Category: Life

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After Years Of Hiding Their Body Sam Smith Is Living In The Light

Sam Smith is living in the light (image via Instagram)
It’s a new year and while lots of folks are heading to the gym to fulfill a ‘get in shape’ resolution, Grammy Award winner Sam Smith is taking just a minute to appreciate being exactly who they are. Smith recently posted a shirtless pic to their Instagram writing, “Feels so good to have my top off on holiday.” “Spent all my life hiding my body from the sun,” they continued. “The last year my skin has been soaking in that LIGHT.” Smith closed the post with a bit of self-love advice: “Don’t let anyone or anything stop you from feeling that kiss from above you beautiful humans.”

With over 1.1 million Likes, it seems Smith’s fans agree, including newly-minted Golden Globe winner Taron Egerton who commented, “You look gorgeous. X” The 27-year-old has had a big year on the issue of self-acceptance having come out as genderqueer and non-binary in 2019. Speaking to body positivity activist Jameela Jamil on the Instagram show I Weigh Interviews last March, Smith shared that their body image issues were “the basis of all my sadness.” They also revealed they had liposuction at the age of 12. “At the time, I think I was very happy about it,” said Smith. “It didn’t really change anything. I think I put the weight back on in two weeks because I haven’t figured out my relationship with food, so it didn’t really change anything. But being 12 years old and having liposuction on your chest is quite a big deal.”

The ‘Stay With Me’ singer is clearly feeling more comfortable about their body and spreading the message of body positivity with more shirtless photos on Instagram.

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2020 MOOD

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🌊 The Pacific Ocean is fucking cold

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🌊

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After massive successes with “Dancing with a Stranger” and “How Do You Sleep,” Smith capped off 2019 with a cover of the iconic Donna Summer track, “I Feel Love.” It would appear that’s an honest assessment of Smith’s current situation. Good on them.

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InstaHunk Round-Up: Weekend Edition

Wilson Cruz (via Instagram)

Checking in with the men of Insta: Wilson Cruz (above) spent his New Year’s celebration in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and came out the other side as a well-rested human (below). #LoveSomePV

 

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A well rested human. Thank you PV.

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Rodiney Santiago met a new friend inspiring him to share his thoughts on being vegetarian:

 

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“When I see bacon, I see a pig, I see a little friend, and that’s why I can’t eat it. Part of me becoming a vegetarian was due the fact I would look at my burger, then look at dogs, and I wouldn’t see any difference and would suddenly question myself on why dogs have rights and others animals like pigs don’t. What’s the difference? A year ago I personally choose not to eat them anymore because I educated myself on factory farming and animal cruelty, and I suddenly realized that what was on my plate were living beings with feelings. I just couldn’t disconnect myself from the truth for that moment forward in my life. Our rationality does not make us superior to the beings that dwell here on earth, it is in fact, the other way around, we are responsible for all the imbalances that occur here. Once you understand and educate your senses you realize that all animals are here in the planet with us not for us ! ❤️#vegetarian #exuma #pigbeach #exumabahamas #bahamas #loveanimals #loveanimalsdonteatthem #peta #animalrights #awakening #awake #awakenedsoul

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Gus Kenworthy ignored the camera as he gazed pensively at the horizon in Tahiti:

 

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Me (feat. feet)

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Aaron Kodak admired Phi Phi Island from a distance but no one seems to see any island in this photo:

Someone was playing sportsball somewhere:

 

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Caption this!

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Wes Dupee found a cute new look for his last weekend in LA:

 

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Something cute for my last weekend in LA

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In case you’re wondering – no, I never saw anyone just stroll down the street in Beverly Hills looking like Ignacio Pérez Rey when I lived there:

 

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California dreamin’

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And speaking of Beverly Hills, Emmy Award winner Billy Porter shares his first lewk of the awards season, which he calls ‘Handmaids Tale Realness:’

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Talking Cancer & Fitness With Dr. Phil’s Fitness/Nutrition Expert Robert Reames

Fitness & nutrition expert Robert Reames
I recently did an episode of the American LBS radio/video podcast with Dr. Phil Show head trainer and nutritionist, Robert Reames. The podcast highlights inspirational and motivational stories involving wellness sharing information from some of the best fitness folks in the industry. I’ve known Rob (an awesome source of great fitness info) since the 1990s. He asked me to chat about my cancer journey back in 2009 and how fitness & my dance background played a part in my recovery. While I’ve mentioned my bout with cancer on The Randy Report, this is probably the first time many of you might hear first hand what my little journey was like. Hit play below, and you can find out more info from and about super-smart guy Rob at his official website here.

