Hintnaus' fame was never fleeting, but it was brief

[vaultmd]

From the LA Times:

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-cro ... nes-sports

CROWE'S NEST
Hintnaus' fame was never fleeting, but it was brief
Two-time Olympian who grew up in Manhattan Beach was the first Calvin Klein underwear model.
By Jerry Crowe
Times Staff Writer

May 7, 2007

Tom Hintnaus was once an elite-level athlete, known throughout the world. A two-time Olympian, the former University of Oregon pole vaulter placed first in his specialty at the U.S. Olympic trials in 1980. And with the face of a matinee idol and the sculpted body of an Adonis, he could stop traffic.

But he didn't really get noticed until he took off his pants.

Hintnaus, who grew up in Manhattan Beach, was the first Calvin Klein underwear model and photographer Bruce Weber's iconic image of the tanned and anonymous Southern Californian leaning back against a whitewashed wall, clad only in his skivvies, caused a culture-rippling sensation 25 years ago when it was plastered on billboards and magazine pages.

"It was the height, the epitome of a sexual revolution, primarily for men," photography curator Diana Edkins told American Photographer in 1989, when the magazine included the image in an article titled, "10 Pictures That Changed America." Wrote the magazine of the photo's impact: "In this one shot … Weber made men the focal point of sexual attention; for the first time, they were sold as sexual objects, not breadwinners or authority figures."

Says Hintnaus: "I worked so hard to be the best pole vaulter in the world and I ended up being more well known for putting on a pair of briefs."

Not that he's complaining.

Professionally, Hintnaus notes, the notoriety "opened a lot of doors," helping to perhaps ease the sting â€â€