"It looks better when I smile" said Alexander (born 1981), who was already waiting for us to pick him up for a fashion project, at the airport in Nice (in the south of France). No one was to argue with him about that, and surely he felt more comfortable when he could show his pearly whites while being photographed.

Alex hails from Austria. With his impressivly tall stature (1,95m) he won't have an easy time getting his foot into the professional modeling business - while the limits for a male model is strictly kept between 1,82 - 1,88m, with little room for flexibility.

Our group of twelve (eight models and the staff, including little-old-me) selected the Kontiki, a truly beautiful campground direct on the Mediterranean beach of St. Tropez. So things wouldn't get "too sandy" we selected a mobile-home, an installed camping-vehicle which had electricty and running water. That was the way to live instead of camping, and directly on the beach too.

The wind was still very cool, and only the die-hard swimmers went into the sea. But the sun was shining brightly and since the tourist season hadn't started yet, the beaches were not overrun and we could work without any interruptions.

That Alexander has an adonis-like, athletic exquite physique needn't be repeated here. There isn't a gram of fat to be seen on him, his proportions are that of the classic greeks, and even trying to be critical there isn't anything wrong to be seen. And I believe he doesn't even train often for it. At least during the entire week I never once saw him go jogging or do a single push-up or even pay attention to what he was eating.

Once I watched him pour an entire package of hazelnut chocolate into a cup of yogurt - one can easily become very jealous - especially those who torture themselves five-days-a-week in the "fit"ness studio, where only the success rate remains slim.

For many its a question of their gene-pool, what is laid out for us while still in our cradles. With genes determined to build muscles faster and those which determine the bones and body form so that the musclegrowth creates an aesthetic overall look, will without much effort have a "dream figure." And those who are not so fortunate, approximately two-thirds of the population, the dream of having a "dream figure" will remain just that -- a dream.

Actually a feeble truth, however, an entire industry survives by convincing us that through a certain way of behavior one can be king of his own body. And we allow ourselves to be convinced - while "being able to decide for ourselves" is much more agreeable to people than accepting "predestination", a completely disagreeable word, which reeks upleasantly of foreign control!