Mark Hersh strips
down for our feature on the beauty and blemish of the
human body.
Mark Hersh,
39
Newport Beach, Calif.
Likes: chest,
eyes
Dislikes: abs, buttocks
Mark Hersh can
tell you about the power of a good set of pecs.
“It’s interesting to have a conversation
with someone and have them staring at your chest the
entire time,” he says. For Hersh, who’s fit
but still describes himself as just “70%
comfortable” with his body, the attention
presents an amusing disconnect from the way he sees himself.
“I’ve not yet met anyone who’s
honestly 100% happy with their body,” he says.
“The person I’m dating now is in the
adult industry and he has the same perception of his
body shape that I have. Someone who spends that much of
his time naked is dealing with the same issues I
have.”
Asked what
he’d most want to change about himself, Hersh
doesn’t miss a beat. “Abs,
obviously,” he says. “Everybody wants
them.” Hersh even went so far as to schedule a
liposuction consult to trim his waist, but he says the
doctor circled so many areas that he got overwhelmed and
made a hasty retreat. “In advertising, the look
has now gone to lean models; everyone has
six-packs,” says Hersh, a fashion stylist who, when
working for Dior, dressed his fair share of skinny
models. “I don’t think the general
population realizes that these models are 6 foot 2 and they
weigh 160 pounds. For a normal person to get that,
they may be starving themselves or be on some sort of
illegal supplement.” Still, Hersh
doesn’t see things changing anytime soon. In fact, he
thinks gay body image trends have crossed into the
mainstream. “Girls see gay guys on the street
and comment ‘They’re hot,’ ” he
says. “And you see a lot more straight people
going to the gym. They’re not just athletes,
they’re weekend warrior people, and
they’re paying a lot more attention to what
they eat and what they’re wearing.”
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Profiles by
Neal Broverman, Kyle Buchanan, Japhy Grant