(Reprinted Foreward from Bob Mizer & Athletic Model Guild: American Photography of the Male Nude 1940-1970)

The year 2005 marks the 60th anniversary of the founding of Athletic Model Guild, the oldest continuously operating photographic studio of the male physique in the world. For decades photographer Bob Mizer worked with both bodybuilders and ordinary guys off the street, giving them a chance to be somebody and to have a little fame in his Physique Pictorial magazine. In exchange for small responsibilities like cleaning the pool, sweeping the yards, performing handyman services, or other menial tasks, Bob sometimes allowed the guys to hang out or even live in the AMG compound. Twenty years ago one of these acts of kindness involved a man to whom Bob would eventually leave his entire estate. Like so many men who came to Bob Mizer, he was ready for something new in his life and Bob gave him a chance to prove himself at his own pace.

That man was my good friend Wayne Stanley, who has held the reins of AMG since Bob’s death almost fourteen years ago. Working virtually alone Wayne did his best to preserve the vast archives of nearly 1,000,000 negatives and proofs, 3000 films and 2500 video masters of about 10,000 models. But the responsibility to protect this treasure trove of photographic history as well as make Bob’s work available to both old fans and new generations is more than one man can accomplish, and Wayne has had the foresight to pass the reins into younger hands.

This book is only a tantalizing introduction to Bob Mizer’s work. To create a monograph of the finest images would require a library wing of books. It was originally slated to be the very first volume that would open “American Photography of the Male Nude 1940-1970” but it will now punctuate the other end of the encyclopedic series. Some of these images were chosen and approved by Bob himself just before he passed away in 1992, but his death prevented publication at that time. After nearly fourteen years I felt it was time to complete this project for Bob, marking an important milestone in the resurrection of his legendary studio.

This book is dedicated to my friend Wayne, without whom AMG might well have been lost. Wayne has been both a mentor and a font of AMG history and lore. I must admit there is a bit of the paternal in Wayne’s relationship to me, yet at times we are like two college buddies, talking and joking, ogling a hot young waiter’s ass, or trading risqué pictures over the internet. With Bob looking down and Wayne looking over my shoulder, I am committed to keeping AMG alive and in one piece, to promoting and presenting Bob’s work in the best possible manner, and to bringing new Athletic Model Guild productions into the twenty-first century.

Dennis Bell
Athletic Model Guild
July 1, 2005

Product Details
• Paperback: 112 pages
• Publisher: Janssen Verlag (September 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1919901256

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