Photographer: Tommy Butler
Male Model: Kevin Rasmussen
Agency: Stars Talent Studio
Fitness Model and Influencer Kevin Rasmussen proves once again why he is the King of Beasts.
“Welcome to Tucker Fitness Iron Gym”, I said, as Kevin shook my hand. His hands were rough with the calluses of a true fitness icon. Hours, no, years of commitment I could feel in that handshake. Kevin Rasumussen, I knew immediately, was a man of great dedication. The results of his hard work could not be hidden, chiseled immaculately into his body through pure and unrelenting hard work and discipline. Before me stood a specimen of undisputed quality.
Kevin had come fasting, fully in the zone of his ‘cut’ phase, which athletes know can be grueling and difficult. He had driven hours to shoot with me, for which I was grateful. I knew the evening ahead would be electric.
…And it was. The gym owner, Chastity Tucker, had arranged special access for me to the property, just for this shoot. She had already photographed with me a few weeks prior, a shoot which was widely published in its own right, commemorating her own decorated career as a champion female bodybuilder.
The project of the evening with Kevin was designed specifically to shine a light on his athleticism, and on my work of breaking boldling into a genre that I obsessively pursued this year. Dramatic sports portraiture has skyrocketed as a profitable area in photography despite the advances of AI, bucking trends in a world growing more and more comfortable with ‘fake’. I’m all about authenticity; I sought Kevin out for his athletic build, and indeed he showed up in force. With absolutely zero regrets in my invitation, we jumped into the shoot.
With the distinctive hiss of my industrial fog machine, my camera shutter began to fly, and the energy soared. The practical effects I’d prepared with fog/atmosphere, water mist, fire (yes, REAL fire), chains, gel lighting, and Westcott strobes were completely on point. The setup just slapped. The images were already mind-blowing right out of camera. Photoshop was only used only for the purposes of selectively teasing out the texture of water mist and fog effects. The rest was just Kevin’s pure talent.
Close shots, full body shots, action shots on the free weights and pull-up bars. We even got some shots of Kevin in his Chicago Bulls hat with his favorite basketball (check out my website portfolio for the full spread).
As the evening began to wind down, we chatted briefly about how everything came together perfectly. On behalf of Kevin and myself, we hope you enjoy the photos. You can hit Kevin up for work on Kavyar or on instagram as @kevinrasmussen20, and you can see more of my multi-faceted creative projects in photo and video on my gallery @shutterspirephoto. I’ll be in New York, Dallas, and Las Vegas in February and March. Hit me up in the DMs if you’d like to shoot, my books are nearly full for the next 4 months, but still a few openings here and there.
Inspirational Fitness Photography and Article written by photographer Tommy Butler (ShutterSpire Photo).
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