New Issues of the PHYSIQUE PICTORIAL Magazine, Starting in August, 2017

Physique Pictorial, Volume 42

As if I needed something new and exciting to throw more fuel on my obsession for vintage beefcake (If you don't know what I'm talking about, you don't know me at all and you need right now to jump to my vintage beefcake blog.), the Bob Mizer Foundation has announced it is relaunching Bob Mizer's groundbreaking magazine, Physique Pictorial, which Mizer published for nearly forty years up to 1990.

"Now, nearly 30 years later, we want to expose a new generation to Physique Pictorial," said Dennis Bell in a press release. "We have volunteers from across the country who are assisting in this endeavor, from design work to writing."

Volume 42 of Physique Pictorial will be published in August, 2017, and includes features both new and familiar to fans of the Athletic Model Guild. Each quarterly issue will feature a spread of a popular Mizer model, with accompanying biographical information. Bell also said the magazine will display profiles and portfolios from up-and-coming, modern-day photographers who have a focus on the male physique. Physique Pictorial will also run regular feature stories that explore other elements of the male physique photography genre. Volume 42 includes the first installment in a series on the history of the building at 920 Larkin Street in downtown San Francisco, California. That building currently houses a magazine and ephemera store called The Magazine, and will be the new home to the Foundation in the coming months.

920 Larkin Street, where I volunteer.

Seattle art director Frederick Woodruff has been tapped to create the magazine’s look. A former creative director for CBS TV, Woodruff created in the late 1990's two popular websites for gay men, Nightcharm and Lurid Digs. "When Den approached me, I was ready to step back into print,” Woodruff said in the press release. “Creating something tangible that people could hold in their hands, put on their coffee table or take to bed with them–that excited me!"

Each issue of Physique Pictorial costs $20. The Foundation’s site will take pre-orders in the coming weeks. Back issues of Physique Pictorial are also available on the Foundation’s site. Everything you purchase there directly benefits the Foundation.

Sorting Denny Denfield's negatives.

I currently volunteer at the Foundation sorting and archiving Denny Denfield's negatives. I've definitely found more than a few interesting images. In August, you'll have the chance to see one of them.

Me and Denny Denfield at the Bob Mizer Foundation

At the Foundation before the doors open.

While The Magazine store continues to be fully operational in this building, it is a delight to see the Bob Mizer Foundation steadily moving into its new, permanent home near the corner of Larkin and Geary streets in San Francisco, California.

I happily accepted Dennis Bell's recent offer that I help archive Denny Denfield's collection of negatives, which the San Francisco-based photographer bequeathed to The Magazine, which, in turn, has given it to the Foundation.

Last weekend, I worked through a binder of Denfield's negatives and photographs, identifying models, then sorting by photo shoots.

Sorting photos of Harold Martin

I was surprised to learn from Bell that Denfield and Mizer were not only friends in the 1940's, but accompanied one another on photo shoots. That became readily apparent, when I examined Denfield's photographs of Harold Martin shot in the desert: Mizer took photographs of the same model in that locale.

Sorting photos of Howard Martin on the beach.

Most astonishing of all, however, was the discovery that, in the 1940's, Denfield was at the Athletic Model Guild, when Mizer took this photograph of Gene Eberle battling Don Silvas. I reviewed several behind-the-scenes photographs that Denfield took on set: they show the models posing on a raised platform lit by two kleig lights and a lamp shined through a glass bowl to create the light effect on the wall.

I've never seen another photographer's work shot at the Athletic Model Guild.

Bob Mizer's photo of Gene Eberle and Don Silvas.

Over the coming weeks, I look forward to more discoveries as I archive Denfield's work, which greatly deserves to be preserved and made available to those interested in fine physique photography.

AMG: 1000 Model Directory

Last Thursday evening at The Magazine store in San Francisco, California, I was thrilled to attend the book premiere party for Taschen’s AMG: 1000 Model Directory, which is a large, two-volume box set that features photographs of 1,000 models taken in the mid-1940′s to the mid-1960′s by Bob Mizer at the Athletic Model Guild (AMG) in Los Angeles, California.

AMG 1000 Model Directory.

If you’re a fan of vintage beefcake, you likely know Bob Mizer nearly all by himself invented in the 1940′s the concept of male model. It was shocking in that era to celebrate men purely for their physical beauty. In fact, for the crime of taking photographs of men posing in bathing suits, Mizer spent several months in prison.

The Magazine store on Larkin Street, San Franciso, California.

Book premiere party at The Magazine on November 3, 2016.

Luckily for us, Mizer persisted, believing he and his fellow photographers had the artistic right in the United States to photograph adults any way they chose.

