To my readers......

SITE UPDATE NOTICE

Thanks for visiting mitchmen, home of Mitchell's Gay Art

For Artwork by Mitchell click on the 'Mitchell's Gallery Hub' tab just below
The Caps and Collars/ Flat Cap Gang story at Google Groups is presently paused. (see Group News for link)

Link to the Royale Studio Archive in the right sidebar


Message updated 26th Jun 2025
Showing posts with label body builders. Show all posts
Showing posts with label body builders. Show all posts

Thursday, 5 February 2026

Most Popular mitchmen Posts - Summary of previous winners

As a postscript to my annual mitchmen awards for popular posts, 
here is the updated list of the previous winners, with links to the winning articles.

~

 Most Popular Post During The Year 
at mitchmen (Table MPP 2)

bondage featuring arm and leg fold ropes, ring gag, blindfold, tit clamps, cbt, ball stretching
Vintage photo, 'My Initiation' was the very first winner, in 2013

2025 Art by Shenguanlin

2024 The Milking Factory - No 1

2023 The Milking Factory - No 1

2022 The Milking Factory - No 1

2021 IFNB A Fantasy World of BodyBuilders

2020 Etienne/Stephen - Index to Articles (i.e. articles at mitchmen)

2019 IFNB A Fantasy World of BodyBuilders

2018 A-Z of Fetish Artists - Cavelo

2017  Priapus of Milet - 1

2016 A-Z of Fetish Artists - Cavelo

2015 A-Z of Fetish Artists – Mike Carcel

2014 My Initiation

 

 

 New Post of the Year
at mitchmen (table MPP 1)

Sunday, 16 November 2025

The Art of Miloinvinculis

Miloinvinculis - Alien Hive

 I've been trailing a series of video clips by this artist in recent weeks (see Pirate Punishments). These show the (still developing) power of AI to create memorable, homoerotic film scenes which mainstream moviemakers dare not make, bringing niche gay fantasies to life, but without resorting to messy smut. This image is a good example, a still from a clip invoking the power of wetness and dripping 'substance', to underline the vulnerability of a chunky soldier who has somehow got himself stranded in an 'Alien Hive'. 

All the stills presented here come from clips, which you can view at the link given at the foot of this article. Most are quite brief, but add a bit extra to the story and often have a twist, right at the end. 

The old sixties film 'Mysterious Island' has a brief sequence in which a scantily clad cast-away is trapped by a giant bee in his honeycomb. Unlike the unfortunate above, he (a) is not tied up, (b) has a girl with him and (c) escapes almost immediately by melting the wax seal with a fire. Don't ask where he got the firewood and match from! Despite these shortcomings, I found that scene exciting (and frustrating!) when I stumbled on it. (I referenced this it previously here, in an article about the Art of Siproites, which features a giant scorpion chasing the hero into a similar, but botanical trap).   

The outcome of the 'Alien Hive' isn't specified by the artist (like all the best horror movies), 
but escape doesn't seem to be on the agenda.

 

Miloinvinculis - Bed Bondage 3
 Men tied to beds and struggling to escape are not an uncommon sight in our corner of the gay universe. AI to date has shown very limited power to depict bondage convincingly or capture the struggling effect. The spread eagle position is less of a challenge, but what the artist has done here is to provide a hunky subject and a stimulating, secondary predicament for him, wide open before a door, which is going to open at some point. To admit his captor, perhaps, who has been away, getting rid of a nosy cop. Home Alone should have been more like this! 
 
 
Nice Mistake (Video clip)
 
There's definitely a 'Home Alone' feel about this man's situation. His night visitor is so excited about the opportunity thrown up by his 'nice mistake', that he seems to overlook the logistical obstacles to taking full advantage of it. But, who can blame him for his over-eagerness? Fortunately, it appears that his hunky prey is too intimidated by his villainous appearance and aggression to offer any serious resistance. 
 
