Wet & Hot Models and Actors Pinned

This image of Olympic pole vaulter Tom Hintnaus -- while not intended to be gay or primarily appeal to gays -- is a breakthrough image that lead to the acceptability of the male form in mainstream American advertising.

It was created by photographer Bruce Weber (later of Banana Republic and then Abercrombie & Fitch fame) and creative partner Sam Shahid.

The photograph by Bruce Weber of a well-muscled young man in white briefs became the iconic image of "male as sex object" in the 1980s. American Photographer magazine named the photo as one of “10 Pictures That Changed America.”

Tom's parents were Czech citizens who escaped to West Germany in 1948. They wanted to move to America but could only get permission to re-locate to Brazil where Tom was born. (Some sources list his birth date as Feb. 15, 1958.) At the age of two Tom's family moved to California. He attended the University of Oregon where he majored in telecommunications and developed his skill as an athlete. He placed first in the U.S. pole-vaulting trials for the Olympics scheduled for Moscow in 1980 but the USA subsequently boycotted that event. At a 1979 meet Tom's looks caught the attention of a photographer for "Track and Field News" who persuaded him to give modeling a try.

Tom currently lives in Hawaii with his wife and two children where he builds decks for private homes. These photos of Tom were taken by his wife.