Sunday, November 12, 2017

Tom Hintnaus: In Brief


'It was a sunny day in Santorini when I got to photograph the great Tom Hintnaus for the 1982 Ccalvink\ Klein campaign. I'm so grateful for the friendship that developed between Calvin and I on that shoot.'


A lot of people took notice when Bruce Weber posted his iconic shot of model Tom Hintnaus o his Instagram earlier this week. For many, the image brought back memories of the campaign, and the huge billboard of Tom, and Tom's package in Times Square. The perspective Weber chose was an obvious one, but also a risky, focused up, directly towards Tom's bulge.


'I worked so hard to be the best pole vaulter in the world and I ended up being more well known for putting on a pair of briefs'


Prior to modeling, Tom, Tomás Valdemar Hintnaus represented his native Brazil as a pole vaulter in the Olympic Games following the American boycott of the 1980 Moscow Olympics. Now an American citizen, Tom now lives and works in Honolulu, Hawaii. Living in Hawaii allows Tom to keep his incredible physique by following another of his passions, surfing.



Tom Hintnaus by Bruce Weber

Tom's goal is to stay in the best shape he can, for as long as he can. As part of that goal, he has slid back on his tighty whities for several photo shoots including one (documented HERE:) when Tom was 49. He vows to recreate the same image, in the same pose again when he turns 60. Stay tuned!


Tom with Micheal Bergin, Joel West and Antonio Sabato Jr in 2007 celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Calvin Klein Underwear.

2 comments:

reks said...

Terrific post about the guy behind the iconic image--thanks Tye!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting the photos of Tom. I remember being 13 and hiding the picture of him in my room and spending many hours looking at him. I had the biggest crush on him.