Forum - men of Kristen Bjorn compiled by Bruno Gmunder -

Forum Readers should know that this 1970 book is a classic of its own kind. Kristen `s art form composition of The Male Nude conveys just what it feels like to be a handsome male at the peak of his physical prowess. There is a certain Italian Renaissance Seriousness about the male psyche of these assembled men, and Kristen draws out their magnetism in every single photo, which lights The Spark of Life in their flashing eyes.... This is truly his unsullied vision of what it feels like to be a Real Man, and this book is certainly a Classic. Well, these men could have been the models for Greek or Roman marble statues, and, Hallelujah !, there is not a single tattoo in sight, and there is a good selection of Those that have not been Circumcised, Put this book definitely on "The Must Have List" !

The men featured in the book, are anonymous. May be this is for a good reason, because they may have wanted to maintain their privacy, if they did not intend to become Porn stars. I noticed from the backgrounds, that some favoured locations were Australia and Brazil. It must feel good to be in the nude, when you are down Rio way...Have any of these "Pin Up Boys" filmed with you Kristen ? It would be nice to have a few names, so that I can investigate further in your video film archives, By the way, can you tell me more about Fred Bissones, you "First Mentor" ? For your sake , he must have been a most inspiring person.

Bruno Gmunder published three ¨coffee table¨ books of my photography in the eary 2000's. The first was The Men Of Kristen Bjorn, It was selection of photography I shot in the 1980's and 1990's. I worked as a photographer in Brazil (and later Australia) for American gay magazines for 6 years before I shot my first video in 1987. Even after I started making films, I continued doing photography for the magazines until the early 1990´s with models who, for the most part, didn't want to shoot gay porn videos. Most of them were straight identified. But a few of them did go on to shoot videos. I'm afraid I can't tell you their names at this time, because I don't have the book here with me in Spain. But the cover model is Claudio Marino, who is featured in The Caracas Adventure, Mystery Men, and Amazon Adventure.

Fred Bissones was indeed my mentor. I must say that my life would have been very different without him. He did freelance photography for American gay magazines in the 1980´s, and he was also the photographer for Falcon Studios, which is how I met him. We became friends, and Fred introduced me the the editor of the magazines Mandate, Honcho, and Playguy (which later grew to include over 10 different magazines). I had studied photography at school, and wanted to work as a photographer since I was a kid. Finally, I found a nitch to work in, which was the erotic male nude. In 1986, while visiting Fred in San Francisco, he introduced me to the video camera, and invited me to shoot ¨video magazines¨ for Advocate Men (later changed to Men). That was how I got my start in both erotic photography and video. Fred retired from porn, and went on to publish monthly magazines about Egyptology. He was and still is a very insprirational and intelligent man.

Claudio Marino is exceedingly handsome, with a very expressive face.He also has an interesting fame of mind.

Thank you for introducing me to Claudio Marino, Kristen, He is everything that a Porn Star should be all about. His interview showed his many entertaining possibilities.He would win any Bubble Butt competition without any doubt !

It is good that you have given Fred Bissones the credit that he deserves in guiding you towards celebrating the erotic male nude, An interest in Egyptology, is quite understandable, as the male nude, as well as hieroglyphics , both concern Movement.

You may remember the Feminist Germaine Greer, Kristen. Her ex husband posed in the nude for a double page spread, The problem was, where to put the staple. ... this apparently, gave her great glee ! The men, featured in "Men of Kristen Bjorn", all have" A Steadfast Gaze," which is an essential part of Manly Attraction,.You have, without doubt, captured something rather special, and that applies to all the models that you have selected. The affectionate poses work particularly well, and are sensitively-realised.. Bruno Gmunder clearly -realised that your Perfectionist Photographic Studies, are far more of long-lasting importance than the genre of Coffee Table Publications. They will be sought out as "Collector`s Items", for those Connoisseurs of Masculinity, and how you apply This State of Being to The Erotic Male Nude.

Very interested in where I can find these releases. I'm already a collector of Bruno Gmunder, and absolutely love the coffee table form. "Giovanni Members Only" is my current favorite. Thanks also for the mention of the above photographers, I'll look into these also :-)