http://www.greatpartypics.com

noizemagazine - Index

noizemagazine - noiZe Magazine Issue 59 February 2009 - Index

Focus
on the
Family
GreatPartyPics.com—the Circuit’s Online Photo Albums
by Jeffery Taylor
Parzh (left) and August
Parzh and August. That’s how they
are known to partygoers, promoters,
and nightlife celebutants
around the world. These two inveterate
travelers are the masterminds
behind GreatPartyPics.com,
the massive online photo repository
of the hottest men from the
hottest parties and Circuit events
around the country. Since 2002, the
website has grown to include over
30,000 pictures, and has received
millions of hits by visitors in over
109 countries and in all 50 states.
Their pictures have frequently been
published in noiZe (and previously
Circuit Noize) as well as other publications.
The whole venture began as something
the pair had wanted to do so
that everyone could partake in their
adventures on the Circuit, explains
Parzh, who lives with his partner
August in South Beach: “I wanted
to have a way of showing what we
get to see and do.” The two busy
professionals by day love to spend
their off-hours enjoying the camaraderie
of the many bars and clubs of
South Florida—as well as the communal
energy of Circuit events.
For Parzh, it all started when he left
his hometown in Oklahoma to visit
his gay uncle in the big city: “The
day I turned 21, my life changed. My
uncle in New York City gave me an open
invitation to stay with him whenever I
wished, so I took him up on it. I would
visit him once or twice a month.”
On these visits, Parzh first became
acquainted with Clubland. Frequenting
such clubs as Palladium, Tunnel,
Limelight, and Sound Factory, Parzh was
hooked. “I loved the music and how
everyone was having a great time,” he
says.
When he graduated in 1994 with an
MBA, he moved to Fort Lauderdale but
also bought a condo in South Beach for
the weekends. He started going out to
all the clubs and bars, and before long
everyone knew who he was.
August Cook grew up in Missouri and
attended university in Kansas for seven
years. “When I graduated, I said, 'Get
me out of these cornfields!'” So he went
to Chicago. In July 1991, after three
years of braving the Windy City’s brutal
winters, August moved to Miami.
“At the time, I didn't realize how hip it
was. When I got down here, I was just
flabbergasted,” says August. “It took me
a year to adjust to how decadent and
wild and fun it was. I didn't know there
was a lifestyle like that at all. In Chicago,
when it's wintertime, they don't really go
20
Happy Am I! Healthy Am I! holy Am I!