SEXY MEN OF YEG FOOD

stripping down for the Edmonton Food Bank

By Bri Vos

November 26^th, 2014

SATIRICAL SEXINESS

Edmonton, Alberta’s long winter months and thriving beer industry allow for some pretty strange ideas to take root. In the warm light of summer some of these ideas seem downright absurd, but some seem too deliciously ridiculous to let go of. Owen Peterson & Corey Meyer’s ironic sexy “fireman’s calendar” was one such idea. These two giants of the Edmonton local food scene wanted to spice up their city and make some money for a good cause with a little unsolicited nudity.

When they approached us with the hopes we’d help execute their plan, we jumped at the chance to be involved.

I mean really, who wouldn’t?

Model Selection

The next task was to find the best 12 men that suited our criteria. They needed to be active members of the local food scene: producers, distributors, eaters, etc. They had to be comfortable with - scratch that - cajoled into stripping down for a good cause. And most importantly, they had to have had absolutely no professional modelling experience.

Peach Schnapps all around

Corey & Owen were obvious first choices and we did a shoot with each of them first so we could use their images to persuade others to join our cause. Owen was first, all big talk, but when it came down to it, only a fortifying shot of peach schnapps induced him to strip down to his apron in his bakery early on a Monday morning.

Prairie Mill Bread Co. is closed on Mondays but that didn’t stop an enthusiastic customer from seeing us in the shop and insistently knocking on the door to buy bread. Owen came to the door in his apron, obviously underdressed and told him, in his sexiest voice, that they weren’t baking today.

Corey was next. ACME Meat Market is always making waves in the media because they are such a fantastic butcher shop, so Corey is no stranger to the camera. His leather apron looks sharp in photos and his vintage-looking shop is a photographer’s dream. However, he too required a post work beer and a pig’s head to help peel away the apron and show off those meat cutting guns.

Of course once the photos of Corey and Owen made the rounds, they were flooded with requests from their friends and colleagues to see themselves featured. We set aside a few days and packed them full of shoots. It was an interesting experience. It’s not every day that you get invited into someone’s work space and say “Nice to meet you, can you take your shirt off?”

Our shoot with Brody from The Organic Box set the bar pretty high. A little encouragement and he was down to his underwear within 10 minutes. While the warehouse workers looked on, we artfully arranged some organic goodies and got the shot.

At Rge Rd we had Blair’s partner Caitlin as a creative consultant and loved it. She brought out the best in him. And by best, I mean sheep skin, suspenders, cognac and axes.

We were barely through the door at Alley Kat when Neil stripped off his shirt and gave us a very special tour of the brewery. I don’t think many people have experienced Alley Kat with quite the same kind of guide.

Michael, of Earth’s General Store brought the tone back to a respectable level when he unbuttoned his shirt, pulled up his socks and straddled his bicycle.

We ended that day’s shoot with an evening stroll through the back alleys of Stoney Plain Rd with Tom, from Theo’s Greek Kouzina. Originally he intended to replicate their logo (a greek goddess cradling wine and offering grapes). In lieu of a toga, he ended up with a white bathrobe, some flip-flops and an enthusiastic back alley audience.

We’ve been involved with Riverbend Gardens for eight years, but this project helped bring our relationship with Aaron to a new level. We spent most of our shoot in the fields of corn and onions or lifting irrigation pipes out of the river, and as the shoot went on he started to get really into it. Before we were done he insisted that he get a shot with his bike, a long sought after and recently acquired dream.

And since we were in the business of making dreams come true, we fulfilled one of Skylar’s ambitions on his shoot. He filled his Original Canadian Kettle Corn trailer full of popcorn and laid out across the top, all the while rocking sexy socks and denim cut offs.

Our patio beers with Phil, the Baconhound was pretty laid back. It only took two beers and two shots of peach schnapps to get him to feel at home in just his apron.

Nevin, of Drift Food Truck also supplied us with his own art director - his wife Kara. As he soaped up the food truck, Kara encouraged him to let his hair down and give us a sexy wet hair whip. However, we weren’t the only ones who enjoyed the show. The same car took three passes down the back alley where we were shooting before heading off on their way.

Last but not least, we met Danny from Nature’s Green Acres half way between his farm and Edmonton. We drove the dusty, gravel, rural roads until we found just the right spot: a field with some corral boards, pasture and cattle. We crawled through the barbed wire just as the sun was beginning to set and before we knew it, Danny had his shirt off and was all business. I think we have his wife Shannon to thank for the well-practiced poses and expressions he pulled out during the shoot.