Hunky Zack Snyder is a Hell’s Kitchen resident and a popular bartender at one of the neighborhood’s top watering holes, Boxers HK. He was recommended to me by a friend as a possible model to photograph. We scheduled our shoot soon after that. I was impressed with Zack’s openness, affability and eagerness to try anything I had in mind for the shoot. I found him to be a natural model, and my camera loved capturing his awesome physique. I thought you might like to know a bit more about our cover boy, so I asked him a few questions.
Hi, Zack. I remember you told me that you’re from Ohio. What city did you grow up in and what brought you to New York? How long have you lived here?
I grew up in a small town about 70 miles north of Columbus called Millersburg. I first moved to NYC to attend culinary school, but after the first few classes, I changed my mind. I used to love watching all the shows on the Food Network, so I thought it would be fun. But then I realized that wasn’t what I really wanted to do. I stayed in NYC after that, and I’ve been here about eight years.
As a small town kid, were you overwhelmed by New York after you arrived here? Were you out already? How did you find gay life in NYC?
It was overwhelming at first. I was kind of naive when I first moved here, so living in NYC has been good for me. Yes, I was out when I moved here. It was my first experience with any aspect of gay life, so for me it was great. Growing up in Ohio, my exposure to gay life was Carson Kressley, Richard Simmons and gay porn.
How long have you been a bartender and how long have you worked at Boxers HK? Do you enjoy working there?
I’ve been a bartender for about seven years, and I have worked at Boxers for about three years. Yes, I love working at Boxers. We have a really great staff that feels like a second family.
What’s it like working as a bartender in the covid era? How is the work different now? Are there a lot fewer patrons and do they manage to keep socially distanced from one another?
It’s not great right now, but you have to make the best of it. All customers have to be seated at a table, so we all do table service instead of only working behind the bar. Yeah, it’s a lot less volume of customers, but everyone has been great about following the rules and keeping six feet apart and wearing a mask.
Your body is incredibly hot and muscular. How long have you been working out? And tell me about your workout regime and diet. How do you stay looking so good?
I’ve been working out for about 17 years. My routine is pretty basic. I lift weights and work out each body part at least once a week. My diet consists of healthy sources of protein, fats, and carbs. I try to avoid a lot of junk food, fried foods and sugar. Also, I sleep a lot, about eight to nine hours per night.