(Subscribers to the 'Follow Me' feed must vist the site to see the video content of this article, I'm afraid) 
 
 
Miloinvinculis - Caleb

'Caleb' is one of this artist's longer clips. We see him tied up in a van on his way to an uncertain fate. There's a lengthy bondage struggle in which the captive's body twists and turns, showing his heaving chest and the undulations and distortions of his muscles to great erotic effect. It's more effective in that respect than most of the real life bondage clips I've seen, where the models (understandably) usually lack any desire to escape, let alone the self awareness and flamboyance to act out a genuine escape attempt. Caleb's struggle is brought to an abrupt end when his captor returns with a taser (above), but it's fascinating and sexy while it lasts.
 
Miloinvinculis - At The Stake

 This is a great bondage image, with the neck restraint a fitting humiliation for such a big man. I won't go into the exact nature of his predicament, but there's a clue in the background. The resulting video clip is amazing, but graphic, so be warned.

 

Miloinvinculis - Captured POW's

The strength of this piece is the subtle plot development that happens in your mind as you look at it. The two, hyper-real hunks grab the eye immediately, men with faces, muscles and body hair to die for. Their dog tags and hands on their heads indicate they are POW's, but the handcuffs suggest that they are rather special prisoners. We can see that for ourselves, of course. 
 
There's something exciting about two buddies, who are in captivity together. Their identical underwear (sober black but pleasingly scanty) amplifies that sensation. Are their garments Government issue - or have they been provided by their captors, having relieved them of their uniforms?
Whichever the case, they are not soldiers any more. Just a names and numbers. 

These boys seem to be sitting on a mattress, not quite big enough to be a bed. Then you realise that the mattress is inside a metal box, and they are sitting on the front edge. The box is just big enough to accommodate them both, if not in comfort exactly. Their facial expressions suggest they have just discovered they are about to be sealed inside it. Prime specimens about to be transported to ......
Well, you can decide that!  

There is a video clip for this piece, but it doesn't add an awful lot to the snapshot.

 

Miloinvinculis - Bull Barn Milking 2

Industrial Milking is a popular topic at this blog, and 'Milo' makes an interesting contribution to the imagery of the technology with this piece. The exact mechanics of extraction look a bit sketchy, though. One senses this is more a prank on the side than part of a serious industrial enterprise. 
One man doesn't make a milking factory, no matter how productive he appears to be!
 
 
Miloinvinculis - Bull Barn Milking1

In this gentleman's case, the picture cropping draws a veil over the extraction mechanism, but you get the impression that it's more push than pull - unless there's some very clever gadgetry inside his trunks! That would account for his strained expression, of course. 

Nevertheless, these two donors would be more than acceptable recruits to the factory line. I could see this man's torso getting a good deal of personal attention from the staff. 
Such is the fate of 'Mark' in the next video mini clip....
 
Mark 1 Extra (video clip)
 
In the clip above, the very muscular Mark is seen struggling with his restraints until one of his minders descends on him and distracts him by proceeding to worship his pulsating body. The characterisation of the captor for me is worth the watch, with mighty shoulders and giant arm muscles, he's bursting out of his tight, white vest/tank top (see below).
 
 
bod
Mark's Body is Worshipped

Mark also has a starring role in a longer, mini-epic (9 mins) with similar imagery, but darker content. It's a tougher watch, but the outcome has a surprise twist that's worth waiting for. 

 

Miloinvinculis - Electro 5

This handsome pair of hunks get starring roles in one of Milo's most ambitious projects to date. Their predicament is a great 'getting to know you' situation - even for military buddies. There's a lengthy clip which shows them torn between attempts to pull apart and lapses into mutual consolation. Their grim dance is conducted with visibly indrawn breaths, heaving chests, aborted kisses and (occasionally) pulsating briefs before a sort of consummation is finally realised. 

However, the dark side to this artist's work surfaces when it turns out that the buddies romancing is just one aspect to their predicament, as implied by the title and, less obviously, by the metallic briefs they are dressed in. Separate clips show them being interrupted every time they show desire, with graphic electrical effects, body convulsions and even their bulges making responses.

