Kids get top billing over Las Vegas headliners

By Andrea Domanick

Sunday, March 16, 2014 | 2 a.m.

Xavier Sanchez is generally a shy kid. Quiet and studious, the 10-year-old keeps to himself during his afternoons at the Boys & Girls Club of Southern Nevada.

Seeing him on the cover of Las Vegas Magazine, you wouldn’t know it. Mugging in a leather jacket, eyeliner and shaggy hair, the fifth-grader makes for a pint-sized look-alike of Criss Angel, who looms behind him with his trademark ominous gaze. Still, Xavier steals the spotlight.

He is one of 16 children from the Boys & Girls Clubs’ Henderson location featured as junior versions of Las Vegas headliners in the magazine’s March 16 issue, part of an outreach project spotlighting the nonprofit and connecting the glitz of the Strip to the broader Las Vegas community. The magazine is produced by Greenspun Media Group, which also publishes The Sunday.

“The Boys & Girls Clubs seems to be forgotten whenever new nonprofit organizations come along,” said Las Vegas Magazine Art Director Wesley Gatbonton, who spearheaded the project. “They deserve all the help they can get, and to be put out there to tourists and locals alike.”

The spread features club members ages 5 to 12 dressed as the likes of Angel, Penn and Teller, Terry Fator, Veronic DiCaire, Blue Man Group, Santana, Carrot Top and Jabbawockeez. The kids portray their characters with panache, nailing Veronic’s diva stance and Penn’s mischievous grin, though none have acting backgrounds.

Club Director David Jones, who helped select the participating students as a reward for good behavior, said the shoot drew out parts of their personalities they haven’t normally shown on the schoolyard. He said that for the kids, being in a magazine and interacting with some of their favorite stars help build self-esteem. It prompted students like Xavier to come out of their shells.

“Things like this are important to help round them out. Not only do they get the chance to see behind the scenes of a creative industry, but it’s a chance to show a different side of themselves,” Jones said.

GMG Creative Director Erik Stein called the feature Las Vegas Magazine’s “single most ambitious project to date.” Months of work culminated in a week-long photo shoot and design marathon as local celebrities and participants eager to lend their support came together to make the project a success, he said. In addition to the photos, both Blue Man Group and the Jabbawockeez provided Boys & Girls Clubs members with free tickets to their shows, while owners of local music shop J&E Guitars, which provided the set for the Santana shoot, offered to give free guitar lessons at the club. The host of the Criss Angel shoot, meanwhile, offered to provide free volleyball equipment and instruction to the club.

Beyond those benefits, however, Jones said the photo spread itself had been invaluable to the club, providing it with much-need exposure as it continues to reintroduce itself to the community following a major renovation last fall. That expanded the facility to 70,000 square feet.

With about 170 members, the club’s biggest challenge is increasing membership. Though about 30 percent of the club’s funding comes from government agencies, the majority of capital needed to sustain the new clubhouse is dependent on community membership and private donations. Raising the money is a daunting task, but with the support of Las Vegas’ biggest names, Jones remains optimistic.

“Partnerships like this open a lot of doors for us in the community,” he said. “People will start talking about it. And word of mouth, for a nonprofit like us, is one of the best things we can have. Something like this will go a long way.”