Y U C K Z I N E Nº 2

hair

Austin Castañeda p.6 / Love in Athens p.8 / Czar Kristoff p.12 / A Bald Move by ArnieJocson p.18 / Larrend Acuesta by Karl Leuterio p.22 / Confessions of a Bikini Waxer p.28 /Curls, Uninterrupted by Angela Garrido p.31 / Simple & Clean: How to Wash Dread Locks p.36 / Black, White by Czar Kristoff p.40 / Everywhere is Hairy by Fookshit p.49 / Extensions by Rxandy Capinpin p.54

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Interview and photographyby Bonnapart Galeng

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A conversation with AustinCastañeda about his mustache regimen and youth culture.

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What are you doing before you opened your email to answer this interview?I was preparing breakfast. What do you do? I’m an event organizer/production designer. I also dj from time to time. How long have you been sporting the handlebar mustache?More or less 3 years. I wanted to try something different. Something really far from how I used to look. How do you maintain it?I have a grooming kit that I use or when I’m lazy, I go to the barbershop and let them trim it.Do you comb it?Yes Who is your mustache idol?Salvador DaliYou’ve been part of the Today x Future team for the longest time. What do you think is Today x Future’s role and contribution in making our local youth culture thriving?TxF gives our younger customers a chance to share their music or their art, especially those who are just starting out.They also learn from the older ones who also hang out at TxF. Without comparing to the past. How do you describe the current Filipino youth culture?Since it’s the digital age we’re living in, the current Fil youth is heavy on using technology to create and influence. Now, there’s social media to get your stuff out there quickly.Why do people keep coming back to Future?In my opinion, it’s because of the good vibes people share around TxF. Any “Future” plans?Just go with the flow.

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Francis Maria Regalado akaLove in Athens opens up with his hardcore punk past and his future career in hairstyling.

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How did you start Love in Athens? I was still active in the Davao City hardcore punk scene when I developed a love for the more electronic and ambient shades of the musical spectrum. No one was into that sort of stuff where I was, so I had to do everything myself on a computer. The fear of fumbling around on “real” instruments sure helped. This was around 2006-2007. My main creative/emotional outlet at that point was singing for a hardcore band called Caitlyn Bailey. That band took root in a primal and very urgent part of me but didn’t really cover all the bases of my personal development. All of the leftover emotional resonance from the period ended up seeping into Love in Athens and this lesser-known ambient/noise outfit called Anna Korsakoff.

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Why Athens? Have you been to Athens? I wish. Truth is definitely lamer than fiction. Love in Athens is two things. It’s a two-fold reference to both the tradition of Athenian pederasty and Ramesh Srivastava’s take on “a land of angry soil that swallows boys and coughs out men”. College life was a young boy sleepwalking through cycles of love and distance, making his way through an endless sea of strangers. The city may have been my muse but life at the Ateneo was the love I lost once and just kept on losing. I lose myself all the time. Who’s your favorite Greek god/goddess? Why? Athena has always been my favorite Greek goddess. Inadvertent homages aside, I’ve always been drawn to the intense pairing of intelligence and combat. Your song “Skyscrapers Will Fall and Love Will Rise to Take Their Place,” sounds like an apocalyptic anthem. Do you think apocalypse is upon us? I’d like to take it as an invitation for a personal apocalypse; falling apart on your own terms. The world only ends when we lose each other. Do we really have anything else to lose but love? Let’s talk about your hair. What’s your hair regimen? I have a relative scale that moves from indie boy to crusty. I bring the shampoo out when I get close to crust punk territory. Every other day, it’s conditioner. No particular brands. Well, for shampoo, it’s usually Rejoice since it plays best with my hair. Do you wash your hair regularly? Whenever I bathe. Which is whenever I leave the house. Which isn’t every day. What’s the worst hair style you ever had? I had a “Spock rock” phase. Think Swing Kids-era Justin Pearson, but a lot lamer. My bangs were cut straight across the brow and the sideburns were pretty long/