 


 The 'US Water Sports Team' video (above) is one of my favourites, a little gem with lurking menace. It makes a decent stab (by AI standards) at showing a swimmer being tied up. That's a process that conventional films usually pass over entirely or else show in excruciating detail, fumbles and all. 
 
Creating an AI image or video doesn't involve actors, but the AI engine can be just as much of a diva, with ideas and boundaries of its own that can only be circumvented by patient repetition or trickery. 

 ~

For more, visit Miloinvinculis at Deviant Art

See also my posts at 'X' - Staked out and Kinky Superhero Boyfriend

plus the Sailor Punishment series here at mitchmen and 'X' 

Monday, 11 August 2025

otklad - AI Spanking Art 3


Two handsome men sit together in earnest discussion, one is dressed in athletic gear. On a makeshift log table before them lies a wooden spoon. I suppose it might signify the athlete coming last in his race, and they're discussing how he can improve. Cue another use for the wooden spoon. His hand is reaching towards it as if he's about to pass it to the other man, giving him permission to use it.
 
It's a wonderfully neat image, even by the standards of AI, with nice close up framing drawing attention to the athlete's open legs and the strings trailing over his bulge. Good-looking and tough, he's perfect for the spanking treatment hovering, unspoken, in the air. It doesn't really need a caption, but I like the picture so much that I wanted to embellish it with a slightly different slant...
 
It doesn't really look like an athlete with his trainer, not in this ultra-private, woodshed setting. It can't be a traditional father and son heart-to-heart, either. To me, this athlete looks like a man that can't be pushed around.  

 
An Extra Hard Bargain

My take on the scene visualises the athletic hunk as a jogger, intercepted on his routine, morning run, by a man who has enough charisma and chat up lines to entice him into his nearby den. Maybe it was cold and raining, so he was more easily persuaded. 
 
He soon notices the paddle, and his host dangles the carrot of financial gain for just a little pain, a reward for all his hard work in the gym. The money hooks him, gym fees are high, but he's cute enough to negotiate. His would-be punisher doesn't mind. His budget will be tested, but it's persuading the hunk to submit that turns him on, the swats are just the hot topping. He can compensate - fewer, but harder. It will be interesting to see how far the jogger's greed will take him, once he's feeling the heat. 
 
 
otklad - Public Spanking
 
otklad's own caption doesn't give much explanation, but it looks like a campsite and these two have obviously broken the rules. Antisocial behaviour, I suppose, because everyone will get to watch their come-uppance. The two men, who seem to be related, look out with bewilderment at the assembled audience, who are, no doubt, expressing their pleasure at being able to witness their humiliation. 
 
It's a nice composition, but inspired a very different scenario for me.
 
A Long Walk Home

Suitably chastised, the lads try a camping expedition on their own. They've picked a secluded area by a lake where they can get up to mischief and skinny-dip away from prying eyes and interfering busy bodies. 
 
Unfortunately, this is private land, and they are not the first to trespass on it. The landowner knows this is a favoured spot because he regularly finds campers rubbish there, so he makes it his business to check it. He's caught the two trespassers red-handed and bare-assed. There's a fine to pay, but they haven't got the money, so he sends them to get some, keeping their tent and gear as a guarantee.
 
For all I know, he spanked them too. 
 
Bare foot and scantily clad, they peer into the gathering gloom, imagining what terrors might await them amongst the sinister trees.  
One seems to be thinking that the men might be quite interesting. 
 
 

This scenario is pitched by otklad as a man being escorted into the privacy of the woods for a punishment that utilises the locally available materials. AI can produce lots of sequences like this that are of interest for how the participants are modelled. Regulars here won't be surprised to learn that it was the muscle hunk who caught my eye in this one. I suppose he does look as if he might be related to the man in front of him and able to leverage that to overcome the resistance of a fully grown man. However....
 
 
Hot Pursuit
 
Darren might be naive and inclined to count his chickens before they are hatched, but he's not innocent. You can't blame him for being attracted to the muscle hunk he spotted on one of his walks in the forest, both of them communing with nature. It was understandable too if he followed him to a clearing and watched him disrobe and exercise, unincumbered by the conventions, constraints and distractions of the gym. 
 
