It’s been nine months, twenty-three days and maybe even a few hours since we first started speaking with Argentina’s Beltran about shooting for Loverboy – but we’re so in love with this shoot we could have waited double that time. We’ve been following him and his South American ass on Instagram for some time and thought it was about time we shared our crush with the world.

So Beltran, we know you take a good photo, but we need to know more! Tell us what you do.
To be honest I bite off more than I can chew. But I’ve always been like that. When I was younger I was this chunky ball of energy, bouncing between pottery, acting classes, rugby, trying to find a proper way to express myself. I come from a rugby family so although I started to play at a young age, I still had a passion for dancing, ever since I was a small pansy boy dancing to the rhythm of Shakira’s Ojos asi.
After college I grew up a bit. I completed my degree in restaurant management but still had this craving to express my fat fag identity through art – with had no idea how to do it! Then I got more in touch with my body, my sexuality, my artistry and opportunities began to appear. I still work in food administration to pay the bills but my mind’s on plus-size modelling, body positivity, LGBT activism, go-go dancing and voguing.

Were insecurities ever an issue?
It’s been a journey! I grew up around an all-male rugby team (with all the toxic masculinity issues that entails) as well as a conservative community. I already had a lot to deal with just being big, so for many years I focused on that to procrastinate from ‘coming out of the closet.’ Of course my biggest fear was confirming everyone was right, that my femininity came from being gay. I was terrified. Empowerment and pride took me out of that place and soon I was seizing my potential of being fat, femme and fabulous.

What would you like to do in the future?
I dream of becoming a better dancer. I would love to dance at huge parties across North/South America – especially bear parties, so I can spray my femme art and show’em I can be their new sex symbol while going against the traditional ‘masc’ narrative. I also dream of modelling for a big brand and inspiring young baby bears like me to live by their own rules.

What are you most proud of?
The advocacy for LGBT rights, against fatphobia and pro-campiness, which I do every chance I get. Especially because that’s what helped me build a beautiful community of people working for the same goals.

You’ve built up quite the fanbase on Instagram! What sort of messages do you get?
I never stop being surprised by the different reasons my followers start DM’ing me. Apart from the usual sweet talk that anybody in underwear gets, I get very few haters – I consider myself privileged! Some youngsters tell me I am their inspiration, which gives me goosebumps. I get many collaboration proposals for documentary projects and body positive shoots. And thankfully a few brands have seen something they liked in my feed and hired me through my Instagram. Although nothing beats the time they offered to fly me to Russia to film fetish videos of men with bellies. Haha…

What would surprise us most about you?
I’m a very transparent person, although I do have a few blind spots like my inability to watch horror movies or my phobia of cockroaches. I have some dark shit up my sleeve but that’s because I’m a Scorpio. So you’d have to meet me to find out. 😉

What’s life like in Argentina?
My life in Argentina is quite exciting. I do lots of stuff that helps me become a better artist, also I get to live with my boyfriend. <3 Buenos Aires has lots to offer and although our economy is not the strongest, we do have really good conditions for the LGBT community – at least in our laws. We have a huge tradition of activism, and especially in the metropolitan area we have better conditions than the conservative violence of the rest of Latin America.

Tell us about your photoshoot for Loverboy.
I really enjoy working through the creative process with photographers. So when we decided to produce a shoot for you, Gabriel, Ivan and I started to think of up-to-date references. We wanted to do something glowy and pop that evokes a dark place fantasy. They had a location in mind that could give us that neon jungle realness. So we went with that idea and I came up with a few pieces and garments for the photographer, who also likes to experiment with costume design. I contacted a few brands that have neon and bright colour clothing and then we solved the silver glitter body painting. It was tiring but we both loved the final result. It was totally worth it!

Lastly we are named after the iconic Mariah song. What is your favourite Mariah song?
I’m a fan of ‘We belong together’ since it’s a song that was played on the radio when I was a young teenager. I love the part where she sings, ‘Who’s going to talk to me till the sun comes up?’ ‘cause I spent hours talking on the phone with my boo at that time. Eeek…

All photographs by Ivan & Gabo Fotografia
Follow Beltran on Instagram