Dear Ladies,
ESSENCE.com heard your cries to bring back the buff and brown men. When we stumbled across the pics of this chocolate Haitian hunk, we knew you’d fall just a little in love at the sight of MAX PHILISAIRE and his Ken-doll build. Those abs! Those arms! That “V!” Oh my!
When we caught up with the 29-year-old chiseled cutie at his LA home and found him as charming as he is cut up. He was all too eager to dish on his 2010 role as a featured guest on RuPaul’s “Drag Race” on Vh1 (no, he’s not in drag), his focus on God (yes, he’s a strong and outspoken believer), and his new girlfriend (yes, ladies, we can look, but we can not touch.)
You ask. We deliver.
Love,
ESSENCE.com
By DEMETRIA L. LUCAS
Max is a personal trainer and fitness model, but before he got into the body business he served his country proudly in the US Army.
“I was stationed in Germany, deployed to a peace-keeping mission in Kosovo, [and] deployed to Iraq for 15 months” he recounts.
He retired in 2004.
Making a living off of his body was never Max’s intent. He sort of fell into the business.
“I had a look that [they] wanted,” he says. I wondered, “What can I do? Let me put on some muscle.”
“It was very little at first,” he adds. “But I liked the feedback. Then I became a personal trainer, then a fitness model, then fashion shows.”
Max describes himself as “selfless, laid back and down to earth.”
“My look doesn’t fit my personality,” Max admits. “When I started working out after high school, I was 150lbs and very skinny. My personality hasn’t changed with this body. In fact, this doesn’t even feel like me. I feel like I’m wearing a suit.”
“My mind is my best asset,” says Max, who says he is most often complimented on his abs. “People don’t realize that until I speak to them. My body is something I built. It was quick, easy. I don’t let my accessories manipulate the person I am.”
Max met his girlfriend of 4 months on Facebook.
“She was very attractive, but in this industry a lot of people are,” he recalls. “But when I spoke to her, she was down to earth. The more we found out about each other, the more we had in common. We’re both people of God and have leadership and guidance through him.”
Even though he’s off the market, we asked Max to indulge our fantasies and tell us what he’d be like on a first date.
“The little things are very important. I’d found out what type of food you prefer, and take you to the nicest location I can find,” he begins. “Of course, I’ll pick you up. I’ll spend the evening treating you the way a woman should be treated — with respect.”
“Some women haven’t been treated with the proper respect, " Max continues “They haven’t had their chair pulled out. If that’s not what you’re used to, I’d like to be the one to show you that. I know that when I make you comfortable, you’ll open up and I [can] get a better chance of getting to know the woman that I’m out with.”
Max is big on romance. The sweetest thing he’s ever done?
“I took my girlfriend to the park for a sunset picnic,” he says. “My cooking skills aren’t up to par yet, so I stuck with the basics—chicken breasts, pasta and garlic bread.”
His biggest turn-off?
“A woman with no self respect” he says, “If you’re showing off your breasts or [your] butt cheeks, we’re done. That should be private. I want to see that, of course. But not on a first date.”
Also on his list of turn-offs:
“I pay attention to the way a woman speaks and carries herself,” he adds. “If she’s not aware of her worth, I feel like being a big brother, not her man.”
Max is currently working on an annual calendar, which will display his lovely features.
You can find out more about him—and that sexy calendar—on Twitter (/MaxPhilisaire), Facebook, or his personaly site MaxPhilisaire.net.
