Once upon a time bears — those gay guys who celebrate their size and hirsuteness — were ghetto-ised to niche clubs like XXL (where a skinny friend of ours once said he felt ‘like an xray’ — god knows how he got in). Not anymore. The bears are coming out of the woods and hitting fashion and clubbing mainstays like i-D Magazine and ‘trendy’ Hoxton. We sadly missed the last Bear Beauty Contest at Bistrotheque but that wasn’t for lack of trying to persuade the boyfriend to take part.
And now i-D, shortly after its ‘Birth of a Bearcub’ fashion shoot, is featuring the work of Mike Thorn. A bear himself, Thorn produces lovely watercolours of his furry muses. Or as he describes the type, “MEN OF THE BIG, BEEFY AND HAIRY KIND!”
![[Image relating to the story 100proofTRUTH Issue 5]](http://www.bigshinything.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/picture-2.png)
![[Image relating to the story The Cross Bones Geese]](http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3250/2519066152_8a1f23a942.jpg)
![[Image relating to the story Big Shiny …er Sea Slugs]](http://www.bigshinything.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/picture-1.png)
![[Image relating to the story The Polaroid Kid]](http://www.bigshinything.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/adc202.jpg)
Mmmm. I love it. Can’t wait to see these guys in the mags.