Dear Editor:

I cannot decide if I am more appalled at the offensive, vindictive and untrue comments of Mr. Dino Vannucci, or at your unprofessional decision to publish his letter in its entirety.

Mr Vannucci all but libels a local personal trainer that you asked to be a photographic model for one of your feature articles. Contrary to Mr Vannucci’s assertions I am happy to vouch for the individual in question and state that he is very professional and extremely competent at his job.

Mr Vannucci clearly has some significant personal issues that he has to deal with and it is very sad that a medical professional would find it necessary to write such hurtful and misleading things about another person. It is hard to imagine that someone who spews such venom (even if he hides it within a long, rambling letter) can really be an effective mental health practitioner.

What is perhaps even more disturbing is that you made the decision to publish the letter unedited, if at all. I would urge you to revisit your policy of publishing every letter that you are sent. If this is the quality and tone of the letters that you receive, perhaps it would be better not to have a letters section at all - I think that we have all read enough letters either criticizing or defending Nicole!

Mr. O’Brien you showed very poor judgement, the letters section should be more than a forum for individuals with a personal vendetta, your readers deserve much more.

There is also a young man who is, contrary to lies that you chose to publish, not uneducated, nor narcissistic, nor unprofessional. He is, however, deserving of an apology.

Colin Pearce

Dear Editor:

Frankly, I was quite disappointed in Mr. Vannucci’s response last week to the “Getting fit in 2005” article from the previous week.

For a person who purports to have such a high level of education and who seeks to help others gain a healthy sense of self-worth, he spends much of his letter on a tirade against personal trainers who are also helping their clients improve themselves, although through physical exercise.

Lumping all personal trainers, including the young man on the cover, into the category of “escorts” based upon the advertisement of only one personal training company is irresponsible. I have seen the ad Vannucci is railing against, and as an educated professional who used to work in the advertising world, such ads have the effect of drawing a chuckle from me. If that company’s advertisement was distasteful to him, as a person of his intellectual level, he should have moved on to another company that does not advertise in that manner.

There are plenty of personal training companies in town, including the one the cover man works for, who advertise based upon the programs they offer or the combined experience of their trainers. Calling the man on the cover “narcissistic and uneducated” and again, an “escort,” is nothing short of libel. If Vannucci has a personal issue against this man, a newspaper is no place to air out such irresponsible and immature slander.

I have seen Vannuci’s online profiles and his letter last week only confirms that he is a man full of anger. I am no expert in psychology, but perhaps he should make sure he has resolved all this anger in a positive and constructive manner before he offers to help others in resolving their own issues lest he negatively influences their therapeutic progress.

Mario Cajina

Dear Editor:

This is in direct response to a letter that was written to you by Dino Vannucci that you published in issue 890 “Queer Theory”. . In his letter, he refers to the person that was on the front cover of the pervious issue “Getting Fit 2005” as a narcissistic Mexican child that is uneducated, with no personal training experience, but that he trains “older” men and that he is more of an escort than a professional personal trainer.

Now, the truth about this so called uneducated Mexican escort.

First of all, he is not an escort and has never been one. He is actually a senior at SDSU and will be graduating with honors in Psychology. His internship is with Dr. Zona Lai and is excellent at his job there. As far as his personal training experience goes. He has numerous certifications. He is certified through AFTA “ American Fitness Training of Athletes”, He has also completed a course with PWTA “Professional Weight Training Academy” He is a Certified Nutritional Advisor and CPR certified. Not only is he an excellent and qualified trainer but he is very well educated and he is a beautiful person inside and out.

Chris Butler

Dear Editor:

I sincerely am most thankful that people like Dino Vannucci exist. Because he provides a far better role model than the majority of people who are half naked and pulling their underwear off... that seem to appear far too frequently in your magazines. Knowing that he has been harrassed and tormented by cruel people for expressing heartfelt views, and that you allow this, is setting a terrible example. And how awful those “confident” men are, that get off on being so cruel to one lone man who stuggles with chest cancer. God bless him...and shame on you.

Patsy Pauley

Dear Editor:

I am writing in response to Dino Vannicci’s letter, in regards to personal trainers. I have personal experience with Dino. I met him when he first arrived in San Diego. Upon our initial meeting, I took it upon myself to discontinue any and all contact with Mr. Vannicci. I found him erratic and strange. Frankly, I feared for my own personal welfare to even be involved with someone with his obvious mentally unbalanced tendencies.

Dino states that he had his chest “amputated”, due to cancer. I can vouch for the scar on his chest. Im not sure “amputated” is correct. I know that he has two pectoral muscles in tact. Maybe he felt that using the word “amputation” would pull at your reader’s heart strings, and win him a few sympathy votes.

Dino feels that personal trainers do a huge dis-service to the gay community, especially when they “dress like Chippendales dancers”. I have yet to see a trainer in any area gym, wear a bowtie, no shirt, and black, shiny slacks. Dino, you start to tread into some very dangerous water, when you begin making huge, sweeping, generalizations. For someone who is a “psychological therapist”, one would think you’d have learned that. It’s hugely ignorant, and a tell tale sign of someone operating with a 9th grade mentality. By the way, you seem to have changed professions quite a bit in the past few years. I’m curious if you have the credentials to prove your “psychological therapy certification”. I am terrified for the poor soul who comes to you seeking counseling. Physician, heal thyself.

Your letter was incredibly slanderous, asinine, poorly thought out, ill intended, and frankly…. a perfect example of your sociopathic thought process. You hurl personal attacks on specific trainers, by claiming that they are not educated in their field, and engaging in prostitution. Again, this is supposed to be coming from a practicing professional in the mental health care industry? Thank you for totally disqualifying yourself, and making it glaringly obvious that you don’t have an intellectual thought to share with the G&L reader. Do not insult us with your public attacks on individuals who would not validate and return your “Fatal Attraction” type, infatuations.

Dino claims that “muscle obsessed boys” will just laugh at his letter. Quite the opposite. As a man who works out 6 days a week and eats right, I found his letter EXTREMELY frightening. Also, as someone who has had an inside peak at Dino, I am truly concerned for him and those who are in his immediate circle. Possibly, if he didn’t spend such a huge amount of time on gay.com and adam4adam…..maybe he could develop some actual social skills with living, breathing, human beings. Obviously, he is not quite there, yet.

Richard Saugus