Identify: Yves Mathieu-East
Age: 28
Hometown: Brooklyn
Now Lives: In a one-bedroom house within the Bushwick neighborhood of Brooklyn.
Declare to Fame: Mr. Mathieu-East is a mannequin, queer activist and R&B singer who has walked the runway for Pyer Moss and appeared in campaigns for Thom Browne and Ivy Park x Adidas. He makes use of his chiseled physique as a tattoo canvas that tells his against-all-odds story. A Black-power fist, for instance, covers his proper calf, and the numbers 1 by means of 11 on his face symbolize his years of sobriety.
“From my head to my toes, tattoos cowl any space of my physique you possibly can consider, even those that you just don’t need to say out loud,” Mr. Mathieu-East mentioned. “It’s a reminiscence museum of my life and the individuals who influenced me.”
Massive Break: Mr. Mathieu-East has a knack for commanding consideration along with his sq. jaw, hazel-green eyes and bodily presence. In 2012, a snapshot of him as an 18-year-old holding a transgender rights signal at a New York Metropolis Satisfaction rally blew up on Tumblr. A yr later, whereas in London visiting a tattoo artist, he was scouted by a mannequin agent on the subway. Days later, he booked his first gig as a showroom mannequin for Vivienne Westwood. “My personhood and my expertise on earth is informed by means of my presentation,” he mentioned.
Newest Undertaking: Mr. Mathieu-East is a prolific volunteer and queer advocate. He has spent greater than 300 hours enjoying bingo and serving lunches to seniors on the Manny Cantor Heart in Decrease Manhattan. He works with the Jed Basis, which gives suicide prevention and different psychological well being providers for younger folks.
One other ardour is fostering pit bulls by means of the Animal Care Facilities of NYC. “We’ve obtained canine which have been burned, lower, stabbed, bitten, starved and downright dying,” he mentioned. “I’m on my thirty eighth foster canine in the mean time and hope to spherical it out to 40 earlier than the yr is over.”
Subsequent Factor: Mr. Mathieu-East has been obsessive about making R&B music since he was 5, when he heard Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Obtained to Do With It” on his grandfather’s file participant. In 2018, he self-released an album, “Chronicle 1,” adopted by “Bops From a Lovely Damaged Hearted Black Boy,” a set of 13 sultry R&B songs that he wrote and produced. He’s not too long ago filmed music movies for 2 new singles — “Deeper” and “I Solely Do This for You” — and can be making a foray into performing. “I’ve been forged in a film that’s finest categorized as a romantic thriller, however I can’t converse an excessive amount of on it simply but,” he mentioned.
Rising Pains: Mr. Mathieu-East had a tricky childhood. When he was 5, his father was incarcerated, and he bounced between Brooklyn and Melbourne, Fla., the place he stayed with prolonged household. “I used to be transferring round fairly a bit earlier than I discovered stability,” he mentioned. “I used to be very quiet as a child, which is why I believe I’m so outspoken now.”
Throughout his sophomore yr at Palm Bay Magnet Excessive Faculty, he was expelled for getting a tattoo of a tear beneath his left eye, he mentioned. His expulsion precipitated an uproar, and his classmates efficiently petitioned for his reinstatement. “The petition shocked the hell out of me, in a cool method,” he mentioned.