Athletic Model Guild

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AMG Model Brian Idol

An AMG Publication

The Athletic Model Guild was an organization founded by gay pioneer Bob Mizer in 1944. US censorship laws at the time allowed women to appear in art in various states of undress, but not men. Parts of Asia have similar rules on the books today. Mizer began his business by taking pictures of men he knew, both gay and straight, usually not wearing anything. Many of these would appear in pictures which, while focusing on fitness tips and the like, were largely vehicles for the nice eye candy, similar to "reading Playboy for the articles" argument.

As time went by and the laws were being questioned both in and out of court, AMG's pictures alternated between literally painting in "speedos" in the appropriate places for the pictures of men and having the models simply wear posing straps. After long legal battles, AMG eventually did away with clothing altogether, though by this time the newly-found freedom meant AMG suddenly had a lot of competition, some of it aimed at the quick and dirty buck, rather than the old days of more innocent, and possibly informative, fun.

Several muscle stars and actors, both gay and straight, of the day got their start posing for Mizer and his friends. It is estimated that he took pictures of over 10,000 men throughout the course of his career. Andy Warhol's bisexual friend Joe Dallesandro, recently seen standing among the rows of people in Calvin Klein's CK One and Be ads, was among his models. Dallesandro went on to act in films directed by Warhol and others, both adult and mainstream. Ed Fury and Glenn Corbett, of 77 Sunset Strip were among some of Mizer's other more well-known subjects.

Like Warhol, Mizer had his mother living with him at times. She even helped out with the business while guys, usually skinny-dipping, swam in the pool outside!

A recent movie, entitled Beefcake, combines actual footage with recreated parts and showcases the basic story of the organization, as told through the eyes of a fictitious main character (who could easily be a composite of the many men Mizer met). The DVD edition of the movie includes some rare AMG films, near-impossible to find otherwise, as an added bonus.

A majority of the films and photos from the company were inherently nonsexual in nature. The more innocent times simply had guys posing, sometimes more than one, not wearing anything, for whomever desired it. Actual model profiles and nutrition tips did appear in the magazines the company put out.

Mizer did appear in court over AMG's business, for different reasons over the years, including obscenity, drug use, and prostitution -- sometimes the models would make a little extra money renting themselves out. AMG argued it was the business of the models, not theirs, to police themselves. Despite some setbacks, the organization continued until the sexist laws were changed.

After Mizer died on 12 May 1992, he left his large collection to Wayne Stanley, a friend and legal advisor. Wayne is now himself retired, so he recently (2004) sold the entire collection to photographer Dennis Bell, who is in the process now of restoring, archiving and displaying the works.