70's Male Nudes is the direct result of the recent friendship between Roy Blakey and Reed Massengill. It was almost an accident that the two even met, but when they did, Massengill was quick to remember the extraordinary influence that Blakey had on him. It was 1972 when Blakey self-published his first book of male nudes titled HE. It was a landmark event, for very few publishers at the time were interested in putting out a book of male nudes. The naked female was well accepted but the male body was still somewhat taboo. Blakey helped shatter that belief and paved the way for the many others that followed through the years, including Massengill.

Blakey graduated from the University of Tulsa, served a stint in the Army (where he bought his first camera at the PX), and later ice skated professionally for over a decade. He developed as a photographer throughout his military and skating career, often setting up darkrooms wherever he happened to be stationed. When he retired from skating in 1967, Roy moved to New York City and set up a studio and darkroom in his loft on Sixth Avenue. Over the years, countless men, including many celebrities, posed for him. It is this period of work that is presented in 70's Male Nudes. Massengill helped Roy in bringing 70's Male Nudes to publication, serving as both friend and editor. Now, thankfully, the whole world can again see that spellbinding studio work created by an artist who plugged away crafting a masterful body of work while the rest of the world lay hypnotized by Playboy.