A move to a new city, a sex dictionary and some good ol’ ambition were enough to turn, what started out as a hobby, into a British boy-culture Bible. Coitus, the brainchild of Cypriot photographer Pantelis, is a bi-annual magazine fueled by pure boy power. Francisco Lachowski , Sebastian Sauve and Marlon Teixeira are just some of the industry’s hottest faces to appear on the pages of the magazine. Chasseur questioned Pantelis about the sexual elements found in his work, the future of Coitus and his favourite boys.
When and under what circumstances was ‘Coitus’ born and what inspired you to choose such a controversial title?
I had reach a point in my life where I felt I was too comfortable in a 9-5 job and I wasn’t pursuing my dreams as I initially set out to do by moving to London. So I decided to take a risk and found a small magazine so I can show what I can do as a photographer as well as an editor by putting something like that together. Coitus is still a hobby I keep doing from my room at this point but commercially it has exceeded every expectation. Because my work has always been sexual I knew the name had to match too. I actually got a ‘sex’ dictionary and started looking at words that would look good as a magazine logo and then I came across Coitus. The magazine originally featured both boys and girls so it seemed appropriate.
Every big project comes with equally big challenges. What were yours, delving into such an ever-demanding industry?
The challenges are a lot and on a daily basis. As I mentioned it’s a magazine that was created from my bedroom with the help from some creative contributors. But financially there is no backing and we recycle the money each issue makes to create the next one. So each issue could potentially be the last if we get things wrong and bring out an issue that doesn’t sell. Also for the time being it’s a hobby, an exhausting hobby that me and whoever helps, have to work on our free time. For the last three years I have personally been working 18 hours per day, to be able to juggle paid jobs as photographer, retoucher and graphic designer as well as run the magazine and other creative projects. Getting recognition for your work though makes all this worthy.
What inspires sexuality to your work and what attracted you to sensual photography in first place?
I was always interested in sexuality in pop culture in general. I think you either are as a person or you are not. You can’t be influenced into it. Even things I was interested before I knew I wanted to be a photographer, show my interest, so it was natural to be inspired from sex in my photography. The work of David Lachapelle, Terry Richardson and Guy Bourdin at an original stage, helped me form my style of photography and art direction.
How do you cast your models and which has been your favourite boy to work with so far?
We usually cast models just from looking at photos. The nature of the magazine with being independent means that we don’t really have the time for castings etc but we try to see the energy and vibe as well as how each model photographs from a selection of photos. The personality makes a huge difference though because you can see someone’s energy in the photos. I really like to bring back over and over again models who we have great time working with. A lot of the models are now friends! I loved working with guys like River and Francisco etc, but Sim Jennings and Roland Lepp are two of my favourite models to photograph cause they are so interesting and intense and they light a room with their personalities as well as their looks.
Your latest issue puts the ‘American Boy’ figure on the spot. America has always been really conservative when it comes to sexual rebellion, though. How do you view this connection?
The American boy has always been iconic in films, photo and fashion campaigns so with a selection of photos we got from America for this latest issue it came natural to celebrate that. I do wonder a lot how a big powerful country like America can be so conservative at the same time as its progressive and Coitus has always been about fantasy. Going through the pages of it you escape real life for a few minutes into a world we would all love to live, a bit like a Lana Del Rey video. So for this issue we had our take on how we picture boys in America.
As a photographer you are very loyal to your theme but how much of a ‘bad boy’ do you see in yourself?
Unfortunately I am not a bad boy at all. I always wanted to be, but I am just boring. For example I can never be spontaneous and I like to have everything planned. I always wish I would go out one night party for my life and not care how I will get home. But I can never do that. So once again I create the fantasy of what I would like to be through my work. Maybe one day I’ll manage to do something crazy.
Could you give us a little taste of what to expect from both you and Coitus in the near future?
I have reached a point with Coitus where I feel that it needs to go to the next level. Stop being a tiring hobby and become a business, so I am hoping to approach publishers and present them to brand I have created these past few years and see where it goes from there. If that does not happen then I will take a break for a bit to rest and then come back with new ideas, look etc. Personally I would like to experiment a bit with video, start making short films and see how it goes.