BONUS NUMBER 109: COMES A HORSEMAN

(Did You Sleep With the Models?)

Pondering this layout from Playguy (September 1985), I was intrigued by the stormy expression on the model’s face. Pissed-off? Scared? Fed up?

Surely none of the above; after all, the photographer was Kristen Bjorn, noted for excellent rapport with his models. They liked and trusted him, and facial expressions — along with the rest of them — conveyed their willingness to follow direction.

But this blond South African didn’t fit. There had to be a backstory, and I wanted to hear it. So I emailed Kristen Bjorn in Barcelona.

“Do you,” I wrote, “have any memory of this model that you photographed in South Africa? Since he has such an unusual expression on his face – is it exasperation, lust, impatience? – I thought it would interest my readers to know more. Anything you might recall will be most welcome.” I attached a photo from the layout.

Always prompt and professional, Kristen provided exactly what I was looking for. Here’s what he said: “I photographed this model in Sun City, which at the time was located in the ‘homeland’ of Bophuthswana. It wasn’t recognized as part of South Africa at that time; it was a resort town with gambling casinos, and Las Vegas type shows with topless women, and men in G-strings, things that weren’t allowed in the rest of South Africa. The model in question was a dancer in these shows, as you can tell by his G-string tan line. All of the dancers sunbathed by the swimming pools in G-strings to get even tans for their show outfits.

“I think that the pouting look you see on his face was considered sexy in the 1980’s. He certainly wasn’t upset or impatient; he was actually quite friendly, and spoke English with a thick Afrikaans accent. After the shoot, we walked together back by the pool where a group of his fellow dancers were hanging out. They asked us how the shoot went, and I told them that it went very well. At that point, one of the male dancer asked him: ‘How many times did you cum?’ Shaking his head in feigned disappointment, he answered with a sigh: ‘Not Once!’ ”

See much more at kristenbjorn.com

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