Things got a bit murkier when Darren started monitoring the clearing for return visits by his hunk and peeping at him on a regular basis. Confident in his seclusion, the hunk's 'performances' gradually became more and more arousing and Darren, watching, became increasingly excited and indiscreet. Inevitably, one day, his presence was noticed. 
 
Some muscle men enjoy being admired, but most would draw the line at unbridled lust. Darren hastily made his escape, thankful that he knew the byways of the forest so well that he could shake off the pursuit. Unfortunately, he forgot that there was only one track that led out. The hunk didn't need to be a brain surgeon to work out where to intercept him. 
 
 
The Wrong Trousers

otklad's original of this image is a conventional student spanking, centred on the sexy contrast of formal jacket and exposed underwear. Interestingly, he does not spell out Hawkin's answer. There only can be one, of course, but it signals his complete capitulation, having already been humiliated by the dropping of his trousers. 
 
I have adapted it to my pet fantasy at the moment - making grown men wear short trousers long after leaving education. It's become a condition of employment in many companies. A rule that gives the men the uncomfortable feeling that they are not yet regarded as 'grown ups'. 
 
I retained the Hawkins surname to associate the scene with his earlier days, but I don't know if his new boss has enough power to wield his cane on the employees bottoms or simply uses it to intimidate them. Making Hawkins return to his desk minus his trousers is humiliation enough for an adult.
 
 
 
MORE otklad in Part 4 
 Read this series from Part 1
search "otklad" at mitchmen  
 
The imagery of otklad on 'X' is a great archive. 
He's now creating newer art on otklad.bsky.social 

 

 


Sunday, 22 June 2025

Tom of Finland - Mr Universe, part 1

Tom of Finland - Mr Universe 01

Two leather guys (with hunky bubble butts) ponder the possibilities of bodybuilding, having just read that the 'Mr Universe' competition will be coming to a venue near them next year. 
 
As I explain in my introductory article, to the series, this image is dated as 1963 in the Tom of Finland Retrospective Vol 3, not 1961, the date when this series was first advertised. Arguably, it's more sophisticated, stylistically, than some of the images that follow. The boot tops showing through the jeans show amazing attention to detail. Nevertheless, weight-training by a blond and dark-haired couple does figure in the Universe story, so this image makes the perfect starting image.
 
 
Tom of Finland - Mr Universe 02
 
 The buddies embark on a programme of weight training, with their naivety about the subject much in evidence. The blond in the foreground makes a clumsy effort at training with an old-fashioned dumb-bell, which even in 1961* was reserved for comic, circus effect. His dark-haired friend struggles to even lift his more modern, barbell weights. His technique is terrible (bending his back, instead of his legs) but it produces a sight that is sexy as well as amusing. 
 
Neither of them has bothered to change into gym gear for these exertions. So, it's no wonder that the more experienced gym user, watching their efforts, is laughing at them! That's the sort of humiliation that every young man dreads. The on-looker is completely naked and standing suggestively close to the inviting ass, which is screening his nudity from us. It's a juxtaposition which is full of possibilities, but Tom is the soul of discretion. 
 
This particular image, unusually for Tom, has an 'assembled' look, as if separate images have been married together. This was a style that Luger (Colt) would soon make his own. *Like image 1, this image is actually dated as 1963 in the Tom of Finland Retrospective Vol 3. It appeared alongside image 01 above in Physique Pictorial May 1963 (PP12#4) with a snippet bemoaning the neglect of the Universe contest in the generalist beefcake press.
 
 
Tom of Finland - Mr Universe 03

As if chastened by their taste of gym culture, the boys head for the beach. The blond seems to have made phenomenal progress, so perhaps we're a few months further on here. He is giving advice to his less advanced buddy. Both of them still seem to have dressed more with an eye to the posing opportunity offered by the beach, rather than donning serious training gear. Perhaps for this reason, both seem to be finding their physical endeavours positively arousing. 
 
