The sexiest muscle men of today Part II

For the first time in this blog's history, it is my pleasure to sport a guest blogger, David artist and all-round cool cat ManOfSteel. (David, remember? Go here) He wrote an illustrated response to the previous post that I knew I just had to post! From here on, my comments are in red. The comments of MOS do not necessarily reflect my own personal opinions or views, just those of the guest blogger.

Take it away, MOS:

Who do I think are the sexiest men of today? Wow. That's a hard one, because we'd need to define "today". Does "today" mean in the era of modern bodybuilding and male pinups? Or does today mean actively in front of the cameras today? I'll assume it's the latter. If you had asked me who were the sexiest men at the beginning of the decade, I could name quite a few, but interestingly, I think there's been a change in the look recently. Friends and I have often commented that you just don't see the big, handsome specimens the muscle and porn studios featured ten or twenty years ago. That's when I think to myself, "Oh my god...has it been that long?" Time flies. There was a time when a handsome face on a big, muscular body was the goal.

(No arguments here, MOS. It's true there are often geologic shifts in the appearance of people. Faces come and go, in style and out of style. That's one of the reasons I was so shocked by the appearance of Kate Winslet: she really DID have a face like someone from the 1910s. Likewise, it's weird how some of the muscle studs and men from the start of this decade seem to vanish without any of us realizing it, though with Brett Mycles, there's actually some tragedy that is the cause.)

Nowadays it seems that the big, muscular body is enough, which is fine for some, or an athletically muscular body with a handsome, young face is the goal. I don't mind seeing either one, but I remember COLT models like John Pruitt, Doug Perry (Darrin Lannaghan), and Buck Hayes who were just awesome, and bodybuilders like Dennis Newman, Bob Paris, and Gary Strydom were wonderful to see.If the truth be told, I don't feel there are many bodybuilders active today that I really think are very sexy...but that's sexy to me. Denis Sergovisky has an awesome build, but his face doesn't fit my version of handsome. And I hate curly hair. Same thing goes for the late Brett Mycles. However, I'm right there with you on Sagi Kalev and Paul Telfer. Let's see...who else:

Chad Ray Martin

See, I must confess, I think it's the "white boy" thing that gets me. Chad isn't male model handsome, but he has that rough, almost good-looking redneck, cockiness about him.

Mark Dalton

Same thing. If I ever see him though, I will slap him for getting those tattoos.

Jim Romagna




The thing about Jim Romagna is that he reminds me of the hunks in high school. They were enjoying a flood of testosterone coursing through their veins and it seemed as though their muscle mass was rising day by day while their voices went deeper and deeper. Maybe it's just my imagination, but I think they knew the torment us gay guys were going through when we looked at them. All they had to do was move...throw a football, swagger down the hall, leave a few shirt buttons undone, and it was as though they were saying to us, "Look at what I will never let you have."

Gunter Schlierkamp



Not sure if he's still competing, but he seems to have stayed in the scene a lot longer than his contemporaries as I have a lot of pics taken from a relatively recent contest. The man has that kind of 1960's suave, debonair handsomeness about him, and when he poses he uses his face as well, giving that butch, serious, grimace that narrows his eyes and sets off his jaw.

(No arguments here! This is, by the way, of all your pics, in my opinion, the best one. The trouble with a lot of male movie stars and actors is their youth. Now I have no trouble with that look - Chris Jalali after all, is on my own list for that reason - but there's something to be said for a rough, very kind of masculine face that shows maturity.)




Frank McGrath

I love this guy. It's the "in your face" mass that gets me. A real meat monster. But unlike other modern bodybuilders, Frank still has a waist, and does not look like he's pregnant. You see, it's not just the mass, it's the symmetry. There are a few other professional bodybuilders I like: Eddie Moyzan (I'll kill him for getting those tattoos), Lee Priest (I'll kill him for getting those tattoos), Art Atwood (another mass monster but his mass is not distributed well), and Branch Warren, but they've all opted for the rugged, tough-ugly, shaved-head look. Frank would be devastating if his face were a little more square and he let his hair grow and parted it on the side.

(The secret to a muscular physique, I've thought, is a small waist. It makes the back a massive wingspan, makes the shoulders look bigger, and in general gives a lean sleekness. It's not all about mass or size, but, like you said, proportions. Muscle can be ugly when used improperly.

As for the tattoos, I suppose it's a generational thing. Nowadays, every guy has a chinese character or two, and even fashoin models have these glamorous sort of Polynesian prints. Then again, I like sleek bad boys with motorcycles...!)



Cameron Mitchell (Caesar)



First, let me just say that I'll kill him for getting those tattoos. (Sigh!) I didn't use to like him, but lately he seems to have been hitting the 'roids (sigh...safely I hope) and has really bulked up. Although I am a big fan of the classically handsome face, he is yet another example of someone who is not pretty in the traditional sense, yet oozes sex. Dirty sex. Raunchy sex. Throw caution to the wind sex. Do me now sex.

(Also, he's got thighs to die for. Woof!)

John Cena


This guy has the face of a Mountie, or superhero. I can just see him in a Captain America outfit.

(Well, I'm nowhere near overweight enough to qualify as a female fan of John Cena. Professional wrestling in general seems like the type of ironic entertainment that is actually pretty entertaining, sort of like monster trucks or sumo wrestling.)



Chris Cook



Chris has beautiful proportions and a handsome face. I don't even mind the bright, blond hair. But I'll kill him for tweezing his eyebrows.

(Now that's what I call a back! He could hang-glide with that thing.)