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New Boo Sent His Nudes To A Lot Of Guys – Does It Bother You?

As the world grows bigger and bigger thanks to the internet, parts of our lives make their way out onto the interwebs. The ‘Dear Prudence’ advice column over at Slate received a question about how to handle the news that a new-ish boyfriend has shared his naked pics (and video) with what seemed like too many guys in the past. The writer (male, 22) says he’s been dating his boo (male, 24) for five months and the bf recently shared that he’d sent his naked self to over 100 guys over the past few years before the couple got serious. The bf says he’s since deleted the pics he received over the years and isn’t sharing pics anymore. But the writer still finds the news unsettling as it bothers him that “1) so many people have seen such a sensitive part of him; 2) if he sent it to that many people, odds are that there is some content of him online and still in the hands of many people; and 3) these people still follow him on social media, know who I am from his posts, and know that we are together.” Apparently, sending nude pics is a foreign dynamic for the advice seeker and doesn’t understand why his now-steady “would want to do that to so many, even when single.” Scrolling on Twitter recently, the questioner saw a nude photo on Twitter, and it somehow came up that his boyfriend had exchanged pics with that guy. Color the 22yo officially freaked out. The writer wonders how he can stay in the relationship without “being miserable and thinking about how many people his steady has sent nudes to?” ‘Prudence’ gets down to brass tacks in her response: “Before you and your boyfriend got serious, he was a single adult who enjoyed sharing photos of his body with other adults.” Prudie acknowledges that new relationships can open up “fears and insecurities” for folks but reminds the young man that no one did anything wrong. In that the number of people who have seen the boyfriend naked seems to bother the young man, Prudence asks, “What number of people that have seen him naked would have made you feel comfortable? What’s the correct number of people he should have sent nudes to?” The final words of wisdom from Prudie encourage the young gay to communicate with his bf about his fears as well as finding “a way to let go of your desire to control his past.” When I first met my husband many years ago, he shared some of his sexual history with me and it turned out he’d had much more experience than I. I remember it kind of gave me pause at the time. I wondered if I might be too ‘vanilla’ or not adventurous/experienced enough for him. This was back in the 1990s and I got over my concerns. Twenty-five years later, we’re very secure in our relationship, but I remember feeling those insecurities. Today, with all our new-fangled technology and dating apps, sharing pics among gay men seems de rigueur. What do you think, readers? Would it bother you to find out over 100 men had seen your guy naked? Or is this to be expected today? Let me know in the comment section. (image via Depositphotos)

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Daily Dog: Jenga Ninja

When I first saw this video clip of a dog playing Jenga, I thought there were freezes in the clip. But it’s actually the dog slowing her roll, being careful to just pull out the one game piece. Sorry, but I’m just amazed. Watch below.

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An Act Of Kindness & The Magic Of Movies

An act of kindness, and the magic of movies at Christmastime. This comment on the YouTube video for Josh Groban’s “Believe” from Polar Express has received over 1,000 responses:

I remember when i didnt like christmas bcuz i was a little black boy who saw everyone else with a “complete” family, but i only had my brother and my ma. They always seemed happy, while my ma seemed stressed all the time. so i kept to myself, hoping that at least someone seen that i was hurt especially on a holiday.

But no one did. I started to think that wen people say “christmas bring ppl together” was shitty at only the age of 6.

But an old white lady at school saw my hurt, and made my time at the school fun. She gave me things, taught me things, played with me (oh, is it appropriate to say its tough to literally have u and ur brother as the only blacks at that school?), and treated me with more respect than anyone at the school.

One day, she called me out of class, and to be honest i thought she was mad at me, but she took me out to see this movie (Polar Express). I was so happy, it was jus like yesterday.

Maybe bcuz i was a innocent little kid then, but i felt like she was family. I never knew someone like her would make that hate for christmas turn into pure love and respect.

I never seen her since, but Im 17 now, 11 yrs later, and one of the best christmas gifts ever is to see her again and thank her for turning that hate into straight happiness all year round. Not only for Christmas. She had a big impact on who i am today.

Idk whos reading this, but i hope the rest of your years here on earth is great. Happy holidays!

“You have everything you need, if you just believe.”

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Teen Bodybuilder Inspiring Folks To Take Charge Of Their Lives

Alex Tilinca (image via Instagram)
Alex Tilinca is a lot like other 18-year-olds in their freshman year of college. Having reached the end of his first semester as a marketing major at Hofstra University, the teen is putting all his attention on his studies for upcoming final exams. Being a good student, he’s stepped away for a short time from his favorite sport, amateur bodybuilding, where Tilinca doesn’t just compete in competitions, but he’s an award-winning transgender competitor in the sport.

