We’d be fibbing if we said we weren’t proud of what the gorgeous Mark Hewlett went on to accomplish after making us drool on the cover of our April 2001 issue. Whether it was the addition of his Adonis-like body on the cover of subsequent national magazines like Men’s Health or his butch takeover and eventual championship of Fear Factor, we like to think we discovered the Zimbabwe-born model/actor/activist. We were lucky enough to get Mark on the phone while he was still in his wetsuit after a morning of catching waves in Laguna (you’re welcome for that image) to find out what he’s been up to since receiving the Instinct stamp of gaypproval over ten years ago.

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Featuring gorgeous out men on the cover of Instinct Magazine has long been a policy of the publication, but often our cover models are not fully out of the closet. Michael James, who graced our July/August 2001 cover, posed for the shoot knowing full well his family--which was unaware of his sexuality at the time--might see the story. We caught up with Michael--who responded to our questions via email from Iceland--to chat about his previously stated distaste for wearing clothing, his job in the pharmaceutical industry and how his family reacted to his coming out on the cover of Instinct Magazine nine years ago this month...