OMG - didn't know anything about this guy but just look at him !

http://www.albertreed.net/timeline.html

He's 6'2 1/2", has a 32" waist, and is ripped! -- brown hair, blue eyes, and grew up in southern Florida. He used to surf competitively but decided that competition interfered with the "soulfulness" of surfing (he's quite a spiritual guy in a "Zen" kind of way, apparently.) He "chases hurricanes" to get a good ride on the waves! He lives in NY and LA, lived in Europe for a while (Greece and Italy I think), still models but has a band/writes music/wants to be an actor, and he's only 22. Oh my. Lucky Anna!

He looks like someone who has potential. Plus, he's with Anna! I hope he's good because it would suck if it Anna left in the first couple of weeks.

I just saw a little snippet of an interview with Albert on one of the entertainment shows. He said that his grandfather, who recently passed away, was a ballroom dancer. So, maybe it's in the blood? Albert seems like a nice guy, so I hope he does well.

Check out the Tony Duran ad photos. We learn from these that he looks good in tight, stretchy black pants (As good as Alec, perhaps? Surely not!), and is quite comfortable being in close proximity to barely clothed women. And, he is not afraid to jump around in a Speedo.

He's growing on me...

Score! Finally a male model. He's mighty fine and will hopefully know how to work that body. I'm keeping my fingers crossed (and praying to God, Allah, Vishnu, and Cthulhu for good measure).

I'd like to gripe about how he's not really a celebrity, but I'm too distracted by the pretty...

I had no clue who this guy was until yesterday and now I feel the need to make him my computer background.

OK, now I know what you ladies are after...the small waist. Come to think of it, most of the guys you girls are lusting after have small waists - Apolo, Alec, Maks, this guy. I gotta hit the gym. :-)

TV Guide Interview

He sounds so low key and almost uninterested. I hope Anna can whip him into shape and make some kind of showing.

So he's an idiot AND fugly, albeit with a smokin' hot body. Never heard of him and was surprised last night to hear he's a model; his face is very unattractive.

His face is very wax and aged for a young man. Too much tan. He also looks like Tucker Carlson.

He came off as a jerk in the package introducing all the men, but he may have had to say the big talk, because he was much more modest when Tom interviewed him.

I think he'll leave first or second.

I just realized I have been calling him Albert Hall. That doesn't bode well, if I can't remember his name for more than five seconds.

Can we change the title of his thread to "Blue Steel"? Because I don't think he's very sexy. Waxy is a better way to describe him.

I really want to think of him as sexy but I just can't! His body is fabulous but the face is a bit...no comment! The few lines he said last night made me think he's a tad himbo-ish!

Hmm, I guess I'm the only one that thinks he's dishy? I think he's got the brylcreamed look for the purposes of looking debonair and ballroomy in his tux. I have a feeling he'll look a lot more obviously sexy when it comes time to latin it up. But, I still like the looks of him in formal wear!

I'm going to join you, annlaw78. I think he's gorgeous as himself with the non-brylcreemed hair.

I can't believe he's only 22. His face makes him look over 30.

I liked him, and thought his Zoolander bit was very funny. Call me a dirty old lady, but I'm voting for him. :)

I think that footage of Albert on his surfboard (Hubba HUBBA!) redeemed me for naming this thread. Whew!! He can make some stupid looking pictures, that's for sure, but when he finally stops making dopey faces and brings the pretty, HE BRINGS IT!!! Good Lord.

And the boy moves mighty well for such a big guy. I hope he can get the frame right for the standards -- he's got the height to be really stunning in the Waltz, Foxtrot, and all that stuff, but can he get his inner kid under control? Hell, he's kid through and through, but I don't care. Those eyes! That chest! Mercy...

I had to give him some of my votes. The rest went to Helio, who's no slouch either -- but he's not eye candy at the Albert level! Loved Drew's comment that a few male votes will be going his way as well after the chest action, bwah! That's about the only time I've been impressed with Drew's commentary - but that was a good one!