Last August, Tilinca enter the Teen Classic Physique competition in the Bronx and took home the first place trophy beating out cisgender bodybuilders. “It was like the universe was telling me to keep going. Don’t stop,” Tilinca told New York Newsday. “This is what I’m meant to do with my life. It shows it’s possible to do what I want to do.” While he’s talking a breather from the sport to focus on his studies, he still has an amazing physique. In a recent Instagram post, he told his 18,000+ followers he’s letting his 5’3” body “situate” at his current weight (165 lbs)  and giving his body “a breather to really settle.”

Tilinca says he didn’t set out with the intention of becoming a bodybuilder. He started lifting after having top surgery two years ago and wanted to put on some weight. “I just wanted a little more muscle,” he told Newsday. “But I really think once you get the bug, it’s very, very hard to just stop.” “When I saw bodybuilding, I saw it as a tool of control over what you look like,” Tilinca said. “For someone being trans, that’s amazing. It’s really empowering. If you don’t like something, you know you can change it. It’s like sculpting your own body.” Newsday spoke with two-time Mr. Olympia runner-up Sadik Hadzovic, who has coached Alex, about the empowering nature of bodybuilding. “I can relate to what Alex went through,” Hadzovic told Newsday. “When I was 18 years old, I hated my body. Whether you are a man or woman or transgender or not, it doesn’t make a difference. We are all the same. We just want to improve ourselves and be a little bigger, a little faster, look a little better.” Obviously, Tilinca’s progress in the eighteen months he’s been working out has yielded incredible results. In the below post on Instagram, he weighed 130 lbs. and had 5-6% body fat.

 

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Anyone wanna guess my waist size about 2 days out here? 🤔 . #throwback

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The National Physique Committee (NPC) is the largest amateur bodybuilding organization in the United States and often viewed as a stepping stone to competing at the International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness (IFBF) competitions. The IFBF hosts the annual competition that awards the Mr. Olympia title. Tilinca says his ultimate goal is to become the first trans man to win the biggest prize of all in the bodybuilding world, Mr. Olympia. Newsday notes that the National Physique Committee doesn’t have any specific rules in regard to transgender competitors on its official website, and so Tilinca never told anyone he’s trans. He just put his head down and worked hard on his body. It’s important to the teen that the world see transgender people not as “victims” but as people who can “do anything they set their minds to.” And he’s proving that one bicep curl at a time. Go, Alex! Click here to watch Newsday’s video feature on Alex.

(h/t Outsports, Newsday)

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Awesome Fun At ‘Meet N Grease’ Sing-A-Long

Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta at ‘Meet n Grease’ Sing a long event in West Palm Beach
Had an awesome time at the ‘Meet n Grease’ movie sing-a-long in West Palm Beach, Florida, last night as Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta reunited to host the event. As Travolta noted during the Q&A segment after the movie, it was the first time the duo had been in costume as “Danny” and “Sandy” since the film wrapped 42 years ago. The sing-a-long version of the mega-hit movie musical has been around for years and a staple of outdoor venues during the summer. What I didn’t know was the promoters hand out props for audience participation. During the pep rally sequence, every time you see the cheerleaders you wave a set of pompoms; there are bubbles to blow for “Beauty School Dropout;” and a racing flag to wave at the start of the penultimate drag race.
(photo: Caleb Petersen)
The promoters had one of the real Greased Lightning cars to take pics with, and Olivia & John (who wore a wig to look like his Danny Zuko character) posed for photos in a malt shop setting. The three film T-Birds (Michael Tucci, Barry Pearl, and Kelly Ward) were also there taking pics and entertaining the audience. The event moves to Tampa, Florida, tonight and then to Jacksonville on Sunday. I understand there are talks to do more in the future with ONJ and JT across the country since the initial run has been so successful 🙂 Here are a few photos from the event, and if you click over to TMZ you can watch Travolta and ONJ sing a bit of “Sandy” and “Hopelessly Devoted To You” and a little ‘Greased Lightning’ dance action with audience members (including a certain blogger you might know…)
In the malt shop with Olivia Newton-John, John Travolta and hubby Michael
Recreating that final shot from the movie in the actual Greased Lightning car!
The T-Birds: me with Barry Pearl, Michael Tucci, hubby Michael and Kelly Ward
One of the original ‘Greased Lightning’ cars!
The GREASE T-Birds reunite: Barry Pearl, John Travolta, Michael Tucci and Kelly Ward
Team ONJ at the end of the night 🙂