Today we’re looking at physique models who eventually stepped behind the camera themselves. It’s the same kind of shift you see in other art forms too — actors becoming directors or dancers becoming choreographers — where working closely with a master sometimes sparks the next generation to try shaping the picture in their own way.
Like many other disciplines, physique photographers often started as apprentices—modeling for another photographer before stepping out on their own.
The Ritter Brothers, Fred and William, posed for George Platt Lynes (1907–1955) before making images themselves in the 1930s—shooting male nudes from their gym, including each other, and selling them for a profit.
Bob Mizer (1922–1992) modeled for Frederick Kovert in his Hollywood studio before launching the Athletic Model Guild and Physique Pictorial, moving into both photography and film, while also building a respected commercial career beyond physique work.
Joe Tiffenbach (1923–1992) modeled for Ralph Kelly, Bob Mizer, Dave Martin, and Bruce of L.A. before turning to his own photography and later gay adult film work.
David Hurles (1944–2023), aka Old Reliable, modeled for Guild Press, was mentored for decades by Mizer, and later created his own raw, unmistakable body of work—often photographing and filming himself with rougher, unpredictable models who became part of his signature style.
Like most underground movements, the record is incomplete—names lost, identities blurred, artifacts destroyed—but it’s hard not to imagine there were many more who made that same move from subject to creator. These are just a few examples, but I hope to discover more apprentices who know both sides of the camera.
Feedback?
Does anyone have solid resources for tracking the history of the Ritter Brothers? And I know of a few more examples in vintage gay porn e.g. Al Parker and Jeff Stryker, but if you have other earlier examples, please send them my way.
First, I this is a great concept for a series.
ReplyDeleteI used genealogical websites and census records to try to track the Ritter Brothers back in 2022. The results are here:
http://www.vintagemusclemen.com/2022/12/they-answered-their-fan-mail.html
I have since revisited the matter twice with no new results. They apparently stopped the photography business and led quiet lives after the late 1930s.
Bob Delmonteque is another classic era physique model who got behind a camera himself.
Awesome! Thank you! I’ll check out your Ritter brothers post. And thanks for the tip about Delmonteque. Did he do male nudes?
DeleteThat was from bns btw😉
DeleteSome.
DeleteCool. I’ll start my digging. bns
DeleteDavid Hurles is an enigma. His face, let alone the haircut and boyish body, don’t reconcile with his massive-ness… never judge a book by its cover, I guess.
ReplyDeleteVery true! He also didn’t really look like he’d fit in with the models he worked with. Very interesting huh? bns
DeleteI like no,7 Jim Paris.
ReplyDeleteAgreed! Great photo. bns
DeleteWell done! Most of the photographers here dealt with more professional models. Mizer had his "bad' boys, but Hurles was the one who really took risks with the ones he used. They had a certain appeal, but I would never have trusted those guys!
ReplyDeleteFor real! My partner suspects that might have been his fetish…like the movie that just came out, Pillion, power, domination, element of danger. To each their own right? bns
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