The presence of weight training equipment on a beach is probably less surprising to US readers than those in other parts of the world, where the muscle beach phenomenon is virtually unknown. There will normally be other users of the equipment around as well, of course, so the pair may not be spared further ridicule.
 
This picture has been assembled by me from two separate fragments that were printed in 101 Boys Art Quarterly in Summer 1965. It's not the full picture, one of our readers pointed me to a Tom source where the full size picture can be seen. It's in miniscule size, which I've blown up, but we're not missing much. It's attributed to 1960 by that source.
 
This picture illustrates the difference in style to the 1963 images, but the apparent fuzziness could easily be due to the reproduction process used by the magazine. It may have been pirated.  
 
 
Tom of Finland - Mr Universe 04

The blond shows his friend how to do an overhead lift, but his serious mentoring turns into farce as the tiny towel he's tied round his waist becomes dislodged and flutters to the ground. There's a deliciously wry expression on the blond's face, an 'oh-oh' moment. His friend is highly amused and another fine beach specimen, out strutting his stuff, is also there to witness his embarrassment. 
 
This image, like No 3, is cropped closer than Tom's original (see link above). The cropping has the effect of drawing attention to the laughing spectator at the water's edge. No significant elements from the full picture are missing.
 
 
Tom of Finland - Mr Universe 05 (extra)

This image of a blond body-builder, turned on by his own physique, is not part of the Universe set, it dates from much later - 1982*. It fits in well, however, as an illustration of the bikers' growing obsession with their new hobby (and the effect on their vanity). 
 
* This image is not at all typical of Tom's other 1982 work, which is all about the leather scene he had immersed himself in. Perhaps it was a nostalgic throwback. In most copies of this image, the wall is washed out and indistinguishable from the mirror, so I have applied AI to bring it out better.
 
 
Tom of Finland - Mr Universe 06 (extra)

 The change in the bodybuilders' physiques as their development progresses means that before long their old clothes no longer fit them.

 This is probably not part of the set either, but it is a near contemporary (1960) and again serves to illustrate the progress of the men's quest to achieve muscledom. The original was (I think) a wry observation on the 1960s fad for sitting in the bath in new jeans so they would shrink to fit.
 
 
Tom of Finland - Mr Universe 07 (maybe?)

 As the contest draws nearer, the boys go shopping to get their posing outfits. 
They are both visibly more muscular. 
 
 I don't know for sure if this is a Mr Universe image, it's a maybe. However, the subject fits and the two protagonists look like buddies and are blond and dark haired. The image is listed in the Tom of Finland Retrospective, Vol 2, but is undated. However, it is positioned amongst a group of pictures from 1963. That is also the 'official' date of several of those shown above. 
 
Tom had a bit of a thing about tailors around this time. This image also appears in that article and I speculate that the flared trousers look 1970s, but they were also fashionable in the 60s and often turned up on sailors of course. These days no-one get measured for new clothes and the old jokes about inside leg measurements have gone the way of the ark.
 
Next time - The Mr Universe Contest.
 
The official source for Tom of Finland work is of course 

Saturday, 21 June 2025

Tom of Finland - The Mystery of 'Mr Universe'

Tom of Finland - Mr Universe 01

If you are a fan of Tom of Finland, you will probably be familiar with this image. It's shows two leather guys pondering the world of bodybuilding and the 'Mr Universe' competition, which seems to be coming to a venue near them 'next year'. This image is often presented as a stand-alone work, presumably because of its aspirational, 'Pride' message, but it's actually part of a 'Mr Universe' series which was widely documented in its time* but seems to have become lost or dispersed since then. This article is an attempt to reconstruct it from contemporary sources. 
 
*The Tom of Finland Retrospective (vol 1) dates this image to 1963, but the 'Mr Universe' series seems to have appeared in late 1961 (see below). It's not impossible that Tom produced this picture later, but it's obviously related, and I have chosen to make it the opening image for my reconstructed series. 
 
