Mutts & Muscles Calendar by Mike Ruiz
New York based fashion and celebrity photographer, Mike Ruiz has his annual calendar of dogs and gorgeous male fit models. This year it’s called Mutts & Muscles for the 2023 edition, that is out now.
Mike has shot celebrities such as: Queen Latifah, Anne Hathaway, Jared Leto, Neil Patrick Harris, Rachel Brosnahan, Brit Lower, Dita Von Teese, Aubrey Plaza, Adam Scott and more. He is the creative director and principal photographer for L’Officiel AU, L’Officiel Monte Carlo and PhotoBook Magazine.
Mike has a pitball type dog, named Julia, and he works with various animal organizations to rescue dogs on death row throughout the US. He works a lot with an organization, Stand Up for Pits.
Tell us about your Mutts & Muscles calendar for 2023.
I’m excited for the 2023 calendar. There are 22 amazing male models participating this year. It’s the biggest group in the calendar’s history. I’m so grateful to all of them for coming from all over the country and Canada just to help me save the lives of some dogs in dire need. This year the calendar benefits an amazing rescue called HARLEY’S HAVEN DOG RESCUE, which helps dogs that have been abandoned, neglected, and abused by taking them from shelters where they are languishing and finding them loving, fur-ever homes.
How long have you been doing these calendars?
This will be the 9th year that I’ve done this calendar.
Why is it always themed with dogs and male fit models?
When I first started this calendar, I wanted to do something that would get attention and spark media interest so I decided that pairing cute rescue pups with beautiful male fitness models would be a sure fire way to create a buzz.
What inspired you to start putting these calendars together every year?
In 2012, I fell madly in love with a sweet pitbull type dog named Oliver. He was being fostered by my good friend Tim Brock with whom I would stay when I was in Los Angeles. One look from his soulful brown eyes, and it was love at first sight. Within 24 hours I had filled out all the adoption paperwork and he was my son. As a responsible dad, I wanted to make sure I was armed with all of the info necessary to raise a pitbull type dog so I did a lot of research. I was horrified to find how many dogs were discarded, abused, and neglected in the U.S.
The numbers are staggering. I decided that I need to do something to try and help these poor souls so I started advocating for them which led to me starting this calendar. My goal was to raise money and awareness for the plight of dogs everywhere.
What do you do with the proceeds?
Every year I choose a different organization to benefit and 100% of the proceeds go to that organization. I chose organizations that do amazing work with getting dogs out of shelters and into the homes of loving families.
How do you source the dogs and the models in the calendar? What is your process for choosing them?
This calendar was a media sensation from its inception so models from all over the world are eager to participate. A simple social media post is all that is required to secure the men. The dogs are usually rescues or alumni from the particular organization that I’m benefitting that given year.
Where can you buy it?
The calendar is available at this link:
https://www.harleyshavendogrescue.com/product-page/mike-ruiz-s-mutts-and-muscles-2023-calendar
Tell us about your dog Julia? How old is she? Where did you adopt her from?
Julia is the light of our lives.d my husband Wayne and me) When Oliver passed in 2018 from lymphoma, I was beyond devastated. I didn’t think that I could ever adopt another kid again but the excruciating sound of silence in our home was more than I could bear. Also, I felt that the best way I could honor Oliver’s life was to save another sweet soul from certain death in a shelter. That’s when I began a search on PetFinder. I saw a picture of Julia and my heart knew that she was our daughter. We reached out to the rescue and began the adoption process. Within a few days, her amazing foster family brought her over for a meet and greet. That’s all we needed. It was love at first sight. She had been through a lot and was a little skittish and cowered in the corner for the first couple of days. We were worried that she was afraid of us. Our hearts were aching but then we researched “adoption decompression” It turns out, all dogs need an adjustment period after being adopted. So many people don’t give dogs a chance when they first meet them We are soooooo happy that we did because she has become the brightest light in our lives
Why do you recommend adopting a dog over breeding?
Most breeders are reckless and irresponsible. Anyone who commoditizes sentient beings clearly doesn’t care if they live or die, as long as they make a buck. Breeders are not the only ones to blame for filling the shelters. Many people get dogs for the wrong reasons. They are not accessories to be discarded when the fad passes (I.e., the current French Bulldog craze) The shelters are already seeing a surge in French Bulldogs being dumped because of irresponsible, selfish people. I challenge anyone who is looking for a specific breed of dog to Pet Finder. You will see thousands of dogs of all breeds who have been thrown away like garbage. PLEASE DON’T BE ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE!
Social Media:
@mikeruizone @mikeruiz.one
Interview by PhotoBook Editor-In-Chief: Alison Hernon
Tearsheets by Alexa Dyer, Graphic Design Coordinator, PhotoBook Magazine
*All photos taken by Mike Ruiz
