2016 Coverboy of the Year First Runner Up: JR Russ
2016 Coverboy of the Year Contest
This is the second time JR Russ has competed in the Coverboy of the Year competition, having first appeared as a coverboy in December, 2002. He made the top ten, but didn’t place. Second time, it turns out, is a charm.
In the 14 years since, JR has crafted a career in the arts, developing his skills in both dance and storytelling, and combining the two into his own show at last summer’s annual Fringe festival. He’s an avid devotee of Star Trek (one of his tattoos has a direct connection to the film First Contact) and the desert gathering, Burning Man, an event he attends with ritualistic fervor.
The 35-year-old has retained the youthfulness of his first coverboy appearance, when he was photographed by Jeff Code. “I try not to stress about things too much,” he says. “Stress ages people more than a lot of things and I’ve generally tried to live a happy life,” adding, “Working in the arts, that’s not always easy.”
Photographed by Julian Vankim at Town Danceboutique on Saturday, Dec. 10, 2017
Read JR’s original Coverboy interview at metroweekly.com/coverboy-jr.
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