Bob Mizer (1922–1992) was an American photographer and filmmaker best known for his pioneering homoerotic imagery and as the founder of Physique Pictorial, the first widely distributed magazine of male fitness photography in the U.S.
Through his Athletic Model Guild, he produced thousands of photographs and short films featuring muscular men in suggestive poses—circumventing censorship under the guise of fitness culture. AMG: 1000 Model. They could see that there were thousands of other men buying these magazines and writing in.”
Mizer’s photographic style included men posing in “duos,” a format that enabled homoerotic fantasy and distinguished the brand from mainstream fitness publications.
Taking little part in Television or reading. Most men knew Mizer was a homosexual, but it was likely his ability to conciously appear masculine that brought on the trusts of his models.
Some photographed underage models, intentionally misreporting their ages by a year or two to get around censors. Think Minx — the Starz comedy about an erotic yet erudite women’s magazine in the ’70s — but with editorials on gay stuff instead of feminism.
A frequent rallying cry of gay rights activists is that “it’s a movement, not a market.” For a community to rally, however, the community must first exist.
The black-and-white illustrations of muscle heads and Grecian warrior-inspired pinups are considered vintage today. This was High Art, and Mizer, knowing his work was risky in nature, remained professional with his models.
There are stories of extra cash being given to men who also took part in “socials”--which is now said to be an arrangement us modern folk know as a “Happy Ending”.
As time went on, a slew of photographers, with the same idea, began popping up around the states, like Bruce Bellas under the stage name ‘Bruce of Los Angeles.” Physique Pictorial was printed less frequently and Mizer slowly closed himself off from most of the world.
“They offered pen pal clubs, which were essentially the Grindr of 1961. Bob, self conscious at heart, prided himself on his ability to be butch.
As the laws of nudity changed, so did his subjects. He continued to photograph men and their bodies daily, well into the early 90s before his death in 1992, often saying he simply felt compelled to.
As a result, issues entered public domain as soon as they were published, which helped bolster distribution of Physique Pictorial in the decades that followed.
“There was a sense of community,” says Johnson. This was followed in 2016 by the extensive two-volume edition of Bob Mizer. Mizer even included his home address in the blurb.
By bolstering business relationships that ensured his magazines could be sold nationwide consistently, he was able to grow a publishing empire, acquiring properties like Trim, Grecian Guild Pictorial, and — my favorite, because I love both muscles and puns — MANual.