He passed away in 1992, having run continuously AMG for nearly 50 years. His estate was on the verge of being broken up and sold off, when photographer Dennis Bell purchased everything in 2003.

A few years later, Bell set up the non-profit Bob Mizer Foundation, with the purpose of archiving and preserving Mizer’s work along with that of other photographers for future generations.

Dennis Bell signing my copy of the book.

With Dian Hanson, who spent 3 years selecting the photographs.

In October, 2016, Trent Dunphy and Robert Mainardi, the owners of The Magazine, gifted their four-story building in downtown San Francisco to the Foundation, ensuring with their legacy a permanent home for the Foundation as well as for the two men’s massive collection of vintage beefcake photographs and magazines.

Robert Mainardi, Dennis Bell and Trent Dunphy.

Each purchase of a new copy of the AMG: 1000 Model Directory will directly benefit the Foundation.

Not only are these two volumes big, beautiful books featuring exquisite photographs of some of AMG's most popular and handsome models, they are also an astounding resource for fans of vintage beefcake, such as myself, to identify models and for studying the various settings, props and locations Mizer employed in creating his photographs.

Dennis Bell and Dian Hanson signed my copy.

Bob Mizer's 700,000 35mm Transparencies Need You

If you love male models in the fashion and advertising world, now's your chance to help preserve the archives of the man who nearly all by himself invented the concept of male model in 1940's Los Angeles, California.

As you can read in this interview on the blog, Bob Mizer of the Athletic Model Guild was a prolific photographer and filmmaker. In his lifetime, he produced over 1,000,000 negatives, slides, prints and films.
 

Original slide during the sorting process.

Dennis Bell, the current owner of the Athletic Model Guild and founder of the Bob Mizer Foundation (a 501(c)3 non-profit), is cataloging and archiving every single image and will eventually make the entire collection available for viewing by the general public.

His current Kickstarter campaign is to help finance the proper storage of Mizer's 700,000 35mm transparencies. Yes, you read that right: 700,000.

This is a small portion of Bob Mizer's estate, prior to its rescue.

Money raised by the Foundation pays only for supplies, such as the archival sleeves for negatives and transparencies. Volunteers and interns provide the necessary labor.

Some of Mizer's estate now in protective storage.

If you're a fan of vintage physique photography and/or classic Americana, now's your chance to give what you can to help preserve this precious historical treasure. Because the Bob Mizer Foundation is a 501(c)3 non-profit, your donation is tax-deductible.

Each transparency is sorted, inserted into sleeves cataloged, photographed and placed into protected storage.

For more information about Bob Mizer, please see the Foundation's website.

Production still from "Why the Wooden Indian Wouldn't." Eddie Scott & Phil Morrison. Los Angeles, 1969.

You can help support the Bob Mizer Foundation by donating directly at its Kickstarter campaign and website. There you will find more information on Bob Mizer, the Athletic Model Guild and the Foundation, including its mailing address for your donations and updates on gallery shows, screenings and lectures.

Mild to Wild: First Annual Bob Mizer Emerging Photographer Competition

The Bob Mizer Foundation has announced its First Annual Bob Mizer Emerging Photographer Competition. It is the Foundation’s 4th anniversary and the 70th anniversary of the beginning of Bob Mizer’s amazing career.

Entries will be evaluated by a panel of internationally recognized professionals, including photography critic Vince Aletti, working artist John Sonsini, and editor Dian Hanson of Taschen Publishing.

Gene Eberle

Winners will receive cash and original, unpublished Bob Mizer photographs.

While Mizer’s best-known work was erotic or semi-erotic in nature, his experimental work often was not. This competition is open to all subject matter—from mild to wild.

Jimmy Lewis

If you're a fan of this blog and of the photographs at my vintage beefcake blog, you know Mizer nearly all by himself invented the concept "male model" in the 1940's in Los Angeles, California. When you jump to this post on the blog, you can read about Mizer in my interview with Dennis Bell, the current owner of the Athletic Model Guild and founder of the Bob Mizer Foundation.

Jack Conant and his wife

With this competition, Dennis Bell’s primary focus is to encourage emerging, unknown photographers to publicly share their vision.  Professional photographers are welcome to submit experimental work that has not been commercially sold or publicly exhibited.  Images should focus on experimental photographic methods—whether historic or modern—and may be shot digitally.  (There's a separate category for analog photography.)  Entry categories are: Figurative, Portraiture, Erotic; "Retro," Any Subject, and Analog Camera (i.e. traditional film).

John Winship

Entries must be received by the end of the day on November 30th, 2014.  Applications are available on the Foundation's website.

Winners of the 1st Annual Bob Mizer Foundation Emerging Photographer Competition will be announced December 30, 2014.

Hank Evans

For further details about the 2014 Bob Mizer Emerging Photographer Competition, including the list of awards, award judges, and their credentials, please go here.

