Now that I’ve stopped snorting with laughter over that wig situation, I’m back to the before-and-after, but with a bit more of the high brow. This one was actually initially inspired by these Mickey Rourke pictures from New York Magazine yesterday:

Mickey, as you may know, had a spell of bad luck in the ’80s and ’90s, as well as several thousand blows to the face. In any case, I was reminded of Danish photographer Nicolai Howalt’s work Boxer from a few years ago, which is about as good as before-and-after portraits get, I think. Or really, portraits of any sort.

Some of these young men look like they had a tougher fight than the others.

Boxer #7

Boxer #8

Boxer #11

Boxer #34

Boxer #16

Boxer #19

Boxer #28

Boxer #43

Collect ‘em all. And see more of Howalt‘s work, it’s pretty great.

ny mag pics:
Baby-faced Rourke in “Diner,” 1982, and as the battle-scarred star of “The Wrestler.”
(Photo: (From left) MGM/The Kobal Collection; Courtesy of Wild Bunch)