STUDlebrity Hot Men

This is an interview with Documentary filmmaker, Charlie David, who was a former boy band member. He’s put together a film about really hot guys and I think the theme is centered on why we find them so interesting…they rarely do anything other than look good. At least that’s what I think it is. There doesn’t seem to be any deep underlying message.

How do the economics work? Who is actually paying them to live like this?
 
I think there are a very select few Studlebrities who actually make a living through their social presence and fewer who make a very good living at it. I’ll quantify ‘very good living’ by setting the benchmark at six figures. There is generally a lot of noise online and so it takes a special type of personality who has proven a consistent audience for a corporate brand to take notice and to invest in them. How that works has a huge range of possibilities from traditional product placement in their videos or photos, ‘shout out’ endorsements, club or public appearances, Adsense on YouTube videos, monetization reward levels linked to views, non-cash support such as gear or swag, or exclusive deals which require the personality to do a certain number of posts within a time frame for a certain amount of money. Some Studlebrities, especially those involved in the digital video world, have proven themselves worthy of million dollar offers but these are absolutely the anomaly and not the norm. Most of these guys may not actually directly make any money off social media at all. It’s simply a marketing platform that they hope will translate into cash at some point.

I don’t know how to comment on this one. There are a lot of good looking guys out there and it seems as though David is reaching a little too far with this theme. But maybe not. I know he’s only talking about a select group of the most “elite” but even in that case who really takes them all that seriously unless they’ve actually done something of substance? In other words, you can only look at a pretty man for so long until you get bored, and if there’s nothing else but looks you move on to something better. And I really hate to say that because I feel as if I’m doing a huge injustice to at least some of the men that are being objectified as the most elite. I live few miles from a well known female model in Solebury, PA. She’s one of the biggest names in NY and is contracted with one of the biggest cosmetic firms in the world. Although close to forty she’s still working. But her husband was a former male model and he’s retired…in his forties. He’s still great looking, but considered too old to compete. It’s really not the easiest life to live.

You can read the rest of the interview here.

Your Urban Culture Buff

I swear I’m not making this up, and yes, these things about gay men just keep getting worse in some gay publications. I don’t even know what the fuck an urban culture buff is…nor do I really care.

Get this:

If there’s one thing we know and love, it’s the arts. Music. Theater. Dance. Architecture. You name it.

I’d rather not name it, because I know plenty of gay men who drink beer, eat pizza, and watch football on TV this time of year.

But this does read like an advertorial, so I guess it can’t be helped because they are selling something. So if you are interested in a trip for “your urban culture buff” you can check out the links here.

Have fun with “your urban culture buff.”

The Underwear Expert Kickstarter Campaign

I figured since the first two parts of this post were slightly ridiculous, I might as well end with something as odd. There’s now something called the Curated Underwear Club, where you can take your underwear personality test and they can hook you up with the best underwear that will suit you…because plain black and white briefs just don’t do the job anymore. But trust me, there’s more to this and it’s actually a great gimmick. I think sometimes you have to applaud a smart businessperson. Questionable, but smart. 

They will ask for your likes and dislikes on different factors. From pouches, waistbands, and underwear styles, they get an idea of the man before choosing his underwear. More custom options will also be available upon the club’s launch. With their proprietary technology, they focus on both your personality and tastes in underwear, and no other subscription on the planet will curate your underwear drawer in the same way.

If you actually give a shit about whether or not you’re wearing last year’s underwear, you can read more here. This is another one of those kickstarter campaigns and they have already raised close to thirty thousand dollars...to put you into the right pair of underwear so you won’t be stressed out. 

When there are thousands of real charities out there that need help desperately, not to mention homeless people all over the US, 288 people donated money to this.

Side note…this is why they need the underwear money:

Every start-up requires a lot of money to get off the ground, and we’re asking for your help to finish building out the rest of the custom technology and meet our minimum orders with each brand we’re carrying to get started. We need a ton of underwear in various styles, sizes, colors and trends in order to be able to curate your individual subscription with products you’ll love. We know that once you experience our curated underwear program – you will never go back to traditional underwear shopping.