Just in time for the Project Runway finale on Wednesday (10 pm, Bravo), blog GaySpot offers up a few tasty shots (including these shirtless samples) of the show's (or at least this season's) most famous ex-contestant, Seattle native Jack Mackenroth.
Jack Mackenroth, shirtless
He is also cover-boy and interview subject in the Jan/Feb issue of HIV Plus magazine:
The 38-year-old Mackenroth, who's been positive since 1990, gave the American public a new look at HIV, not only challenging expectations of what a 'sick' person looks like but showing the complexities and seeming contradictions of living with the disease as well. Numerous lingering shots of his shirtless body firmly established him as the resident hunk--and a lovable one at that.
In the interview, he says his mother is enjoying the attention she gets here in Seattle because of her now-famous son: "Seattle doesn't have a lot of demicelebrities. My mom has all the doctors and other nurses coming up to her [to talk about the show]. She's loving it!"
He also talks about his first of a few experiences at the Gay Games:
I first went when I was 20, in Vancouver. And just walking into that auditorium -- there were probably 20,000 people screaming, which is the antithesis of the experience of being gay, generally. We're told that we're not lovable and we're not worthy and we're not as good. Since that first one, I've never missed one.
GaySpot offers this bio:
The ripped stud earned legions of fans by being open and honest about being HIV-positive, proving himself a role model by persevering in the face of adversity.
A successful fashion model through much of the ’90s, an up and coming designer and a force to be reckoned with in the deep end (he holds records in competitive swimming), Jack is a rarity in the gay community—open, honest and sexy as hell, he’s the type of guy you can really look up to… and lust after in the process.
As Heidi said last week on the show's wrap-up chat, the producers expected that Jack might become one of the finalists. It was not to be since he had to leave the show early because of a bout of staph infection that landed him in the hospital for several days. This year's installment would have been a far different show if Jack had stayed. Chris, one of the contest's final four, came back to the show only because of Jack's exit. So, we wouldn't have heard that hearty laugh throughout the show's run.
Jack's celebrity activism has continued even after leaving the show. As Towleroad reported, his reality-show-alumnus romance with Top Chef's Dale Levitsky prompted him to explain on his blog at least a bit about safe sex among boyfriends with different HIV status.