straight. The fades were so crudely shaped at the time, too. I paid Php 20 for that mess. You get what you pay for. Any barber/salon horror story? Well, there was this one inattentive barber when I just moved to Manila. I asked him to shave the sides and leave the middle part (same haircut I’ve been wearing since 2010) and the dude starts wailing on the top of my head with a clipper. NO, MAN. NOOOOOOO. I left looking like a baby skinhead off to buy his first Oi! record. You seem to always have a mustache. Have you ever shaved your mustache before? Not since I first grew it. There’s a fairly long stretch of terrain between my nostrils and the top of my lip. Not particularly interested in illustrating the theory of evolution and where I fall in the line of primate ancestry. During our chat, you mentioned that you always wanted to be a hair stylist. Tell us more about this fascination. I’ve always messed with my own hair but the actual fascination came when I first started getting into this hardcore band from Orange County called Eighteen Visions. They were a bunch of punk dudes who just happened to work as stylists. They had some of the sickest breakdowns AND were capable of making you look good. Not too long ago, I met this guy on the Offset Guitars forum who happened to be a celebrity stylist and guitar builder. That’s definitely some fuel for the fire. Given a chance, would you pursue a career in hair styling? Probably not, but I’m absolutely sure I would’ve taken it up as a serious hobby. Your future plans for Love in Athens (aside from opening a salon)? Well, there’s an EP coming soon and I’ve laid down 7 out of 9 songs for a full length. Lots of exciting shit.

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LOVE IN ATHENSDISCOGRAPHY

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A young photographer from Laguna, Czar Kristoff sees the world around him as a photographic opportunity to tell a story that words could not describe. Often times black and white, his daily musings of youth and skate culture show us the honesty that colors don’t usually convey.

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How do you describe your photography style?Honestly, I’m still trying to figure it out. What/who made you decide to pick up a camera and become a photographer? I really want to pursue something that involves creativity. Something that will make me feel infinite. Photography is the closest thing to that. Life is too short to be miserable.Most of your photographs are in black and white. Is there any reason behind it? I just find comfort shooting in black and white that’s all.How do you describe the current skate scene in the Philippines? The state of the scene varies from region to region actually so I can’t describe it as a whole. But I have learned that the community is growing rapidly so that’s really nice. I heard there is a new skate park in Makati. It’s cool but way too expensive. I wish that the government could produce such paradise for skaters for free. We have enough basketball courts, come on!Aside from your raw coverage of the skate scene, you seem to like to shoot hair. Do you have a hair fetish? What do you like about hair? Lols. I have fetish in everything Do you plan your shots or are they spontaneous? I guess it doesn’t matter. A good photograph is a good photograph regardless how it’s done or made.What influences your work? Old pictures of young people, films, good music, hobos, anythingWho are the local photographers worth following on tumblr or fickr? Ralph Mendoza, Tim Serrano, Patrick Diokno and Charles Salazar.

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Check out his photo essay on page 36

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THERE

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fetishizing hair.

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Clara Balaguer talks about unconventional beauty with Arnie Jocson. Photography by Geric Cruz

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Kindly tell us a bit about you. Your name, age, profession, family background.My name is Clara. I was born on the year that Marshall McLuhan died, which makes me 34. I write and edit on paper and Final Cut as Lobregat Balaguer. I do social art and design projects as The OCD (Office of Culture and Design). What’s a typical day for you like? There is no such thing as a typical day. How do you spend your weekends? Home, work, Skype, family, plants and dog. Hobbies, interests? Plants. Do you have any particular quirks, man-nerisms that you embrace and/or hate? I embrace and abhor my big mouth. If I ask your friends and family, how will they describe you? Somewhat crazy. How will you describe yourself?Somewhat sane. When and what made you decide to shave or cut it all off? I woke up one morning after thinking about it for a long time (over 15 years) and said today. Describe the shaving process, was it gradual or one go? I tried cutting it off really short but it looked patchy. Then I tried shaving off a section with a razor. Then I had to do the walk of shame to the nearest byuti salon. What was your immediate reaction after seeing yourself with no hair? In the parlor, I hated it. As soon as I stepped out of the salon, I felt like I had done something important in accepting myself, and I loved it. As a woman, we are raised to value our hair as an extension of our beauty. Now

