in their lives pose for a photo reportage that tells the tragic and triumphant stories behind their scars.
Prinx Silver (Photography: Francisco Gomez de Villaboa)
Burlesque and cabaret star Little Peaches has no problem being fruity as she opens up about owning the stage and breaking down barriers as a disabled performer.
Little Peaches (Image: BBC)
After becoming addicted to attaining the ‘perfect body’, influencer Max Hovey opens up about deciding to forego the filters and learning to love himself to the max.
Max Hovey (Photography: Francisco Gomez de Villaboa)
Doctor and Brit Crew member Tony Fordham offers gym-spiration as he reveals how he balances working in the NHS with a hands-on role in the Drag Race UK workroom.
Tony Fordham (Photography: Mateusz Sitek; Fashion: Joseph Kocharian)
Condoms may be thousands of years old, but gay men have had a comparatively brief relationship with them. 40 years after the AIDS Crisis first changed the community’s relationship with the sexual health tool, David McGillivray unravels the full history of the condom.
Illustrations: Ego Rodriguez
Performance artist, writer and radical creator Harry Clayton-Wright offers some valuable life lessons as he reflects on sobriety and having sex in church (yes, really).
Harry Clayton-Wright
Connor Minney, co-founder of GRNDHOUSE, talks the future of working out and how he overcame toxic masculinity in the fitness industry.
Connor Minney (Photography: Rich Maciver)
Former model Tom Tillmon reflects on how he struggled to forge a healthy relationship with food and his body – and how he learned to love himself.
Tom Tillmon (Photography: Markus Bidaux)
We meet the boys who frequent Berlin’s network of natural lakes – perhaps the German capital’s best-kept gay secret.
Leonard Burkhardt (left) and Nabil Zebdji (Photography: Niv Shank)
In fashion, models Emmanuel Adjaye and Reece King sweep into the spotlight with sculptural silhouettes and shapes.
Emmanuel Adjaye wears latex piece by Atsuko Kudo, underwear by Spanx (Photography: Kosmos Pavlos; Fashion: Joseph Kocharian)
That’s alongside all your usual news, reviews and views, of course…
The Attitude Body Issue is out now.
Subscribe in print and get your first three issues for just £1 each, or digitally for just over £1.50 per issue.
