Vegas Magazine - Niche Media - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
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Tyson Beckford is a healthy, healthy man—about as virtuous an eater as those who have seen him in various states of undress in his weekend performances at Chippendales might imagine. But even supermodels take a cheat day, and during the shoot for our cover story, he told us his kryptonite is Fatburger. (His "cheat" is a double turkey burger with lettuce, onion, tomato, and ketchup.) But discipline isn't new for Beckford. Even after becoming the exclusive face of Ralph Lauren's Polo Sport label in 1994, he says, "There would be big billboards of me, but I was still going to act- ing classes and castings, doing jobs, reading movie scripts, learning my lines. It didn't matter what was up there, because it was already up there. I'm always thinking about the future. What's next?" What was next, of course, were over two decades as the most successful male supermodel of all time, and roles and appearances in dozens of films, television shows, and music vid- eos. But the buzz on Beckford now is his third, sizzling celebrity host run with Chippendales—a role that both he and his clamor- ing fans love so much, it's been extended through July 9th (with talks to add performances through the end of the year). Recently, we took Tyson to Fatburger on the Strip and, under the watchful gaze of circling fans, talked about how to stay relevant for decades, and why there's no place he'd rather be on the weekends than with his Chippendales boys at the Rio. If this is your cheat day, what's a regular day like? I have a personal fitness chef that sends my meals to me weighed and in portions. They're fish, grilled chicken and broccoli, and salmon of course. I used to eat red meat, but I got to a point where I said no more. It made me feel a lot lighter, a lot healthier. My mother got me on an organic diet when I was 25. A lot of people didn't know what organic was at that time, and they didn't have Whole Foods. You went to the market on a Saturday or Sunday or you bought from a local store that got it from some- one's backyard. So training for Chippendales doesn't mean that you have to totally readjust your lifestyle… For me, no. From being a model, I always had that training to get into super-lean shape two weeks out. I'd be running like 5 per- cent body fat, and then if I knew I'd have to shoot something, I'd drop to 3 percent. I'd get calls from my manager asking what I wanted to eat on set, and I basically changed the whole crew to eating well. Where they'd never had kale before, they'd try it. Since I kept them working, they'd roll with it. I've heard you say that you're bringing in more diverse crowds to Chippendales. Yeah, I've heard it from the guys. It's all different age groups and nationalities. All these black ladies came in yesterday from the Tyson Beckford on supermodel staying power, his post-fashion projects, and why he just can't get enough Chippendales. by ANDR EA BENNET T photography by DENISE TRUSCELLO VEGASMAGAZINE.COM 71 T YS O N