that it is stripped from you, how do you see yourself? Much more attuned to what makes me fe-male in my personality, not just my surface. Is this a deliberate move to empower you, to declare your femininity in a non-tradi-tional way? In a roundabout way, yes. Are you political in any way? In many ways. But I don’t vote. Not until I find the party that truly represents my ap-proach to society. Aside from saving on shampoo, etc. what is your favorite thing about your head now? It’s breezy. Is there any difference on how males treat you when you have hair and now that you have none? Not sure, it’s not been too long since I shaved my head and I haven’t had time to observe and recognize patterns yet. If they treat me any differently, it’s probably in subtle ways. What about females?I get asked a lot about the emotional reasons that led me to shave my head. A woman tends to need big reasons for shav-ing her head. It’s not really accepted that we could do it without having thoroughly thought it through. How do you react to them? I share more. Somehow I’ve become more honest? Maybe? Will you keep this (hair) style for long? I’ve thought maybe for six months. Have you decided what’s your next hair-style would be? No. Describe a good day. Sun, sea and sand and Serge.

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Gone are the days when gay guys are portrayed as manicured and well-trimmed individuals on popular media. The new HBO series Looking shows us that roughing it up is now a gay thing. YUCKZINE asked our friend Karl Leuterio, Gold Dot’s resident shoe designer, to talk to his hairy beau Larrend Lacuesta about hair fetish and the theory behind armpit hair. Interview and photographyby Karl Leuterio.

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KARL LEUTERIO: You have a lot of hairy parts in your body, so what’s your top favorite and why?LARREND LACUESTA: My beard and mustache because they make me feel sexier and it gives a good frame to my face.KL: What was your initial reaction when you first saw a growing hair on your pubic area? How old are you duringthat time?LL: It felt normal because I thought it was just a hair slowly growing out and if didn’t feel strange at all. It was 10 when it became really visibleKL: Do you shave your pubes or not? Any funny story you can share with us about it?LL: I shave whenever if feel like it. Often times I trim every couple weeks. I started doing it when I was 14. A funny story hmmm... hahahaha I bleached it! Yes I was 18 at that time and I was in a crazy mood and felt so funky as if I’m going to show it off to everyone. And no, I wasn’t so proud after I did it. hahaha

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KL: What’s the story behind your thick beard? How did it make you more attractive and sexier? LL: I decided to keep a full and thick beard when I was 17 and I get used to what it looked like with it since then. I’ve smooth shaven it one day and felt regretfully naked. I get featured on blogs about bearded guys and that inspired me to never shave it again because a lot of people appreciate what if look like. It became my trademark, surprisingly.KL: What if a promising job hired you but requires a clean shaven face? What will you choose?LL: I will refuse it definitely, unless that’s the only job in the world I could ever get! I personally think that having a beard will not affect the performance of a person at work. It doesn’t make any sense to me why some jobs require a clean shaven face. If you know how to groom it properly, you would still look presentable and it won’t easily just fall out of your face anyway. KL: Who is your hair idol? LL: Luke Worrall. HIs hair is so thick and alive and he looks great with any hair colour! I love his school boy charm.KL: What do you think is the theory behind armpit hair?LL: Not being a geek but I think the key word is PHEROMONES! Pubic hair and underarm hair release these chemicals to attract people sexually. And yeah, I think hair acts as a protection and warmth too.KL: Any hair product that works like magic on you? LL: Shampoo! Because I’m a guy with low maintenance hair and I hate putting other products on my hair. I was once a fan of hair dyeing until I noticed that I’m losing a lot of hair. I dyed my hair orange, blue, green, red, and blonde and I end up buying heaps of repairing shampoos.KL: Do you have hair fetish?LL: No, but I like hair on my body. I love seeing beards of other men but only on photographs.KL: In one word, how does it feel to be part of the hair issue?LL: HOT

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“God put those hairs for one sole purpose and that is to give jobs for people like me who take pleasuresin the pain of others. “ Interview andphotography by Bonnapart Galeng.