Email the Foundation for all submission and media inquiries.

You can help support the Bob Mizer Foundation by donating directly at its website. There you will find more information on Bob Mizer, the Athletic Model Guild and the Bob Mizer Foundation, including its mailing address for your donations and updates on gallery shows, screenings and lectures.

The Bob Mizer Foundation + Anzevino

I received an anonymous text featuring this photograph of a poster now plastered all over New York.

It's an image of William Sexton aka Blue Max Hensley taken in the 1970's by the Athletic Model Guild. The poster announces the collaboration of the Bob Mizer Foundation with designer Anzevino, which has thus far resulted in a line of tee shirts and sweatshirts currently available at Opening Ceremony.


My favorite is the tee shirt featuring snakes on a nude model's lap, but I think I would wear every day the tee shirt with Blue Max Hensley's handsome mug on it.

As soon as I received the text, I congratulated Dennis Bell, the current owner of the Athletic Model Guild and founder of the Bob Mizer Foundation. I think it's great to see Bob Mizer's work appearing in new and exciting ways in this century.

Bell assured me there's much more to come.

You can help support the Bob Mizer Foundation by donating directly at its website. There you will find more information on Bob Mizer, the Athletic Model Guild and the Bob Mizer Foundation, including its mailing address for your donations and updates on gallery shows, screenings and lectures.

Bob Mizer at Invisible Exports

Avid fans of the Athletic Model Guild already know Bob Mizer (1922 - 1992) took 10,000's of photographs in his youth and twenties on all sorts of subjects before becoming famous as a physique photographer.

He took these images in the 1940's at boardwalk beauty pageants on Venice Beach. These and many more photographs from his collection of more than 1.000.000 negatives, photographs, slides and films are on display at Invisible Exports from December 14, 2012 to January 27, 2013.

You can purchase very high-quality prints at the gallery, where I would certainly be every day if I lived in New York.

Holland Cotter writes an excellent article on Mizer and the exhibit in the New York Times.

When you jump to this post on the blog, you can read my interview with Dennis Bell, the current owner of the Athletic Model Guild and founder of the Bob Mizer Foundation.

You can help support the Bob Mizer Foundation by donating directly at its website. There you will find more information on Bob Mizer, the Athletic Model Guild and the Bob Mizer Foundation, including its mailing address for your donations and updates on gallery shows, screenings and lectures.

"It Was Almost Lost Forever:" Interview with Dennis Bell of the Athletic Model Guild and Bob Mizer Foundation

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

“I Chose a Roman Helmet and Short Sword:" Interview with a Physique Model

Rick Alexander (who used his real name, Rich Sternberger, while posing for Champion Studio) was a popular physique model in the 1960’s and early 1970’s. 

Searching online for photographs of one of his favorite physique models, Rick stumbled upon my blog Male Models Vintage Beefcake, where he was delighted to find photos of himself taken by Champion Studio.

I was thrilled when he introduced himself.

We soon sat down for an online conversation.

I started with the question: why did you pose as a nude model?

Actually, at the first studio, Champion Studio, I thought I would be doing posing-strap modeling since that was the norm in 1967. However, the photographer told me nudity was going to be legalized in 1968 and he wanted me to do nude photos, too.

So, we did both.

I was a little hesitant about doing the nude work because I was afraid the wrong person (a family member, school acquaintance, etc.) might see the photos. In the end, I figured the chances of that happening were pretty remote, so I agreed to do it.

Anyway, I decided to try my hand at physique modeling because the whole idea seemed very erotic and appealing to me. I admired the guys in the physique magazines, and I felt like I looked as good as some of them.

I wanted to be a part of that world: wearing a posing strap, being oiled up and flexing for the camera seemed erotic and glamorous to me.

I also wanted to have professional photos taken of my physique at that time to keep as souvenirs. I'm glad I have those now. It's been fun to look back at them forty years later.

I did it to earn some extra money, too.

How was the experience of posing nude different for you at Champion Studio, COLT and the Western Photography Guild?

I got comfortable pretty quickly with nude modeling. It felt a little awkward during the first session, but after a few poses, I just forgot about the nude part and concentrated on the poses.

By the time I did work for COLT and the Western Photography Guild in the 1970's, I fully expected to pose nude, and the idea didn't bother me at all.

The three studios had different takes on physique modeling.

Champion Studio was known for its boy-next-door types. Its models were mostly preppy looking and didn't have huge builds.

COLT, of course, was famous for its ruggedly masculine, muscular models. I had that look when I posed for them in a few photo sessions and one movie, in which I was either paired with another man or was part of a group.

The Western Photography Guild was into an artistic, muscular look, with its models doing more classical, flowing poses.

