Bodybuilders versus physique (or beefcake) models.  What’s the difference, you say? 

The lines here are very blurry because many bodybuilders have posed in physique magazines, and many physique models have competed in bodybuilding contests.  I've created my own criteria to separate the men in these categories as follows: 

Bodybuilders - This group is comprised of the males (and females) whose primary focus, fame and career agenda is in the bodybuilding, competition and fitness industry.  Categorized as a bodybuilder means that they may have dipped their toe in other things such as modeling or acting, but bodybuilding is the primary bulk of work (pun intended) for which they are known.  Die-hard gym rats. 

Physique and Beefcake - This group of men may have competed in bodybuilding contests and of course all of them have embraced and embodied bodybuilding in general. But they chose a career path not of muscle growth and contests, but of aesthetic maintenance for show business, modeling or as fitness historians and gurus. Muscle man symmetry. 

Again, the line is fuzzy between bodybuilders and physique models, but I've got several men and books shown here about the male physique. I'll come back later to fill in more detail.

STEVE REEVES is an undisputed king of physique.  Never too large, never on steroids, always symmetrical, and dedicated in the long run to a life of fitness. Still an idol for most bodybuilders.  More on Reeves to follow, since I have so many items of his in my collection.

TONY SANSONE was an incredibly contemporary looking physique model in the 1920’s; highly collectible

REG PARK was Arnold's idol and a bodybuilder that went on to make several beefcake movies. You'll notice that the armpit thumb-sucking and sideways nude-with-a-sword photos are clearly not at all "gay bait".

REG LEWIS a bodybuilding title holder, a screen Hercules and a member of Mae West's clan.

DAN LURIE was a major contributor to the Iron Game, manufacturing bodybuilding equipment, veering into the entertainment world and promoting awareness in the world of muscle any way he could as he grew older.

ED FURY was one of the most famous AMG (Athletic Model Guild) physique models in the 50's and made a few sword and sandal films.

LOU DEGNI aka MARK FOREST started bodybuilding at 13, had one of the most astounding and beautiful physiques and was a highly popular model - along with many acting appearances in sword-and-sandal movies (the usual genre for musclemen). I don't have an autograph of his, but you will see a photo of him on this page that sold for $300. I don't think most people fully grasp the world of collectibles, and the prices that collectors will pay for vintage physique memorabilia.

JORGE RIVERO is included here because his fame and movie career were primarily based on his physique. You'll see that I purchased a large collection from a gentleman that was a serious Jorge collector. "The Sin of Adam and Eve" is one of his most famous roles.

ROCK STEVENS is just a screen name used a few times by "Mission Impossible" star, Peter Lupus. Sword-and-sandal movies, yet again. I asked him to sign Rock Stevens on this photo, but alas he did not. More on him when I cover "Mission Impossible". He's very fan friendly and an accommodating signer TTM.

JACK LaLANNE has his own page as a Fitness Influencer, but he did start out as a physique model as you can see from this vintage mag in my collection.

PHYSIQUE: The Life of John S. Barrington is a vivid, in-depth study of a man who started the male physique photography craze in England. It goes into detail about the challenges of the time, his somewhat questionable ethics and the lengths he went to in order to circulate male nudes worldwide without getting arrested on obscenity charges. Notably, he found a way to show nude men that were "clothed" in underwear, but subscribers and fans knew how to REMOVE the jock or underwear worn by the model with an erasing tactic. The things that John S. Barringon (and muscle fans) went through in order to see the goodies!

YUKIO MISHIMA – A very interesting political activist and author with repressed homosexuality, an obsession with military men and bodybuilding. He was completely aware of camera angles and directed his photographer how to photograph him to look bigger. He had a long relationship with a trans woman, committed suicide by Harikari and was a man who lived to the extremes.

Quotes about/by Yukio: “He said I want to make a poem of my life, he thought that meant in part making himself a beautiful body and then destroying it just before it began to go to pieces”  

“I cherished a romantic impulse towards death, yet at the same time I required a strictly classical body as its vehicle.  If myself was my dwelling than my body resembled the orchard that surrounded it. 

Fantastic documentary BBC Arena: The Strange Case of Yukio Mishima (1985) 

At the tail-end of this gallery you'll see some of the many books in my collection about the male Physique and Beefcake.

My collection of physique magazines and photos from the early days through the 80's (when men's physiques were "MOSTLY" natural needs to be catalogued. The archives and stacks of boxes is insane.

Anybody interested in a part-time job cataloging everything for me?

Fapping on the job not allowed.