I BET YOU THAT WHEN YOU WERE ASKED WHAT YOU WANTED TO BE WHEN GROWN UP, MOST OF YOU SAID FIRE FIGHTER OR POLICE OFFICER. THERE LIGHT HAVE BEEN SOME ASTRONAUTS AMONG YOU TOO, AS WELL AS MUSICIANS, DETECTIVES, ATHLETES, PILOTS AND DOCTORS. AND OF COURSE WE CAN NEVER HAVE ENOUGH OF THOSE. BUT DID YOU EVER DREAM OF BECOMING AN AERIALIST? I BET YOU DIDN’T. AND STILL, WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT IT, AND TAKE THE JOB UNDER A MAGNIFYING GLASS, COULD THERE BE ANYTHING MORE MAGICAL THAN THAT?

If you would ask a 5 or 6 year old what he wants to become when he’s grown up, you probably would be every surprised if he’d say a cirque aerialist/acrobat. It really isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when thinking of a career. If anything, athlete probably comes closest, but than we are of course not talking about a soccer player, but more of a gymnast. Kyle Kier didn’t want either one of them. Kyle had his mind set on becoming an actor.

Kyle Kier was born 23 years ago in New York. Growing up he was involved in many community theatres, along with gymnastics, diving and dance. What he didn’t know then but has become abundantly clear ever since, Kyle mixed the exact right ingredients that would put him on a path to do one of the most exciting jobs ever. But first thing first. All these art and athletic forms have always had a large influence on Kyle’s life. And after graduating high school, Kyle Kier was cast as a performer at the Walt Disney resort in Orlando Florida.

Kyle Kier started to perform in shows such as The Festival of the Lion King, Mickey’s Jamina and Jungle Parade. Constantly improving his techniques and mastering new skills, Kyle hit the high seas in 2010 when he joined the production cast on the cruise ship Norwegian Jewel as an aerial artist. Here he performed acts including aerial silks, lyra, Spanish web, bungee and hand balancing. Among all the talents he mastered over the years, Kyle is really passionate about the magical skill of aerial arts, which he now not only performs but also teaches. Since last year Kyle has moved to Paris, France, hometown of the French contemporary circus company Les Farfadais, with whom he travels the world, entertaining large audiences with marvelling and magical shows.

A few months ago, while visiting his family in upstate New York, Kyle Kiercontacted photographer Chris Teel to see if there was possibly some interest to work together. Chris, with his outstanding eye for male beauty, didn’t need another word. Not only is Kyle a marvel for the eye, his skills as acrobat and aerial artist promised an extra ordinary shoot. Two days for the shoot, which was planned to take place in Chris’ hometown Toronto, Kyle go involved in a minor car accident, which didn’t hurt him but left his car pretty much terminally damaged. Not one to give up easily, Chris proposed to meet half way and the two set their minds on Buffalo.

Buffalo is a city neither Chris Teel not Kyle Kier had ever been to. So not knowing where to go, they decide to drive around and simple look for locations that inspired them. When they came across an abandoned shed and a nearby train car; they knew they had found the right spot. Chris Teel comments:“The train car must have sat empty and untouched for years, it was covered in dust. It was the perfect setting as it allowed in a lot of natural light and let Kyle demonstrate his skills as an acrobat. It was hot inside and Kyle was covered in sweat and dirt after about an hour of shooting.” In Chris’ 6 year career as photographer, he believes that the work with Kyle has been one of his most memorable shoots. In terms of locations as well as in respect of the quality of the model. “Kyle was fantastic. Not only incredibly talented but also a genuine, sweet soul.” It seems obvious that the two of them will reconnect for another collaboration in which Kyle Kier can once again lift us to higher planes. –BM-

KYLE KIER | BEAUTIFULMAG
CHRIS TEEL | BEAUTIFULMAG