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BIKINI WAXER

How long have you been a bikini waxer? Almost 2 years. Before you enter this profession, what was your job? I was teller in a bank. What made you decide to change career? I got bored. I wanted more human interaction. When a friend of mine asked me if I wanted to be part of her new business venture, I said yes. I always wanted to work in a salon or spa or anything that deals with beauty. Fast-forward to your first day as a waxer, how was it? To be honest, it was exciting. I actually enjoyed it. It was a full-on Brazilian meaning completely hairless. Wasn’t it awkward for you to look at other girl’s private parts? It was a bit awkward for me pero ginusto ko ‘to eh. I had to show my clients that I am professional para they would trust me.

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Have you done the “procedure” to yourself? Yes. I practiced it on me. I had to know how it feels kaya I decided to do it. I haven’t tried it but it looks like it’s painful. It is painful especially on the first time but you’ll get used to it. It is also depends on the technician if she’s fast. Usually, napapamura talaga yung mga clients. Did you ever wax a guy? A lot of times. Surprisingly, a lot of guys now are into waxing. Oh yeah? Why do you think so? Siguro, they thought it’s cleaner. I never really asked them why they are getting waxed. I’m not really sure too. For me, it’s less masculine without, you know, hair in the places there supposed to be hair. But if you’re back has more hair than your chest then I’m I’d be gladly to wax it for you. So guys really have the hair down there totally removed? Not really. Other guys only want their butthole hair to be removed or their chest hair or armpit hair. Others want totally clean. Yun parang hindi pa sila nag-hit ng puberty! Any embarrassing experience? There’s this one time I was waxing this guy. Mukhang it wasn’t his first time kasimedyo konti lang yung hair nya. So, while I was waxing, he keeps on moaning. It’s not the painful kind of moaning. It’s like ‘oh my god this feels great’ kind of moaning. Tapos napansin ko na lang he had an erection na. Most of the guys gets an erection during the procedure and it’s totally fine with me coz it’s easier to wax. But this guy, I felt so embarrassed. Which do you prefer, waxing a girl or a guy? That’s a tricky question. I say, it’s easier to wax the guys. Have you waxed a celebrity or any famous personality? No celebrities yet but I’ve had some clients who looked like models. I’m not really sure about their names but I’ve seen them on print ads. You mentioned that you wanted more human interaction that’s why you changed career. How do you interact with the customers? I talked to them so they’d feel comfortable. Syempre, I don’t ask them personal questions but sometimes, sila na yung nagsasabi ng mga kwento nila sa buhay. Like, what are the usual reasons why people undergo bikini waxing? Usually magsuwimming sila. Or they have a special day with their bf/husband. Pero most of them are for hygiene purposes. Why do you think we have hair in the area where the sun doesn’t shine? Sabi ng science for protection daw but I really don’t know. Siguro God put those hairs for one sole purpose and that is to give jobs for people like me who take pleasures in the pain of others. Would you recommend a bikini wax to someone? Yes! More clients for me!

Miss Waxer works for a beauty clinic in Makati and requests her identity to be hidden.

