Hard muscular chest, long blonde hair, I just couldn’t helped staring (Grrr...this calls for a 10
fire alarm, HOT! HOT! HOT!). This green eye, 6 ft., 180 lbs, intelligent and media savvy, sexy hunk is Christopher James
Hollenbach (CJ for short) -- a romance cover model, Mr. Romance finalist, PLAYGIRL model, winner of a “Celebrity
Look-a-like”, and writer for romance magazine. Right away, I wanted him to be Brazen Heroine’s Fantasy Hunk.
“So CJ, can you tell us how you started modelling? And please don’t withhold any juicy tidbits”, I said with a big grin.
“I started modeling after college (Graduated with a degree in Graphic Design). When I took my design porfolio to ad
agencies, I was constantly being told, "WE AREN'T LOOKING FOR MODELS TODAY...". Surprisingly, my last
interviewer from a major department store told me "IF YOU"RE NOT A MODEL YOU SHOULD BE! COME BACK
WITH PICTURES...". The rest is cover model history. I did alot of midwestern print work. Tool catalogues, J.C. Penney's
Father's Day Sale ads, Trucker's wear catalogues. It couldn't have gotten more boring. Since my door wasn't being beaten
down for modeling jobs, I decided to shake things up and I sent a picture to PLAYGIRL magazine. Within a week, I got
a letter from the editor asking for more photos and if I'd consider being a centerfold!
“Wow, that is so impressive! You must be so thrilled to have PLAYGIRL magazine wanting you to be a centerfold model.
What was your family, friends and colleagues’ reaction when you told them? I bet it sure shocked the socks out of them.”
CJ flashed me a big smile and said, “It took 2 LONG years before I was featured in the magazine. Not as a centerfold,
but I made it and AGAIN 2 years after that! Being a grocery store manager at the time, I shocked the industry! Mr. Whipple
( Please, Don't squeeze the Charmin!) would NEVER do such a thing!!!! A national grocery store magazine, The Progressive
Grocer did an article and named me "SEXIEST GROCER IN AMERICA"! What a claim to fame! Even more unbelievable,
The Washington Post called and also did an article with photos! I lost my job as store manager shortly thereafter, but I never
looked back!”
“I bet the female shoppers beat down the door to (nudge, nudge) Mr. “Whip Cream” just to see America’s Sexiest
Grocer. It was too bad that Mr. Whipple wasn’t too thrilled about you being featured in PLAYGIRL magazine. So what other
challenges did you take on after that?”
“On a whim I tried out for The American Gladiators Show with 2000 other hopefuls. To my amazement, I was picked
to be a contestant! I did a respectable job and kept all my teeth! I did THE JERRY SPRINGER SHOW (From Nerd to
Knockout) in '92 back when you could do that show without having to live in trailer park. I was very proud of that show, but
really don't tell too many people I did it now.”
“I can understand why. Tell me your experience with the Mr. Romance contest.”
“A family friend suggested I enter the very first "Mr. Romance" contest in San Diego. I became a finalist and had the
time of my life and was introduced to the romance industry. And I met Kathryn Falk for the first time. I ended up with an
interview on "ENTERTAINMENT TONIGHT" which was an incredible thrill. Also THE JOAN RIVERS SHOW pulled
a few contestants from the pageant and did their own contest. I was picked to compete in New York. Joan was GREAT!
“That’s so fantastic and exciting, you certainly have impressed all those important show-biz people. So did you get to
meet Fabio in Hollywood and has anyone ever said you resemble him?”
CJ chuckled. “Oh yes, I also met FABIO, which I had been told I resembled (I'm sorry, I just don't see it!) He was
very cool. I later met him at a mall in Cleveland where he was promoting his cologne. We caused quite a raucus and I once
again ended up in the newspaper. And I won lst prize at a “Celebrity Look-a-alike” contest. Guess who they said I looked
like? I just went there dressed like I always do and won. They sent me a limo for me at work so I could be at the grand
opening of a new movie theatre complex. They literally rolled out a red carpet for me! I did the GORDON ELLIOTT talk
show in New York (Playgirl Centerfold Search) to compete once again for a chance to be a centerfold.”
“How amazing and funny. The ladies at the mall must have swooned to see you guys so gorgeous, charming and such
sweethearts. Tell me more about your writing job.”
“Since that show, I started writing for romance periodicals - "I'll Take Romance" and "Romantic Times" and will soon
start working on the web-site, RomanceLand doing more interviews with romance cover models.”
“How many romance covers have you done so far?”
“I did my first romance novel cover, THE STONE MAIDEN in 1999, a dream come true. The author, Susan King
is a sweetheart. I also can be seen on "With All My Heart" by Caridad Scordado. 3 others God of Fire, The Jock and
After The Storm can be found at www.ellorascave.com In Nov. 2000 I went to the Houston Romance convention and
had a blast as usual. It was GREAT meeting the fans, who were INCREDIBLE! I couldn't believe they recognized me from
The Stone Maiden cover.”
“How could anyone not recognized you, you are famous! Besides, your long blond hair and beautiful green eyes makes
you stand out among the dark hair models. Bet your fans envy you for your hair.”
CJ laughed. “Guess what, THE MAURY POVICH SHOW called me to do their ‘OUTRAGEOUS HAIR MAKE-
OVER” show. THEY WANTED ME TO CUT MY HAIR! Needless to say, that wasn’t going to happen! But they did
call me again for another show.”
“I can’t wait to see you on TV again, Mr. Gorgeous (my pet name for him). Thank you so much for sharing your
interesting experiences with us,” I said and gave him a hug. I almost didn’t want to let go (hehehe).
“Thank you too, Doreen for this interview and having me as Fantasy Hunk of April. It’s a great honor. I was so thrilled
when you broke the news to me, it happened to be my birthday (Dec.6 - Sagitarius). What a birthday gift!”
