Des Moines Register
10-16-07
Ladies, meet Iowa's No. 1 hottie
By ERIN CRAWFORD
REGISTER STAFF WRITER
Here’s why 21-year-old Brad Horan is the hottest bachelor in Iowa and you’re
not:
1. He’s had a six-pack (in other words, extremely defined abdominal muscles) as
far back as he can remember. Without even trying.
2. He’s paid to model underwear.
3. The editors at Cosmopolitan magazine selected him out of hundreds of
nominees for their annual list of the nation’s “50 Hottest Bachelors.”
Horan’s claim to represent Iowa is slightly dubious. Raised in Eden Prairie, Minn.,
he’s resided in Ames only since 2004.
Iowa has traditionally had problems producing sexy representatives. The state
took 53 years to produce a Playboy Playmate.
“I would consider myself an Iowan,” Horan said. “This is my fourth year (at Iowa
State University) and I’ve spent a few summers here. All my friends are from
Iowa. I feel like I’m from Iowa now. It doesn’t feel much different from Minnesota,
to be honest.”
Besides, Horan, who said he works out and lifts weights almost every day, didn’t
nominate himself. His agent sent in an application on his behalf without Horan
knowing. The agent did this before Horan had even signed with him.
The photo in the magazine shows Horan posing in an outdoor setting, wearing
just a pair of jeans. The photo was taken while he was modeling in New York
City.
“(Shooting that photo) was really awkward,” he said. “When we were taking that
picture, I was trying not to laugh, because we were just in a park in New York
and there was a homeless guy with a case of beer, standing behind the
photographer and looking at his body and staring at me.”
Horan could win $10,000 if editors select him as the hottest member of this
year’s group, but the finance and communication major still isn’t quite sure what
to make of the honor. “Maybe (winning this will) increase my visibility, but
modeling’s on the back burner,” he said. “(My life is focused) more on school and
finding an internship.”
His friends know exactly what to make of it: fun.
“They all think it’s really funny,” he said. “I get a … little bit of a hard time.”
Since word about the honor has yet to get out around Ames — the issue of
Cosmo arrives on newsstands today — Horan hasn’t been besieged by women
eager to be seen on the arm of the state’s hottest bachelor. However, Cosmo set
up an account for each of the winning bachelors where readers can send them email. He’s already received a message from one interested woman.
In his Cosmo profile, Horan claims to find laughter and “athletic calves” attractive
in women. He said his 23-year-old sister is most excited about reading the emails, though he’ll look through them, too.
“I don’t really think about it too much. My friends get on my case because I’m
apparently too humble about this.”
Humility? Maybe Horan deserves his Iowan title after all.
Reporter Erin Crawford can be reached at (515) 284-8438 or
ecrawford@dmreg.com