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Essayby Angela Garrido

CURLS,UNINTERRUPTED

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I’ve always had a love-hate relationship with my hair. Being born with a headful of squiggly curls, not to mention a very thick volume of it, I’ve always felt like an outcast among the straight haired majority. I knew from the beginning that I was different. I bore a thick volumi-nous lock of curly brown hair that covered my face every chance it got. As a little girl, I had no choice but to have my mom tie all my hair into a ponytail, or section it into two curly pigtails that slapped me on the face when I ran. I envied my classmates who could afford letting their hair down or simply wearing the cute little headbands I really liked, and still get to spend an afternoon of playing without having to go home looking like their hair broke lose. I envied girls with bangs. And the freedom to wear their hair short, or in whatever way they want. Removing hair accessories at the end of every day was a pain. Brushes snapped, and plastic combs were history. During the 90's an innovative comb called “The Untangler”, which had met-al-like bristles and candy-colored plastic handles, was a hit in my all-girls campus. I had one and it did untangle my curls, but it also left me with a dead-beat, red scalp. There was also the butterfly clamp that was supposed to hold your hair well up, but it only gave the appearance of a pompom stuck atop my head. I switched shampoos every now and then, too. Every product on the market that I could afford that promised mane salvation was to be tested. I didn’t real-ly experience nirvana with any of them, so I just stuck to products that I thought smelled good. It also didn’t help that almost every shampoo commercial on TV featured women and young girls with the straightest, sleekest, jet-black hair. Society and consumer ideals always gravitated towards catering to straight hair. Having curls was a crime. It made one different, and I didn't want that. There was also the harmless teasing. My childhood saw the growing popularity of anime, and those dubbed in Tagalog were the more popular ones back then. A certain blondie named “Cedie” was one of the famous cartoon characters and it was also a nickname my classmates gave me because I bore the same light-colored curls as this animated boy. It was particularly humiliating for me whenever boys from the nearby

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school would pass by and overhear this teasing. But possibly the longest-run-ning name ever given me is Sto. Niño. That moniker was just begging to be used on me. That, and Goldilocks. Because I kept my hair long (my family thought it looked better long), I was always late for school. Once, my mother attempted to save me by getting me a haircut, and because of my hair was just abnormally thick, I had to suffer looking like a mushroom for a month or so. It took forever to air-dry my hair, using a towel would make it frizzy, and it was only during high school that I learned to use my sister’s hairdryer and try out her hair iron in an attempt to wear my hair different ways. The events I had to attend as a teenager, like prom and the occasional nights out brought together with the excitement, the fear of looking silly with a headful of frizz. There was always the choice of getting a haircut. And right before I started college, I made that choice and went slightly to the extremes with it: I traded my almost-reaching-the-waistline curly hair for the tiniest pixie cut known to man. I felt a burst of confidence when I started having this hairstyle. I thought it drew a lot of attention from people, too. I very much remember getting nods of approval from older guys when my big brother took me along with him to a party. I guess people bought my androgynous look, I thought. But weeks after that awesome haircut, I had to face the reality of my curls slowly retrieving from temporary slumber. So hair gel became my best friend despite the dandruff aftermath that it brought along. I could afford a hair product to fix that, I thought. And so it went on, for a good couple of years until an unexpected realization dawned upon me: it is possible that my curly hair was “cool” after all. That and I couldn’t afford hitting the bathroom ev-ery now and then to wet my hair with water to make it look sleek and tamed. I also started seeing this guy who shared the same curly brown locks as me, and it made me feel at ease to be around someone of kindred tresses. Sure there was still some teasing and name-calling going on, but they didn’t seem to matter anymore. Probably because as we get older, we do get wiser, and we are introduced to a more diverse community and group of people with vary-ing styles and tastes that it’s no longer scary to stand out and be seen, and hopefully, be appreciated, for being yourself. And in this day and age when rarity is embraced, and being “different” is nouveau, it’s good to let your hair down a little, be it straight or curly.

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The country’s premier film student orga-nization, the University of the Philippines’ Cineastes Studio (UP Cineastes), celebrat-ed the fifth installment of its annual silent video competition Haute Auteur. Film and music enthusiasts alike gathered at 70’s Bistro last March 8 for the live scoring of the top four films at the competition’s awards night known as Musique en Scene.

Haute Auteur 2014 is armed with the theme Feast Against the Beast – Triumph of the Multitude. It was first established in 2010 with the goal of realizing the organi-zation’s vision of growth and commitment to the world of imagination, creation and cinema.

What has always made Musique en Scene a feast for the senses is the experience of bringing film and music together. Each of the top films were accompanied by live performances, with Nikolas Red’s Halimaw scored by Halik ni Gringo, Robyn Apigo, Diana David and Madeleine Fortuny’s Boses scored by People’s Future, Miles Villanueva’s Beast scored by Identikit, and the winning film Jethro Jamon’s Solipsism Variations scored by Nights of Rizal.

