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July gMan
Genre Magazine
Eric Brun-Sanglard, 37, says, "Being blind has brought me more happiness than sadness."
Brun-Sanglard lost his sight in 1995 due to complications from being HIV positive. As his vision deteriorated, Brun-Sanglard realized, "There was no more time for games and pretending. I also learned to appreciate what I had rather than always being in search of someone else, something else, some other place."
That new attitude helped Brun-Sanglard establish a relationship with Ian Whitman, 29. Although they are no longer romantically linked, the two men are business partners, their Los Angeles-based design firm called, for obvious reasons, Eclipse Essentials and Design. Somewhat surprisingly, Whitman functions as a contractor and Eric Brun-Sanglard as the designer.
Working closely with an assistant, Whitman and workers he has known for years, Brun-Sanglard remodels, decorates and landscapes homes with a very specific agenda. "I think mostly in terms of making a nest out of a home," he says. "It's about bringing peace, harmony, a sense of safety, comfort and, of course, beauty - but that's not necessarily at the top of my lists."
Beauty also isn't at the top of his list when dealing with other people. "It's a tragedy in the gat world," Brun-Sanglard says, "that people are so into what they look like rather than who they are."
Even though he can't gaze into the mirror, Brun-Sanglard isn't insecure about his appearance. "I think of myself being much better-looking today," he says, "because I feel better about who I am as a person."
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