*This story appears in the pages of VMAN19 Fall 2010! Order your copy now at shop.vmagazine.com

Jeff Aquilon, considered by many to be the first male supermodel, appeared in hundreds of iconic photographs in the ’70s and ’80s—holding handstands, posing against boulders, lifting himself out of swimming pools, and once coupling with Paulina Porizkova to illustrate a GQ essay titled “The Semiotics of a Topless Beach.” The California native was discovered by Bruce Weber during a 1978 casting at Pepperdine University, where Aquilon was captain of the water polo team. Now 52, the occasional model is married with four children and living in Santa Barbara, working as the director of academic and institutional technology at Westmont, a small Christian liberal arts college. We recently chatted with Aquilon about his life and times.

MARK JACOBS Were you surprised to be chosen for that first Bruce Weber shoot?
JEFF AQUILON Very surprised. I thought that they were all crazy. I had been in a water polo game that day and had gotten punched or elbowed out and had a black eye and stitches, so I thought it was pretty crazy to even go. And my car wasn’t working too well that day so I had to rotate the distributor cap to get me to the appointment. But I got there and they liked what they saw and one thing led to another.

MJ When people write about you they can get cerebral about your impact on definitions of masculinity and how men perceive themselves.
JA I took it as a business. People were laying a lot of money on the line so I wanted to be in shape and on time. Those were the things that I could consciously contribute short of just being in front of the camera and trying to accomplish what they were trying to do.

MJ What do you see when you look at yourself today?
JA Sort of…just an aging man. I’m still in pretty good shape. I surf and ride bikes a little bit. I play racquetball a lot during the week. I have aches and pains but as long as I can get out of bed each day, I’m a happy guy.

MJ Do the students and faculty at Westmont know about your modeling career?
JA I did a Brooks Brothers shoot a while ago and somebody in the admissions office found it. So then I go up to do some work in the office and I see somebody taping it on the wall. So people do know about it but it’s not something I talk about there.
MJ How would you describe the way Bruce Weber perceived you?
JA There was just some kind of connection. I don’t know…he understands me or I understand him…I just know that when I’m going to work with Bruce it’s going to be an amazing thing. It’s been neat and it’s neat to me after thirty-some years to still be working with him. In our last shoot I got to take one of my sons, Oliver, 19 years old, who’s a real neat painter. Every time it’s like a time warp going back to the first day.