I also loved Drew's comment. Finally someone talks about the gay vote.

Albert is the new Ian. Waxen, stiff even when he's trying to show some movement, and good-natured but somewhat greasy. The big difference is everyone was shocked at how old Ian was, while they are shocked at how young Albert is.

He's lucky to have Anna. I don't think they'll make it past third or fourth.

I loved his demonstration of the white man's library of dance moves. The sprinkler, steering wheel, lawnmower. It made me giggle.

Albert is one of those guys who photographs really well, but in person just looks odd. If you notice, nearly all of his model shots are b/w. I'm betting what is throwing a lot of people off are his very light colored eyes. They are PERFECT for b/w contrast shots, but just jarring to see in color and on live television.

That said, I like him. I'm young, so I guess I like the "spunk" he has and can relate. He seems enthusiastic enough to give this his all, and knows that he's the least famous of all the celebs and knows he has to work harder for the votes (I bet he watched last season's Paulina vote disaster and realized what he was up against). For that I give him credit and am definitely willing to vote for him to stay a while, given his dancing improves. Plus, he's funny in that Zoolander-dumb-funny sort of way.

I think he's hot and I like that he's not pretending that he's not using sex and his body as a selling point. Hee. I can't seem to blink away the image of his crotch...as if I want to.

Don't know about technique and all, but I thought that Anna and Albert totally stole the show last night.

Yeah.

I'd never heard of him before the show and I know I'm supposed to think he's sexy because he's a model but uh, I just don't know. Plus, when his partner said he was the youngest competitor on the show, I thought she must have been mistaken. He absolutely looks like he's in his 30's. It's hard to believe he's only 22. He's stiff when he dances, too.

He does have a nice body and gets points from me for wearing an open shirt.

I thought he was adorable last night. If I had voted, I would have thrown some his way. And yeah, it's very hard to believe he's only 22. I don't think he really looks old - he looks more mature than the everage 22-year-old.

I think he looks older than Cameron Mathison, and Cameron Mathison is 38. I had no idea that this guy was only 22. Too much sun.

I was surprised by how much I liked him. I ended up dividing my votes between Helio and Albert. They were by far the most entertaining male celebs last night.

I don't think it's so much that his face is wrinkled (because, I really don't see wrinkles) or sun-damaged, as he's got an older guy hair cut, and has some "model" poise about him that you don't often see with most college guys. I guess my point is that, yes, he doesn't appear like he's 22, but I bet his looks stay the same for the next 10-15 years.

I guess when I said too much sun, I meant that he just has that sun-frozen perma-tan wax look to him. Who knows he might age OK, but everything can stay the same with Botox. He kind of looks like he's already Botoxed up.

His forehead is very wrinkled, I noticed that right away.

He's a good looking guy but the makeup department and the hair people went overboard with the look. His hair was too stiff and fake looking and he had way too much makeup on. When he was shown in rehearsals and on the beach he looked much more attractve and warmer.

He's only 22, they ought to just tame the hair and leave it as natural as possible. Keep it youthful. I hope he sticks around, I'd love to see him don a tux for the next dance.

He's a goofball but that's okay. He was very uninhibited and I think that's a good thing for the concept of what he's in for.

While he does have a more mature appearance to him, his actions pretty much scream how young he is. The Zoolander comments and the stable of 'white boy' dances that he did for Anna really showed that off.

I liked them a lot.

Of course, I may just be biased and am willing to put up with anything as long as it keeps Anna around.

It's refreshing to have a white boy on the show that is so unabashed with the hip action. Usually the pros have to beg and plead to get them to do it, and even then, you can still see some embarassment there. So, I say good for him for going out there right of the gate and thrusting, swiveling, and shimmying however Anna told him to. I get sick of all the hemming and hawing and the tacit "but I'm not gay-ing" that most of the white bread guys on the show do when faced with latin dancing.

