I’m so excited to introduce you guys to Queer Me Now’s latest guest blogger, “The Boss” himself from one of the longest running muscle-worship website MUSCLEMATT.COM. His website and organization are also among the most mysterious. I’m thrilled he decided to share his story with readers of Queer Me Now. (And in case you’ve never heard of this website, now it’s time!)
15 years has provided Muscle Mafia fans with something unique. From the very beginning our core values, our mission and our definitive view on muscle worship was entirely different then anything on the internet. That’s because The Muscle Mafia, as an organization was already successful before hitting the internet in 2001. The websites & Films were inspired by actual real life events that took place in a private room of a popular New York City gym. Essentially what I did was take this private local underground “organization” and bring it worldwide through film and photography accompanied by my commentary. For those interested in our history follow the links to our websites provided in this article.
More Than What You See: Let’s be honest, on the surface what we do is “adult film” or more specifically “porn” with a gay/bisexual interest. But we are far more than that, we are more than what you see, if you care to really look. We have a purpose other than just profit: I never set out to be porn or sell porn, just to video me and my buddies during real life muscle worship. In fact I had never seen gay porn or muscle worship films. I just wanted to capture our experiences on video. However when I finally did take a look at what was out there they were laughable. I found what was being sold as “hot” or “masculine” or what was being called “straight” and “muscle worship” was all wrong. It misrepresented real men and what was really happening within the real lives and minds of those involved in authentic muscle worship; my gut feeling was correct. I knew by the response to our first few films that we had something, my mission and my message was bigger than us. All the same circumstances that inspired me to create that room in the gym inspired me to launch musclematt.com and privatereddoor.com.
The Mystery is what’s so Erotic: There is a silent majority of men separated into 2 basic groups; muscle and muscle admirers. There is a third that evolved here, Mutual Muscle Worship that I will be writing about in a future article. But of these groups, some might identify as gay or bisexual, however many do not. Their urge to explore or at least “check out” another man’s well worked out, well defined body was pure admiration. The same awe and envy a man might have if he was looking at a sleek and shiny brand new Porsche. It’s a reverential respect for the attention it gets and the power it possesses and sometimes manifests itself into something sexual. Some ignore it until they can’t anymore, others keep it a very dark secret they would never outwardly express. Ironically it’s the secret and the mystery that turns them on even more.
Money Changes Everything: My message has always been, that a well defined sculpted body, of all sizes is a work of art, a perfectly engineered machine built from sacrifices, hard work and the unfaltering dedication of self creation. This art form has value, it is worth something and should not be wasted on unappreciative people. It has nothing to do with gay or straight but with primal instincts that are in fact quite normal and very masculine. The Muscle Mafia and my guys, “The Crew” crush the antiquated and misguided labels originally reserved for gay and straight; here those labels have been redefined if not completely eliminated. The game of capture and conquest are very much in play. Compliments delivered with cash, in a safe private environment is an extreme ego boost and an immediate turn-on for a certain breed, a rare breed of alpha male. This is pure human nature meshed with temptation and economics. It allows both the muscle guy and his admirers something that either would probably not experience under any other circumstances, money changes everything! It exists, it’s normal and has far more to do with ego and the art of seduction than sexuality.
The Real Message Rattled Some Cages: When The Muscle Mafia first hit the Internet, my first message was: “Genuine straight guys would never be foolish enough to put their face in gay porn.”, for obvious reasons. This statement caused a shit load of Internet fodder at the time and a backlash that even inspired some to write me death threats. Even known studios all but demanded (threatened) I leave the Internet; according to them I was killing their business. I set the industry on its ear by offering an alternative to what I considered junk food porn and cheesy story lines that were being played or “acted out” by let’s say, umm, less than masculine men.
The alternative I offered was reality! I didn’t invent porn, guy on guy interaction, or muscle worship for that matter, I just redefined it to reflect reality and a large silent majority that was NOT being represented. I changed the face of porn, by not showing face. The mystery is what was so erotic and the thought we could be anyone you know added to that mystery. I think to this day there are more supposed sittings of our crew then of Elvis, and some of the stories I have read being told on various blogs and groups about who they think we are is crazy. But I smile because I love that there is such an emotional attachment to us.
