Alex Minsky, a 24-year-old former Marine who’s now kind of a David Beckham of underwear models, stands with the help of a prosthetic leg rising up to his right knee after losing it to an explosion in 2009.
In just nine months after fame discovered him working out in a Southern California gym, Minsky has made a growing name for himself as not only a fashion model but a devout role model for healthy living. “I didn’t set out to be an underwear model; I just like taking care of myself and working out. It just so happens that I look good in underwear,” he honestly says.
Two years after joining the Marines and shipping off to Afghanistan, the San Diego man, then 21, drove over an improvised explosive device, which sent him in a coma. When he finally woke, his right leg was gone, which marked the beginning of a long and excruciating road toward his recovery.
As he reflects, he admits, it certainly wasn’t easy, and he soon fell to drinking as a way to help him cope. “I was just living numb,” he said. “Just running away from all those problems in life and thinking that a drink would fix everything. Now I know that that’s not [the case].” With his family’s support, he says, he mustered up the strength to make the necessary changes in his life. He stopped drinking and focused on his physical fitness, health and mental attitude. Two days after going sober, he was discovered, launching a rising modeling career he’s yet to fully grasp.