Antoni Porowski - Queer Eye: Become Your Best Self

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

To the Fab Five for giving yourself to the show and to this endeavorin the middle of a million other demands.

To David Collins and Michael Williams, who made regifting cool again by delivering a new version of Queer Eye as beloved as the original.

To Joel Chiodi and Rob Eric, whose creative vision, force of will, and ability to manifest got this book done.

To Amanda Englander, Ian Dingman, Mark McCauslin, Derek Gullino, Kate Tyler, Natasha Martin, Stephanie Davis, and Gabrielle Van Tassel at Clarkson Potter for their shared vision, determination, expertise, and stunning book-making.

To Margaret Riley King and Nir Caspi at WME for bringing everyone together, and to Haley Heidemann for her support.

To Monica Corcoran Harel, who adroitly captured five unique voices in one stellar manuscript.

To Denise Crew and her assistant, Alex Rhoades, for the gorgeous photography.

To Kwame Waters for his fabulous wardrobe-pulling and styling.

To Kristin Kent for hair and makeup.

To Beth Barden and her assistant, Melissa Poelling, for their food preparation and styling.

To Marnie Sauls for location support at Two Light.

To Netflix and ITV, our amazing partners in making this show.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

BOBBY BERKS rise to fame in the home design world didnt happen overnight. Originally hailing from Texas, Bobby had big dreams of the big city and moved to New York in 2003 with only a few dollars to his name and no job in sight. After working his way up in retail at Bed Bath & Beyond and Restoration Hardware to a Creative Director position at Portico Home + Spa, Berk decided it was time to create his own brand. Since 2006, Bobby Berk Homes retail division has consistently provided customers with a unique approach to modern design. Epitomizing hip, minimalist urban luxury, Berks designs reflect a stylish and youthful spirit that perfectly fits any cool, relaxed lifestyle. In addition to his work on Queer Eye, Berk has also appeared as an expert on numerous television networks, including HGTV, Bravo, NBC, and CBS.

KARAMO BROWN is a TV personality most known for being the culture expert on Queer Eye, where he engages the subjects in important cultural conversations that help them get to the core of understanding themselves, so they can relate to the world better.

Karamo began his career in 2004 as a housemate on the hit MTV reality series The Real World, becoming the first openly gay African American in the history of reality TV. Shortly after the conclusion of The Real World, Karamo learned he had a nine-year-old biological child, whom he gained full custody of. He later left the spotlight to become a social worker and adopted his biological sons half-brother. In February 2014, Karamo returned to television as a host and segment producer for The OWN Show on the Oprah Winfrey Network. He was subsequently hired as a host for Huffington Post Live and a Family Advocate contributor for HLN/CNN. In 2016, Karamo returned to reality television as a cast member on TV Ones hit docuseries #TheNext15. The show documented Karamos life after reality stardom, as he balanced being a single father with being a working professional. He is also the host of MTVs Are You the One: Second Chances and H2s Breaking Mysterious, which airs in the UK and Canada. Karamo is a guest contributor for Access Hollywood Live on NBC.

Karamo currently serves on the board for OutRight International, a leading international LGBTQI human rights organization dedicated to improving the lives of people who experience discrimination or abuse on the basis of their sexual orientation, sex characteristics, or gender identity worldwide. He also cofounded the nonprofit organization 6in10.org, which provides tailored mental health support for black gay and bisexual men in order to eradicate the 6 in 10 HIV statistic plaguing this community. In 2016, Karamo was invited by the Obama administration to work with the White House to create policy/legislation to support LGBTQ youth and their allies after school hours.

TAN FRANCE has been a successful fashion designer behind the scenes for more than fifteen years, and now has stepped into the spotlight of Queer Eye as the witty wardrobe wiz leading the charge in the fashion department. This experience is so much more than just new clothes to the British-born fashion advisor, however; its about real-life issues, changes, and acceptance on all sides. The epitome of style and class, Tan is the creative mind behind such successful brands as the popular ladies clothing lines Kingdom & State and Rachel Parcell, Inc. Prior to his personal success as a designer, he spent his summers working in his grandfathers denim factory while he secretly enrolled in fashion college.

ANTONI POROWSKI is the food and wine connoisseur on Netflixs reboot of the hit TV series Queer Eye. Growing up, Antoni was bitten by the culinary bug early, spending countless hours in the kitchen watching his mother cook. He discovered the worlds of Julia Child, Jacques Ppin, and Anthony Bourdain, and soon after began to teach himself how to cook. He immediately went to work in restaurants from Montreal to New York City, continuing to hone his craft and finding his place in the culinary world. This love of food and cooking led to him becoming the personal chef and protg of original Queer Eye star Ted Allen. The relationship helped launch Antonis career, and he became the personal chef to some of Manhattans and Brooklyns most prominent citizens.

JONATHAN VAN NESS is the Queer Eye grooming expert advisor. He grew up in Quincy, Illinois, before training as a hair stylist at the Aveda Institute in Minneapolis and then furthering his craft at Sally Hershberger in Los Angeles. Now he is a renowned hair stylist who works out of his own salon, Mojo Hair Studio in Los Angeles, and Arte in New York City. He has been the groomer at cast events for HBO shows Game of Thrones and True Blood, and since 2015 he has also been a stylist for E!s Fashion Police. But he is probably best known as the host of the Emmy-nominated Funny or Die web series sensation Gay of Thrones, which millions tune into weekly for a hilarious recap of Game of Thrones. Gay of Thrones has received stellar reviews from NBC, Vulture, The Advocate, and other news outlets.

Jonathan is a naturalist, and the underlying tenants of his grooming philosophy are self-love and self-acceptance, helping whomever he is working with to find the tools to feel like their best self.

DAVID COLLINS is a three-time Emmy Awardwinning producer and co-owner of Scout Productions, a film and television company. He is the creator and executive producer of the Emmy-nominated Queer Eye, which launched unscripted programming on Netflix worldwide and is one of the most-buzzed-about shows of 2018. A critical and social media phenomenon, season 2 dropped in June.

Collins led on the original Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, which took home Emmys, two GLAAD awards, a Producers Guild of America Producer of Year award, among many other honors. Airing in over 120 countries with 19 original formats, Queer Eye was a vanguard contributor to the personal transformation reality boom of the past decade and a half. That series was created with his groundbreaking Make Better network model of storytelling, which immediately became the cornerstone of Bravos network model and inspired scores of subsequent personal improvement reality programs.

Beyond Queer Eye David has executive produced programs for Netflix, Bravo, ABC, NBC, IFC, A&E, VH1, and more. Recently the company expanded into short form for the NBCUniversal venture Bluprints Blank Wall Overhaul.