The Rare Breed & The Message Was Clear: It didn’t take long, after a short period of a select few having their hissy fits and spirited opinions about my message, they began to get it. The rare breed that is my crew could be just about anyone you know! Your every day jock, bodybuilder and all American “dude”. A guy who wants to put his body on exhibit but not his face. He wants to tap into his alter ego and get off on being watched and appreciated without having the stress, anxiety and boner kill of being “outted”. They are not porn stars and don’t want to be. It’s a process that I call creating a monster, I see that spark in a guy and with the help of you the viewer, throw gasoline on it, or more specifically throw money at it which fuels the fire; that fire in one word his “ego”.
Balls and Ambition True Masculinity: The only thing that separates this breed from every other guy with an exceptional body is balls and ambition. The strong desire to achieve success, and the guts to get past the hang-ups or head trips society likes to create, or even worse, the hang-ups created in their own minds. Nothing is more masculine than a man who knows who he is, knows what he wants and knows how to achieve his goals in spite of what others think. Nothing is more masculine than confidence, and nothing is more masculine than a man who knows he not only has the ability to seduce a woman, but the ability to seduce a man. Seducing another man and all that comes with it is more of a challenge and more of a conquest. Nothing is more “Ego Boosting” for this breed, my crew, than for someone to say they think your body is hot enough and worthy enough to be paid to be seen!
Trophies Don’t Pay Bills: A message I often try to relate to my crew and potential new crew, is that bodybuilding shows, physique shows, trophies, Instagram, Facebook, twitter, “likes” and followers don’t pay bills. I’m a businessman and make no apologies for that, so I ask why would anyone put so much time, effort and investment into something and give it all away for free? That was always my argument and always my message. Going back to my analogy of the body and a Porsche; try taking your “likes” into a Porsche dealership and see if that buys you that 911 turbo. My over all message to my friends and anyone who has the body worthy of admiration is use your brain before your body and turn those “likes” into dollars; join my crew, come see me at musclematt.com, contact me. If you are into it and get my message, want to cash in, let me groom you and help turn your body into a money making machine. That is what I do here, that among other things is the core of The Muscle Mafia. Sorry guys, that trophy will only collect dust, and those likes and comments are just words, words won’t buy you a cup of coffee. I have developed an impressive 15 year following of people who get what we stand for and support it. They are happy to give you all the compliments, admiration and comments you like, and are just as happy to give you the ultimate compliment by reaching in their wallet and choosing to spend their hard earned dollars on you.
A Dream is a Plan: I am not advocating anything illegal, morally well I let the individual decide that is not for me to say. What I do say is that we all have dreams and goals we want to accomplish, or should. There are more than 1 way to achieve those goals and some are caught on the hamster wheel of life running like a mad man and getting no where. It’s the definition of insanity, doing the same things over and over and expecting different results; never happen! The the money my crew makes here, regardless of how much, enables them to improve their quality of life, achieve some financial and personal goals, pay some bills, school loans and buy themselves something special. That is when all those achieved goals regardless of how big or small, they become your trophy. You won’t need anyone else to “like’ you, you will like yourself!
And that is, and always has been my message. Now for…
To Stay True: The mission is pretty simple in theory, but not so simple in execution, it requires immense time and a delicate balance between growing and expanding bigger and better, yet not too big that we loose our core values or our exclusive boutique like community feel. My mission is to stay true to why this all happened in the first place; to reward the exceptional and create a place for the discrete. To provide a judgement free environment for men and women fascinated by the appeal of a beautiful body. To bring together those that wanted to look at and admire exceptional bodies with those bodies who wanted to be looked at and admired. A social environment for the admirer and a great supplemental income for those who want to show off and get off while respecting their right to remain anonymous.
To Raise Funds & Push Limits: While we are no doubt a business and the over-all mission is to profit, we are more like a hybrid between being a business and a foundation. While we sell movies, we also rely heavily on viewer input, contributions and donations. It is another thing that makes us unique and gets you the viewer involved. It is part of the erotic interaction of enticement, seduction and temptation. I have said, every man has his limit and his price, raise the price he will raise his limit, its a game. Through The Muscle Fund, your support has helped me raise the limits of some pretty hot guys and create some interesting, authentic content. Every dime has gone back into growing this organization and spreading the word; we haven’t even scratched the surface.