According to Valentine-Hooven (in "Tom of Finland, His Life and Times" p101) Tom did the series for Rex Pickering at 'Scan' Magazine, and it was indeed first advertised in 'Scan' issue 9. It was also advertised simultaneously in issue 17 of 'Man Alive' (which we can date precisely to Nov 1961). In the latter source, it is actually advertised as a 'Hussar Studio' product. Around this time, Hussar also published Tom's 'Thieving Cowboy' series, about which there is even wilder confusion over publication dates! See the 2023 mitchmen 'Thieving Cowboy' article for more on Tom's relationship with Royale /Hussar.
 
 
Tom of Finland - The Leather Outfit Thief 01 (my title)
 
  We don't know exactly how Tom viewed 'bikers' at this time, in the 'Mr Universe' image (top) they are drawn as cute boys with bubble butts, looking slightly naive in their leather jackets. However, in a contemporary series illustrated above, the leather man is portrayed as a muscular, god-like creature, worshipped from the bushes by an envious youth. It's another series (like the Thieving Cowboy) in which a set of clothes is stolen, and the same thing happens in the second of the 'Kake' series. In 1964, it's the motorbike itself that gets stolen. All these miscreants end up on the receiving end of a severe belting, and Tom's work is littered with handsome leather men treating eager, initiates in the same way. That's a good excuse for including one of my own favourite Tom images....
 
Tom of Finland - Leather Initiation

 In later life, Tom was absorbed into the world of leather that fascinated him so much. Quite which end of the belt he saw himself is not known, but the experience of having his own drawings stolen in 1954 and widely pirated after he became famous may be relevant. In that context, the aspiration of two biker dandies to become more muscular and, by implication, more manly, makes perfect sense. 
 
 
Tom of Finland - Test Your Strength

 
This image, with the same youthful admirer from the Leather Outfit Thief, is also from 1961. It's actually part of the 'Circus Set' but embodies, in a more positive way, the idea of manly role models for gay men to aspire to.
 
The 'Mr Universe' series isn't about joining the Leather Clan, but it is very much about justice and assertiveness. The scarcity of surviving, intact images is probably a reflection of Tom's attempts to control the distribution of his own work. In 1965 '101 Boys Art Quarterly' was able to publish only fragments of some of the individual images. In the same year, AMG published a couple of (complete) images from the set in Physique Pictorial with a typically waspish comment to the effect that they offered many of Tom's series for sale, but this wasn't one of them!
 
Valentine-Hooven says there were 12 to 15 pictures in the series, I have identified a group of 17 images that seem related, of which 2 or 3 are dubious, but interesting. 
 
The story begins in the next post.  
 

Monday, 20 January 2025

All Time Most Popular Post in 2024 (MPP3)

 
"A judge caused a surprise in this year's IFNB Open, Western Semi-Final by going on stage and confronting the contestants. Gerry Kabalski (Idaho) said later that the unexpected intervention put him off his stroke and ruined his chances, but the Judges dismissed his appeal on the grounds that it was the same for everyone. Judge Trumble was subsequently suspended"
.
 Art by this year's winner for the sixth year running, IFNB.
 
~
 
I've flipped the 'all time' popularity listings this year to give precedence to hit rates averaged out over the number of years since publication. This is a method that gives recent articles the same chance as older ones. I have retained the 'total number of hits since publication' but as a secondary measure, since it has reached a point where older articles have established unassailable totals.
 
 
Table 1
Articles with the Highest Average Hits per Year Since Publication (2024)
 
Article
Year
Published
Ave Hits per year
Position
(& last year)
'Total Hits' position
2018
8226
1 (1)
2
2017
7209
2 (2)
1
2020

4140
3 (3)
13
Homoeros Gallery Guide
2018
3981
4 (4)
7
Milking Factories - 3
2018
3937
5 (5)
6
2012
3643
6 (6)
3
Ain Postolos - Milking Fact Workers
2024
3130
NEW
n/a
2016
2771
7 (7)
9
2019
2664
8 (8)
14
A-Z of Fetish Artists – Mike Carcel
2010
2438
9 (10)
5
The Art of BrosFate – 3
2020
2408
10 (9)
22
2018