Each film depicted different perspectives about the oppressive forces of today’s society. Last year’s winning film Gapas, di-rected by Ian Arondaing, was also screened and scored by Wilderness.

Aside from these live scorers, bands such as Col. Kernel, Keisuke, Ourselves the Elves, Jejaview and Session Road performed for the culmination of the event.

Various groups ranging from cinephiles to musicians, students to professionals were

Haute Auteur 2014: Feast Against the Beast — Triumph of the MultitudeA celebration of film, music and art

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in attendance. Kidlat Tahimik, one of the pillars of alternative cinema in the country, also graced the event.

Haute Auteur is the brainchild of the inno-vative minds of UP Cineastes, which molds its members to promote film appreciation and awareness among its community. The organization has produced influential figures in the music and film industry such as Ely Buendia, Joyce Bernal, Cathy Gar-cia-Molina, Jade Castro, Cris Pablo, among several others.

“It has always been our passion to bring new perspectives of cinema to film en-thusiasts and not only does Haute Auteur provide this perspective, it also acts as a venue for people to create things,” said UP Cineastes’ President Baschia Mariano.

“And with this year’s theme centering on collective action, we aim for inspiring films to be brought about—films not only of aesthetic and technical strength, but those that contain a positive and meaningful message. The UP Cineastes’ Studio is and always has been passionate about the cul-tivation of a meaningful Filipino cinema,” she said.

This year’s festival director Steven Evange-lio summarizes Haute Auteur as UP Cineas-tes’ initiative of “inspiring the people the way we know best—filmmaking.” To inspire means no less than “uplifting the spirits of the Filipino people and reaching out to let them know that they are not alone, that we are one with them as we celebrate and feast against the beast,” he said.

Prior to the Awards Night, a public exhibi-tion of all entries was held at UP Diliman, Trinoma Mall and UP Town Center.

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Baptise Parisi, a French guy who teaches English to Japanese online, unravels the mystery of washing dreadlocks.

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STEP 1Wet the dreads with shower water.

STEP 2Choose the hair product that suits you. There are heaps of dread-specific products in the market for you to choose from. For Baptiste, shower soap doesthe trick.

STEP 3Lather up.

STEP 4Make sure you cover the essential parts of your dreads with your chosen product. Check for some unwanted particles in between the hair and remove if there’s any. You might find a spider or another civilization in there.

STEP 5Rinse thoroughly. It is important to wash off all the residues to avoid moisture. Moist attracts bacteria and other nasty things.

STEP 6After washing away the suds, dry the dreads by ringing. Towel drying or using a dryer would make your life easier, though.

Washing dreadlocks depends on how old you have it and your lifestyle. Just make sure you never let a week passes without washing.

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Photographyby Czar Kristoff

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I remember this certain conversationI had with this random Caucasian guy via MIRC chat ages ago (circa 2001). Upon refusing to send his photo to me, I then asked him to describe himself instead so I could have at least a mental- rough sketch of how he looks like. I have a knack for imagining things and I trust myself with it, but when he finally said ‘I got some body hair in the right places, for some reason I find it difficult to picture out what he exactly mean with that. I mean, not everyone have hair on their arse like I do. Is it wrong to have them in that area and that I should’ve shaved it off? This made me think that there’s a subjective appreciation that exists when it comes to hair and how it is strongly connected to the notions of our ideal beauty. Text, styling and photographyby FOOKSHIT.

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Model: KeenoCustomized Tee: WegoDenim Shorts: Cosmic WonderSocks/Shoes: FrapboisSpecs/Necklace: Village Vanguard

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EXTENTIONS

Photographyby Rxandy Capinpin

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Y U C K Z I N Ewww.yuckzine.tumblr.com

Editor/DesignBonnapart Galeng

LayoutLizette Teotico

CONTRIBUTORSArnie JocsonCzar KristoffRxandy CapinpinKarl LeuterioAngela GarridoFookshit

For contribution, inquiries and love, email yuckzine@gmail.com

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