To Remain Authentic: Just cause it has tomato sauce on it doesn’t make it Italian, it’s fast food and I don’t traffic in fast food, or fast porn. As I have already said we may not be for everyone, some people like eating from a drive up window, some people prefer an authentic sit down home cooked meal; in other words something real and served with a purpose. I am not after the “movie buyers” looking for free stuff or a free meal. I don’t mass produce films or models. I don’t drop a new movie just because someone is bitching they want more, I bring on more guys and drop more movies because you want to see more of us! There is a major difference. I cater to a very impressive loyal following of those who get us and what we stand for and who not only appreciate but prefer a “real dude” to a manufactured porn star, used, exploited and tossed like your dogs poop bag. My mission is to continue to expand our following who prefer the thrill of seduction, conquest, and the sport of male sexuality or as I call it #sportsex. Those that appreciate and prefer real, raw, unscripted films and live cam.
To Preserve Integrity: What’s the saying? Beauty fades, dumb is forever. To use the Porsche analogy once again, you wouldn’t buy one just because it had a shiny paint job, you want to know how it runs, make sure it won’t be a problem. All The Crew, no matter how they have gotten here, are hand chosen by me; I look for several things. Some are friends of mine I have known a long time, others are referred here or mail in audition photos and videos. I take the time to vet them. First its about the body, then its about character. What I mean by that is for my purposes here, beyond the body he must be trustworthy, he must understand that this is a business and that they represent me. This is to protect the integrity of the organization and to protect you the viewer from dealing with dishonest numb nuts. Im sure you all have your horror stories. I want guys here who have something to gain but also something to loose and that keeps us all trustworthy and loyal. But more than that, my mission is that the money the guys make here is used for a greater long term good. I set things up so that my guys continually make money and invest it back into themselves, much like the same way I invest it back into the organization. Matt has been here since day 1 and going strong, Adam for 6 years, Brad for 8 years, Anthony 3 years, and others have come in and come out as needed; all have a specific purpose and goal in mind, but all are guys who understand the importance of trust and loyalty to me, to the rest of the crew and to you who follow us. Others, however, although their bodies fit my over all criteria, their characters and trustworthiness did not. Our code of silence, trust and loyalty trumps everything; to use a Mafia term, some have gotten whacked. Those are the guys whose true colors will eventually be known as will their dishonest reputation and that has no place here with The Muscle Mafia. That is a benefit in dealing with me as “The Boss”.
To Achieve The Ultimate Satisfaction: It gives me great pleasure to know that what I created as a college freshman with a part time job as a trainer not only fulfills you the viewer but, the muscle jock as well. Nothing makes me happier than to see a buddy of mine, or someone I never knew that becomes a buddy, benefit from what I have built. Nothing makes me happier to see him reach financial goals, improve his quality of life, splurge on himself, pay for school or just take some financial pressure off so he can focus on not only building a body but expanding his mind. Nothing makes me happier than to see the things I make happen here provide an environment where The Crew can make great things happen for themselves. Nothing gives me more satisfaction than this ever growing community I created spreading a positive message and always on a mission to make people feel better about who they are and improve their quality of life all around. I have seen it and I will be writing about specific guys who’s lives were changed in the process. We are truly something beyond what you see on the surface, it’s not just porn, we have a message, a mission and a purpose that with every new crew member and every new paying member or contributor we grow a little more each day.
To Spread the Word: Our entire success has been by word of mouth; whispers in gyms around the world and recommendations to friends and other followers on message boards, groups, twitter etc. I have not even begun to build what my vision is here, so spread the word. If you are interested in becoming involved and helping to expand this movement and this organization, contact me carlo@musclematt.com What we have is amazing now, it can only get better.
I have endless articles, and 15 years worth of lessons and stories to share with new stories every day; if this article sparks some interest and the feedback is good, I will continue to write here. But For now, and always anyone who wants to know about us can visit our site musclematt.com and follow all the links through who we are and what we offer. For a more simple snap shot, just follow us on twitter, @themusclemafia.
+ Check Out MUSCLEMATT.COM and PRIVATEREDDOOR.COM