Dirk Shafer

Born in the small town of Tuna, Texas, (but doing some of his growing up in Oklahoma), Dirk first came to public attention when he appeared, at age 27, in a nude photo-spread in Playgirl Magazine's "Holiday 1990" issue. This handsome, hairy-chested blond proved unusually popular with readers and when given a chance to select 1992's "Man of the Year", these readers picked Dirk from among a field of twelve candidates. He subsequently stripped down for another nude photo-spread in Playgirl's February 1992 issue. This "exposure" led to a number of personal appearances, press interviews, and guest spots on TV talk shows. Dirk used some of these experiences as the basis for a theatrical film titled Man of the Year (1995) which was released in 1995. Dirk played himself in this "mockumentray" which told, in generally light-hearted fashion, of the tribulations a gay man might face when he's presented as the female's ideal of a sex symbol. The movie received mixed reviews and didn't play in many theaters but it proved popular at gay film festivals. Dirk followed this with another movie in 2001 titled _Circuit (2001/I)_ which also dealt with a gay man's life.