A-List Photographer Mike Ruiz

MIKE RUIZ is on the verge of becoming a household name in the LGBT community... if he's not already.

The esteemed photographer is a Renaissance man of many hats. His photographs exude a brilliant light filled with beauty, color and exotic touches of playful fantasy. He's been in the business of photography more than 15 years now and many a star has been given his glamour treatment. Whether it's the current rage of the day, Kim Kardashian, the ever-evolving beauty of Brooke Shields or the internationally acclaimed model and humanitarian, Iman, Ruiz has photographed these women and countless other celebrities, actors and models. His portfolio is definitely large enough to fill a book and then some.

Ruiz is also a humanitarian who raises funds for countless LGBT causes. He is involved with The Trevor Project, Gay Men's Health Center , Living Out Loud, The Ali Forney Center... just to name a few of the charities he lends his heart and talent to in raising the always needed funding and exposure.

His graceful ease, hard work and positive personality lend itself to the second season of A-List: New York, as well. He has also created and directed numerous vivid and memorable music videos for artists such as Kristine W., Vanessa Williams and Kelly Rowland. If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, Mike Ruiz proves that beauty is everywhere and deeply within this uber-talented man of arts and charity.

Congratulations of being the recipient of The Harvey Milk Equality Award at this year's Nicky Awards in San Diego.

I know! I am very excited about that and also very honored, of course.

Based on all your charitable work for many LGBT causes... it's quite deserving.

I appreciate that. I feel very humbled by it. When you're recognized for it, it's a very awesome thing be to be given an award. I just feel it's my responsibility to help the community.

Your photography is so vibrant and rich in color. Your work is really stunning. How would you describe your inspiration in creating a photo that you're happy with?

My inspiration comes from my need to recreate a more beautiful world around me. When I was a kid, I had a very rich fantasy life. In my mind, everything was polished and beautiful. I didn't have the best childhood so it took me out of that and gave me hope that the world could be all these beautiful, colorful and polished things.

When I started shooting, I realized that I finally had a conduit with the camera to actually create a tactile and more visually compelling surrounding for myself. It's more of an emotional thing. It's not really just a style. It's my voice basically. It's the voice that developed. I've been pretty fortunate that I've been bestowed with a certain skill set that allowed me to manifest all of this.

There are so many phenomenal photographers such as Hurrell, Avedon or Leibovitz. Were you aware of their work before you began your career as a photographer?

Oh absolutely! Ever since I was in my mid-teens, I was reading fashion magazines. I knew all the model's names back then, I knew all the designers and photographers. So yeah, I was very aware of Irving Penn and Avedon. From a very young age, I've always been connected to all of that. I think that was the carrot dangling for me-that I could somehow achieve that lifestyle. When I did, it ended up becoming so much more than just a lifestyle.

If you had to fill in the blanks on this sentence in regards to the early days of your photography career, what would you say, "I'm so excited. I'm photographing 'blank-blank' today!"

I would say, "I'm so excited. I'm photographing Traci Lords!"This is back in the early 1990s at the height of her career. I actually had the opportunity to work with her. It was so exciting to me for a lot of reasons... mostly because she was so beautiful and her skin was like porce- lain. She represented such a "cool" factor in pop culture and she was kind of an underdog too, which resonates with me. I always considered myself the "underdog." I became friends with her and she's actually working on another John Waters film as we speak.

Excellent. I thought she was great in Cry-Baby. Now, you're on board for the second season of A-List: New York. My friend thinks you are the only level-headed, nice one on the show.

Well...you know, there's always one of every kind in the mix. So, I'm glad that was my role in the context of the show. But that's pretty much just how I am on an everyday basis, so I'm glad that it was apparent on TV. (laughter)

Share a bit of this experience of being on the "other side" of the camera. Have you ever had a day during filming where you said, "Enough. Not right now. It seems intrusive?"

I'm pretty comfortable in front of the camera. Honestly, I really don't know where it comes from. I was a model for a long time, but then I left modeling and started acting before I was a photographer. I was so introverted, I was paralyzed by stage fright so I could not go to auditions, I would break into a sweat and my voice would quiver. Then, I don't know... something happened later with the advent of reality TV. I started doing guest appear- ances as a photographer and suddenly, I lost that fear. I became comfortable and started doing other TV, like RuPaul's Drag Race and America's Next Top Model. That's why I was asked to do A-List.

I actually enjoy the whole process. I look at it like I'm an outsider looking in, from the inside... if that makes any sense. I don't really consider myself "in the mix" of this show. I'm sort of on the peripheral of it and it's just a really amazing kind of study. (laughter) I'm all about the experience.

In answer to your second question, there are times I feel it's invasive. I usually, just kind of stop. I stop and take my microphone off very politely. I'm never obnoxious. Everyone is just doing his or her job, all the crew and producers and such, I never just storm off the set or any- thing. There are times though where situations become uncomfortable for me and I decide it's not who I am. I wouldn't do it in real life so I'm certainly not going to do it on TV.

I know you have a deep affinity for helping others with your charity work. Just one example is your work for The Ali Forney Center that provides housing for homeless LGBT youth. Please tell us about your initial involvement and how you came to design the T-shirt in support of fundraising for them which resulted in the creation of your own line.

I went to a fundraiser about a year ago. Some of the is- sues that were talked about at the event really resonated with me, just the problem of homeless youth struggling in New York City. I have to say, when I moved to New York City, I moved here with a pocketful of change. I had no contacts and no friends, no job... I just moved here. There were some lean and desperate times. I understand that feeling of being terrified of being somewhere, but I had to be here so I knew I would make it work somehow. I was able to make it work, but some people need a helping hand and there's nothing wrong with that. I feel compelled to want to help and raise awareness for this organization that does amazing things for homeless youth.

I started this T-shirt line to help and bring my images to a broader audience. I slapped some of my images on T-shirt and thought that would be a pop-culture way to have them benefit an organization in some way. The Ali Forney Center was the first organization I thought of to make a beneficiary of my T-shirt line.

It's been a pleasure.

Thank you so much for this interview. Take care, Bill.