He's a a male model, and he's going to use what he has to stay on the show. I like that unashamed himbo-ness. And I shall reward it. Hee.

He really is a lot of fun, I hope he stays around. Well, and he promised to take his shirt off,,,,

It's like Anna said, he doesn't look young but when he goofs off, it's clear as day how young he really is. And I really liked how he wasn't afraid to go for broke when he was dancing. So, I gave him a few votes last night. And hopefully, he will get to stick around for a while. I missed the Russian Spitfire!

I was surprised the censor people didn't say anything about the rehearsal scenes where he was in sweatpants. Some of the hip action there ended up being very risque for the family hour.

Considering the outfits that are worn for a lot of the performances... I don't think Albert's hip action was any worse than Edyta wearing a sheet and pasties (basically) in a number of her performances, or Julianne and Apolo's samba from last season.

All of which, I must add, I loved.

You can see more of the censor-ready moments with someone doing moves in sweatpants than you can with the camera angles (even with the tight pants) they usually give for the moves on the dance floor. But I'm not complaining.

Not as bad as I thought. He gets my vote since he's paired w/Anna. Loved their rehearsal clip where Albert is all ready to dance and asks Anna for a dance. She then remarks "sure, as soon as you lift that elbow." We missed you Anna! Less Karina rehearsal drama, more Anna and her sass.

I squeed. I admit it. I love Anna so much.

But I loved seeing her crack up when he was going through the repertoire of the Sprinkler, the Steering Wheel, the Worm.

Russian Spitfire can crack the whip but she can laugh, too. She got a kick out of the judges going nuts over the performance and finally going 'You liked it, right?'

I gotta say though... Albert's dog is freaking adorable with the one droopy ear and the bandana. I love guys who love their dogs. I really do.

Congrats to Albert for avoiding the bottom two. Next week won't be easy, but I want my Russian Spitfire to stay around, so I'll root for him. He puts his all into the dances and seems to have a good time, which means I can overlook some of the moments like his thanking people for giving him a standing ovation, but not thanking fans who voted for him.

Very happy to see they are still around and I like that they are doing the Quickstep next week. He doesn't seem to be prone to hunching over, which is a good sign. I bet they'll be good.

The interesting thing about this guy is that I would have expected a former A&F model to sport the too-cool-for-school, pouty, surfer dude type behavior. Instead, we get a talkative, hammy guy who is astute enough to know that in addition to dancing, he has some urgent marketing to do in order to survive. He comes across as confident, a little cocky, but also self-deprecating and not reluctant to give the credit to the russian spitfire ... and he's totally into "attaining" dance. Personality and attitude aside, I do think he has some untraining to do ... his so-called cha-cha was "sassy" but some of the movement looked shakira-latin instead of ballroom-latin.

I agree, but I am happy he's sticking around for another week so we can see if his dancing improves and becomes more ballroom.

I don't think it was a Shakira latin problem with the hips because he did get the hips right on many of the moves. Its just that it was an Elvis song and Elvis was all about the hips too. So trying to get Elvis hips and Cha Cha hips all in one piece without confusing the two up had to be difficult.

Oh and as for the gay vote. I'm pretty sure he had a good part of it locked up already just from being an A&F model. Lots of Hoyay in those poses they do.

Oh, absolutely. Last time I was in an A&F store was in Vegas with My Boys and we all just kind of stopped and sighed at the picture that greeted us in the entrance.

Oh, I noticed, all right! There was all kindsa flippin' and a-floppin' goin' on.

He got my vote. He was great

Did you know he has a grandfather? And he's dancing for his grandfather?

That stuff may have a short term benefit, but quickly loses support. I know I liked him more last week. Too much desperation.

I didn't mid the Grampa stuff this week. As long as it's not every week. Like Layla last year. I know it wan't her fault, but I was sick of hearing Mohammed Ali's name by the end of the season.