What memories stand out from these shoots?

I had fun. I found posing a wonderful form of self expression. I felt very liberated.

The photographers suggested poses for the most part, but were open to my ideas, too.

When I posed for Western, we shot in the Rocky Mountains. It was wonderful to stand nude on a rock with the wind and sun caressing my body among the beauty of the mountains. I really felt in touch with nature.

The most difficult part was holding a pose until the photographer had the proper lighting and liked what he saw through the lens. Often, incremental adjustments had to be made to a pose, such as moving my arm a little lower of higher, or turning my body a little to the left or right. It could take five minutes to get the best results out of a pose.

What were the photographers like?

They were really into their work and very pleasant. Most physique photographers weren't muscular themselves, but they had a wonderful appreciation for male muscularity and masculine glamour.

I admired their creativity.

Don Whitman [owner of the Western Photography Guild] did the photography on my shoot. He had an assistant along to help with the lighting and to help me with some of the poses.

Don had a wonderful artistic eye. He told me he admired driftwood and liked to get his models to pose like driftwood in some photos.

You can see that imagery in many Western photos, with the models' arms and legs acting like tree branches and going in different or symmetrical directions.

He also admired the more classical poses.

He used flashbulbs in his outdoor photography, and that gave the models a marble-like look.

There are hardly any shadows in his photos.

I think the popularity of shows about the early 1960's like Mad Men is in part due to younger people today only knowing about that time period through history books and old television shows.

It is a bit shocking how radically different the 1960's became from the 1950's.

How do you think gay life in America in the 1950's, '60's and early '70's differs from today?

Having lived through the 1950's, I can speak from first-hand experience. It was for the most part a white-bread decade. Lots of conformity and wholesomeness.

The exception was the rebel breed, the leather-jacket crowd that appeared around 1955. They added a ruggedness and bad-boy flavor to the masculinity of the time.

Gay life was pretty private.

There was little gay porn. The physique magazines were one of the only ways to view the nearly nude male body.

The early 1960's were pretty much a carryover of the 1950's.

Things started to change in the mid-1960's, with the British Invasion of The Beatles and other British rock groups.

Men's fashions changed, and there was a feeling of self-liberation in the air intensified by the Civil Rights movement and numerous anti-establishment groups.

Things really got interesting in the late 1960's with the anti-Vietnam War protests, race riots and the emergence of the drug counterculture.

Gay life was still rather subdued because of the fear of bar raids and of being outed.

Of course, things changed in 1969 with the Stonewall riots [the defining event that marked the start of the gay equal rights movement in the United States].

By the 1970's, gay life was becoming more acceptable.

Gay bars were rarely raided, and lots of gay bars opened. There were even after-hours places and gay bathhouses.

By this time, the photography of nude adults was legal, and most of the physique studios had died out, having been replaced by more sexually-explicit studios.

More men joined gyms as the muscular look went mainstream.

And a lot of gay men adopted the "clone" look, which included facial hair, flannel shirts, Levi's and boots.

So, in the years prior to Stonewall, physique magazines were frequently one of the only outlets for gay men. Who were your favorite models?

Charles Zunwalt, Ron Rector, Richard Reagan, Keith Lewin and Phil Lambert. All had good, rugged builds and masculine faces.

Photographers?

Bruce of Los Angeles, Kris of Chicago and the Western Photography Guild. They used quality models and presented men in a manly manner.

What did you do over the years between modeling at these studios and today?

Actually, the last physique-modeling session I had was in 1975 at the Athletic Model Guild.

To my knowledge, none of the photos were published, though I thought they were pretty good. I have in my album one photo from that session.

It's possible Bob Mizer [owner of the Athletic Model Guild] kept the photos for his own use or sold them privately. By that time, I think his taste in models had changed to boyish, slimmer guys.

Bob did the photography at my shoot.

He was pleasant and more laid back than Don.

Before the shoot, he showed me the famous pool area and his "central wardrobe" closet with the various costumes he used in his photos.

He asked me to pick out what I wanted to wear in the photos.

I chose a Roman helmet and short sword.

I always had respectable jobs while modeling. Few guys could make a full-time living at modeling unless they did escort work, too.

In 1976, I opened my own gym in Los Angeles.

It lasted a little over six years, when the rent got too high and I was forced out of business.

It was a lot of fun owning that business in the field I loved.

I worked in retail after that and am now semi-retired.

I still work out a few days a week.

I'm glad I had the chance to be a part of the physique-modeling era. It's something that we probably won't see again since I don't think most photographers today are into that type of imagery.

If I had the money, I would love to resurrect that era by having my own studio and finding suitable models. I bet there would still be a market for it, but not as great as it was back in the 1950's and 1960's.