Stripped & Sashed

If the crown fits...

Last month, I did a piece featuring the nude male contestants in the 1975 All-Bare Beauty Pageant. (HERE:)  The piece led to some viewer feedback and sparked my interest in researching more about all nude male beauty pageants and compititions. 

It's not uncommon to find male nude competitions, there have always been small contests held in gay bars and strip clubs.  These mini-pageants have usually been specific to the club or venue, and cater to a specific audience and location. 

What I liked about the All-Bare competition is that it seem geared to 'regular guys', husbands and boyfriends, working guys looking for a little fun.  Part of the pleasure of some of the vintage male nude pageants was the vulnerability of some of the men gracing the stage.  Although most seemed proud to show off their bodies, you can also imagine that  many were encouraged by a partner to enter and participated with a little reluctance. 

Great Canadian Strip Search

Mr. Nude Palm Springs

Mr. Worldwide Nude winners (1978)

One of the most interesting contests that I found was the Mr. Nude San Diego Contest.  There are several videos out there of the event, but sadly all very low quality.  If you search the net you  may find a better copy, but the video below appears to be from the 1983 event. 

Mr. Nude U.S. A

Playgirl  Magazine covered one of the biggest male nude competitions, the Mr. Nude U.S.A pageants that took place during most of the 1970's.  The yearly event, was created and put on by a nudist organization in California and you can see some of the coverage from PG magazine below.

1978

Since it's inception in 1974, the Mr. Nude U.S. A contest has been receiving more attention, both from the media, and the public. This year, Eyewitness Los Angeles covered the pageant, as did Schulman Video productions, who documented the two-day event for closed circuit television.  Pat Morehead, (above) was 1978's winner of Mr. Nude USA.  Morehead is a forty-six-year-old captain of the local Vernon Fire Department and head of the Fun Ranch's nude skydivers, the Buff Divers.

1979

This year's winner, Bill Marino, is a New Yorker of Italian descent. A runner-up in last year's pageant, Bill is living proof of the health benefits of nudism. For Bill, it's a way of life, good for the body and soul. bill was also voted 'most muscular' by the panel of celebrity judges.