Rafa

This week on MyXXFLY we’ve got a feature piece! Meet our boy Rafa.

On this particularly overcast Sunday afternoon we set out to A.D. Barnes park. A spot infamous for being a Santeria ritual dumping ground, I knew we’d be in for an interesting day. During our shoot with MyXXFLY babe Linda, the locale was teeming with suspicious plastic bags, and creepy dolls with scratched out eyes and taped up lips. Needless to say we were ready to stumble upon a chicken carcass or two. Santeria? We were equipped to handle.

I first met Rafa two years ago at the Learning Center I work for, and knew we would get along the moment I saw him reading in between lessons. Reading in Miami Florida? A physical paperback book in 21st century America? Besties for life. An immigrant in America, Rafa was born in Venezuela and moved to Miami at the age of 10. The grounds at the park were the perfect backdrop for hanging out and talking about books, life, and fitness with this handsome motherfucker.

Rafa is always coming off a great read, and is a fountain of information when it comes to interesting literary finds. One of his favorite novels is Healer by F. Paul Wilson, a science-fiction novel about a man who after visiting a cave in a strange planet picks up a hitch-hiker. The most interesting part is that the hitch-hiker is a sort of disembodied alien consciousness. In the midst of talking to Rafa about the novel and his plans on adapting it into a screen-play we came across what we least expected.  Unbeknownst to us, A.D. Barnes would spare us the santeria, but greet us with banana spiders. Fucking everywhere. Holy shit. Though we left the park without any hitch-hikers ourselves I will admit, our model had to work pretty hard to get me back on photog-task after we spotted this behemoth. We called him Bob, and Bob was as big as my face. Watching Bob work this huge stick out of his web? Utterly fascinating.

Spiders and Santeria aside, our intention with this shoot was to marry two facets of Rafa’s personality. While he is an avid reader and academic, Rafa is also a fitness fanatic. These are two distinct, seemingly polar opposite aspects that we sought to reconcile. See, from Rafa’s perspective, people tend to latch on to one side while ignoring the other. We’ve talked about labels at length on MyXXFLY, and know how inherently frustrating it is to be multi-dimensional in a world that rewards neatly fitting into Box A or checking off what you are in Column B. So, our goal, was to photograph Rafa in his element and marry these two seemingly discordant facets of his personality.

Rafa writes feature pieces for a local gym in Doral, is an Exam Prep tutor, and will be teaching adult English classes come fall. While many people see athleticism and intellectualism as separate, Rafa is firm in his belief that they are inextricably linked. His philosophy is that the mind and body are one. What happens in one manifests in the other, and to truly experience life, both must be well-fed and fit.

I am a firm believer in wellness overall, but constantly face judgement about my size. There is a common misconception about the relationship between weight and health. My dance, body-weight training, and yoga practice mean nothing to those who only see my plus-sized body. The presence of fit fat gurus in our midst has helped to shatter the illusion that overweight people are inherently unfit, but no matter a person’s size or fitness level, there is always room to push ourselves harder and Rafa is proof of that. He is slim, able-bodied, and fitter than most, but believes that no matter who you are you should always push yourself a step further. In his words, being in uncomfortable territory forces you to evolve and achieve your maximum potential. Rafa has competed in BattleFrog and Spartan Races and loves the challenge because in order to reach the finish line, you have to push both your mind and your body. After hanging out with Rafa for the afternoon the goal of doing an ever elusive pull-up is now a definite benchmark I’ve set for myself, but we’ll have to start with the Aussie kind.

We had an excellent time with Rafa, and his world-view is one that all people can apply to their lives. We should work relentlessly toward self-improvement, and remember that physical, emotional, and intellectual wellness are interconnected. There is an unmistakable synergy when all aspects of your being work as a well-oiled machine. When every aspect of our lives is in balance we can approach life with our best selves.

The more I shoot for MyXXFLY, either as a model or photographer, the more convinced I become that starting this project was a good idea. Each shoot is a connection made, and an opportunity to share and learn. Being comfortable in your own skin is not something innate, it’s something we all need to work toward relentlessly. Everyone has their own struggles, and insecurities, but by going outside our comfort zones and sharing our passions with each other we move ever closer to self-actualization. Our take away from the Rafa shoot? Always strive to be better, love yourself intensely, and don’t fear the reaper (or spiders). Join us next week for our Suicide Squad inspired shoot, and keep it MyXXFLY.