Portland, Oregon
V o l u m e 18 ♦ N u m b e r 6 ♦ J a n u a r y 19, 2001
The Whole
World Watches
Portland man. puts
his life online
by
R ich B ray
Eric Eberhart
I tisn ’ t often you see an interview subject
naked before you meet him. (Or after, for that
matter.)
I
So when 1 meet Eric Eberhart at the
Starbucks in Pioneer Courthouse Square and he
orders Passion tea, I fear the worst. I admit I
brought certain preconceptions about someone
who poses for mens magazines.
But soon all my biases evaporate with the
steam from my coffee. 1 find Eberhart quite unas-
suming, incredibly genuine and well-spoken with
surprising sincerity and candor. And, as a bonus,
much better-looking than his magazine photos,
with a winning smile.
Eberhart is well-known in Portland’s gay
community as a very visible bartender five nights
a week at the Silverado, where he started out as
a dancer.
Now he is even more well-known since land
ing on the cover and in the centerfold of last
month’s Men magazine. The photo spread is typi
cally slick with an intentional military slant that
plays up his r£sum£.
These pictures are not Eberhart s first expo
sure in print, however. Two years ago he
appeared in Honcho magazine.
The photos that appear in Men were taken dur
ing the Honcho shoot and were part of a trade with
the photographer. Eberhart didn’t even realize he
was on display in Men until it hit the newsstands.
Asked about the response to his most recent
magazine appearance, he says: “The way people
look at it and the way 1 look at it are two differ
ent things. I’m looking at it as, ‘This is as far as I
can go, and it’s time to really start using my head
instead of using my looks.’ ” And he does seem
to have moved on mentally, somehow distant
from the photos in Men, almost as if they are of
someone else.
Continued on Page 38
by Jonathan Kipp
Page 22
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Kari Kruse (right) teaches administrators and students (top)
a lesson in tolerance
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