Eliad Cohen (Hebrew: אליעד כהן; born May 11, 1988) is an Israeli producer, actor, model and entrepreneur. He is the co-founder of Gay-ville,[1] a gay-friendly vacation rental service headquartered in Tel Aviv. He became a prominent Israeli gay personality after being chosen as the cover model of the Spartacus International Gay Guide for the 2011-2012 issue, which led to various magazine covers around the world.

Eliad Cohen
אליעד כהן
Born (1988-05-11) May 11, 1988 (age 36)
Acre, Israel
NationalityIsraeli
Occupation(s)Model, Director of PR for PAPA PARTY
Known forModel, actor, event producer
Modeling information
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Hair colorBrown
Eye colorDark brown
Instagram information
Websiteeliad_cohen
Followers1.4 million

After completing his military service, Eliad Cohen began a modeling career,[2] later branching into organizing of events, most notably Arisa and PAPA series, promotion of Tel Aviv Pride events and various activities in support of gay-friendly Israeli tourism. He also established a prominent online service through his own Gay-ville website.[3]

Cohen is also a fashion designer[4] of men's swimwear and footwear, hosting a runway show of his spring/summer 2023 looks at Miami Swim Week 2022.

Career

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Eliad is well known for his role as the presenter of the Arisa party series,[5] which is the first international party dedicated to Mizrahi music, the music of Jews from Arabic speaking countries. Eliad was approached by the Arisa creative team and asked to star in one of their music videos.[6] The Arisa videos have proved very popular and have an international following online. But they have also drawn criticism for their depiction of various themes and characters.[7] In November 2011, the Arisa party line traveled to São Paulo, Brazil where Eliad and the rest of the Arisa team were featured in front of an audience of nearly 1,000 people.[5]

He is the co-founder of Gay-ville (aka G-ville), a gay-friendly, global vacation and apartment rental network based out of Tel Aviv.[8][9][10] Gay-ville took off with thousands of apartment listings in countries on every continent.[11]

Cohen is also founder of the PAPA Party that was launched in Tel Aviv in association with Tel Aviv Gay Pride. Since 2012, he has launched it internationally with events in various American, Canadian, European and Latin American venues.[12][13]

Spartacus International Gay Guides featured Cohen on the cover of the guide's 2011-2012 issue.[5][14] In February 2013, Out magazine readers voted him as second in its "Top 10: Eligible Bachelors".[1][12][14][15] His appearance on the cover of Spanish gay publication OhMyGod created controversy when Spanish photographer Juan Pablo Santamaria depicted Eliad Cohen under the provocative title "Eliad Cohen: El nuevo mesías gay de Israel" ("The new gay messiah of Israel").[16] In December 2011, he appeared on the cover of the Brazilian magazine Junior[17] and in April 2016, on the cover of The Fight LGBT magazine.[18] He also modelled for BCNÜ utility wear.

Cohen is a fashion designer who launched his line of menswear at Miami Swim Week 2022, as part of the official closing party.[19]

In 2022, he also co-launched a "Pride Icons" NFT project in Miami[20] which is the world's largest collection of LGBTQ-inspired NFT art.[21] The project has pledged $1 million to queer organizations including GLAAD, which monitors how LGBTQ people are portrayed in the media, and The Trevor Project, which offers crisis support for LGBTQ youth.[22]

Cohen was interviewed by Dazed magazine for Pride Month 2022 on how he uses his social media platform for gay pride. He said: “We need to be visible for the world to know that we are here, and we are here to stay.”[23]

Personal life

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Eliad was born on May 11, 1988, in Acre, Israel. After completing high school, he served in the Israel Defense Forces in an elite combat unit for three years.[5]

After completing his army service, Eliad moved to Tel Aviv where he worked as a bartender in various bars and clubs before launching his career.[5]

He also ventured into modelling and posed for a number of advertisements. He always wears the chai, as a sign of pride in Israel.[5] Cohen is openly gay[6] after coming out to his parents when he was twenty years old.[10]

References

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  1. ^ a b Adrian Garcia (March 13, 2013). "Gaily Stud: Eliad Cohen". Gaily Grind. Archived from the original on October 7, 2019. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  2. ^ Marlon Brieur (23 October 2011). "Eliad Cohen: "Je préfère que mes parties intimes restent intimes!"" (in French). Têtu magazine. Archived from the original on 4 April 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  3. ^ "members « IGLTJA The International Gay & Lesbian Travel Journalists Association". Igltja.org. Archived from the original on 2013-10-22. Retrieved 2013-07-11.
  4. ^ "Designers give sneak peek of what to expect during swim week 2022 in reality and metaverse". 7 July 2022. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
  5. ^ a b c d e f "Size Doesn't Matter's One-on-one with the 2012 face of Spartacus – Eliad Cohen". SizeDoesn'tMatter website. March 15, 2012. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  6. ^ a b "Eliad Cohen: da modello a imprenditore - Una rapida e fortunata carriera da modello, una vita in giro per il mondo e un sito internet per il turismo gay con un'ingegnosa formula alla base" (in Italian). Progress Online. Archived from the original on January 30, 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  7. ^ "עור לבן, מסיכות שוקולד | העוקץ". Haokets.org. 2011-06-16. Retrieved 2013-07-11.
  8. ^ Justin Ocean (Oct 15, 2012). "Travel and Nightlife - Out Goes to Israel: Eliad Cohen". Out.com. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  9. ^ Michael Matson (February 21, 2012). "Eliad Cohen's got a bod for sin and a head for business". Archived from the original on October 22, 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  10. ^ a b "אליעד כהן מהאריסה מתכונן לשרית חדד". Mako.co.il. 21 September 2011. Retrieved 2013-07-11.
  11. ^ "ABOUT | copy-of-eliadcohen". Archived from the original on 2020-01-31. Retrieved 2020-01-31.
  12. ^ a b רועי יולדוס רוזנצוייג (March 5, 2013). גאווה ישראלית: אליעד כהן – בין הרווקים הנחשקים בעולם (in Hebrew). Mako.il. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  13. ^ רועי יולדוס רוזנצוייג (December 25, 2012). ההומואים הישראלים כובשים את ספרד (in Hebrew). Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  14. ^ a b "Chris Colfer, Eliad Cohen, Joe McElderry top Most Eligible Gay Bachelor List". Go Pride Chicago. March 4, 2013. Archived from the original on May 30, 2013. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  15. ^ "Top 10: Eligible Bachelor Results". Out.com. March 1, 2013. Retrieved July 10, 2013.
  16. ^ Idan Matalon (January 29, 2013). אני מצלם את הגברים השווים בעולם (in Hebrew). Mako. Retrieved February 26, 2021.
  17. ^ Art8amby: Two covers of Junior magazine December 2011
  18. ^ TheFight.com April 2016 cover
  19. ^ Sayej, Nadja. "10 Highlights From Miami Swim Week 2022". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
  20. ^ Sayej, Nadja. "'Pride Icons' Honors LGBTQ+ Pop Culture Trailblazers". Forbes. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
  21. ^ Simms, Demetrius (2022-06-01). "How the World's Largest Collection of LGBTQ-Inspired NFT Art Is Raising Money for Good Causes". Robb Report. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
  22. ^ Hendrickson, V. L. "The World's Largest Collection of LGBTQ-Inspired NFTs Launches Sales for Pride Month". www.barrons.com. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
  23. ^ Dazed (2022-07-05). "7 queer creatives tell us how they define visibility". Dazed. Retrieved 2022-10-06.
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