THE CATWALK GUYS OF AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL… DENZEL

THE CATWALK GUYS OF AMERICA’S NEXT TOP MODEL… DENZEL
 Focused And On Point
By B. James 

Another male contestant loses a chance at becoming the first male America's Next Top Model.  Denzel got eliminated twice in one night.  Now how does that happen? Well first he was in the bottom two and got eliminated.  Second, as it turns out in this cycle whoever gets eliminated is given a chance to come back into the competition according to who gets the highest media score. As soon as Denzel left the stage, he came back with the other contestants to see who would come back into the competition.  It was on believable that Denzel did not get a chance to blink before he was brought back on stage with the other eliminated contestants to see who would get the highest media score to come back into the competition.  In my exclusive interview Denzel reveals why he thinks he got eliminated and why he's okay with not going on a major Top Model trip to Seoul Korea or winning the competition.

It's really hard for a contestant to really pinpoint why they get eliminated from the competition. You either know or just take a wild guess.  Denzel says, "I think I got eliminated because I didn't book any runway shows and my media scores for that week were low."  He also agreed that it was a little crazy to see him get eliminated for being in the bottom two and then get kicked again by not having a high enough score to comeback into the competition.  "The timing was crazy," says Denzel.  "Within 30 minutes I was back on stage being eliminated again; it was not fair."

America's Next Top Model has gotten a little interesting since they added guys to the mix. This is the second cycle where male models are competing against the female models. As you may have guessed, there were some love connections that took place in the house.  One of the main couples to hook up were Denzel and Mijana.  Since there is no TV, radio, books or magazines in the house, the contestants only have each other to pass the time until the next challenge or photo shoot. It's okay to have fun in the house however, when it's time to get a good shot, that's the only thing you should be focused on.  However, it looks like it did not work that way for both Denzel and Mijana.  They let petty little arguments they had in the house interfere with them producing excellent photos.  Mijana was already in the bottom two, however she was able to escape being eliminated.  Too bad we couldn't say the same about Denzel.  

The question on everyone's mind is how could Denzel let a woman distract him from staying focused enough to stay in the competition? Denzel explained what his friends had to say...  "I was sitting with my close friends watching the show and they said, 'Really dude?'  "They knew I was not going to let a woman get me off my game. Anyone that knows me knows that's B.S. I was fatigued, but when I got on set, I would snap out of it.  I am very good at compartmentalizing. However, it is TV, it does make a great story and it made me laugh." 

At one of the shoots Denzel had to lift a female model in the air however, the camera shows him being tired and upset that Mirjana was not speaking to him. When it was time for him to get in front of the camera, the creative director and photographer was not pleased with Denzel's performance. "If I didn't have the opportunity to snap out of it, I would not be able to lift a girl that weighs about 120 pounds during the shoot.  I'm not going to let something affect me like that during the shoot. I know how to compartmentalize."

If you're wondering if Denzel and Mirjana stayed in touch after the show, the answer is.... "Yes," answers Denzel.  "I just text her earlier today. She sent me some pictures of a photo shoot she just did."

Approximately 50,000 contestants applied for the show and Denzel was selected muscular arms and all. Kelly Cutrone has said on numerous occasions that sometimes he does not look like a model and she could not get over the fact that his arms were a little too bulky to be a model. She told him there was no reason why he couldn't tone his arms down during the course of the competition. Denzel reveals that Kelly may know about fashion, but she does not know about how muscle weight is lost. "It is harder to lose muscle than it is to lose fat," explains Denzel.  I used to play football and my body type will always show definition no matter what type of exercise I do. When I look at the former judge for Top Model, Rob Evans and Tyson Beckford who are the top male models and much bigger than I am, then I knew I would have a chance to also be a success in this industry."

Now that Top Model is over Denzel is going to continue his modeling career and he has his own real estate company.  As a matter of fact, he's been doing a little bit of acting. He has a reoccurring role in Tyler Perry's, "If Loving You Is Wrong" television series.  "Its first episode had almost two million viewers," says Denzel.

Denzel was one elimination away from going to Seoul Korea with the Top Model contestants. However, Denzel does not look at it like an opportunity lost.  "Everything happens for reason and if I would have gone to Seoul Korea then I would have lost out on a reoccurring role in Tyler Perry's production," explains Denzel.  "I love cashing my Tyler Perry checks." Fans can follow Denzel on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/ IAM_DenzelWells.