2362
11 (12)

16
A-Z of Fetish Artists - Cavelo
2008
2358
12 (14) 
4
2020
2222
13 (11)
28
The Art of Amalaric – 3 Hunks & Manipulators
2020
1966
14 (15) 
40
The Art of Homoeros - 1 (Beefcake Boys)
2018
1782
15 (18)
26
2021
1777
16 (13)
78
2018
1729
17 (20)
23
A New Life For Our Air Force Boys
2017
1665
18 (-)
21
2019
1608
19 (-)
35
A Christmas Criminal
2015
1593
20 (-)
17
Stats compiled 31/12/24
Short cut to Last Years Table

IFNB and Milking Factory topped the table again this year and continue to outscore every other post in the blog on a regular basis. The gap between these two closed a little, but the the chasing pack have been falling further and further behind. All of the top 8 articles kept the same position but there was much jostling further down.

 The two top articles benefitted from new posts on the same subject in 2024 (IFNB Newsletter and the continuing stream of Milking Factory posts). Other entries which benefited from 'connected articles' were Homoeros, Etienne, Brosfate and Chirenon's 'Air Force Boys' which re-entered the chart after a two year absence thanks to it's linkage with Etiennes 'Sailor Beware' story and it's Royale Studio spin-off. There are 3 articles about Homoeros' work in the table and 2 by Brosfate.

 Amalaric stormed this chart back in 2021 and has kept it's 3rd position just behind the two leaders without any extra support this year, a measure of genuine lasting popularity. Amalaric has 2 articles in the chart. Three older stalwarts of the chart have also been quietly maintaining their positions without any extra publicity - Priapus at 6, MCarcel at 9 (up 1) and Cavelo at 12 (up 2). The resurgence of the last two is remarkable, considering that they are the oldest articles in this top 20, no less than 14 and 16 years old and still going strong!

There were three new entries this year, or rather, three 'returners' who ejected more recent upstarts who haven't sustained their early successes (Roa, Planet Gay and Brick). They were replaced by Milking Factory 5 and Airforce Boys (both after one year out) and my own 'Christmas Criminal' (last here in 2020) which I gave a modest plug this Christmas on 'X'. The departers look likely to be followed next time by the only photographic article in the table, 'Come and Get It!', which has become redundant with the transfer of Royale Studio material to the new Royale blog

I don't count articles less than one year old in this table. I have indicated where they would have registered in orange but Ain Postolos score is artificial, it exceeds the number of real hits he has had so far, due to being published less than a year ago.

The entry level to this table is 1593 down from 1862 last year. It's well within the range of Ain Postolos if he can keep up with his first year score of 1475 in the future.

The A-Z Index of Artists at mitchmen hit score presently averages 10,777


Table 2 mitchmen Articles With Most Hits Since Publication to end 2024

Posn
(last yr)
Title of Post
(& link)
Year of
Pub'n
Cum
Hits
Hits in 2024
1 (2)
2017 
56,740 
5355
2 (1)
IFNB – A Fantasy World of Bodybuilders2018
56,095
4338
3 (3)
2012 
46,311
1936
4 (4)
2008
39,193
2572
5 (5)
2010
35,595
1100
6 (6)
2018
26,027
1170
7 (7)
2018
24,096
909
8 (8)
2009
23,524
567
9 (9)
2016
22,590
933
10 (10)
2010
20,287
586
11 (11)
2009
20,044
 716
12 (13)
2008
18,080
2671
13 (12)
The Art of Amalaric 1 - A Slave To Passion
2020
18,034
2169
14 (15)
2019
15,882
1489
15 (14)
2010
15,289
537
16 (18)
2018
15,049
2001
17 (17)
2015
14,389
608
18 (16)
A-Z of Fetish Artists – The Hun
2009
14,258
369
19 (19)
2009
12,891
578
20 (20)
2009
12,532
403
 
This year again it was pretty much 'as you were' in the all-time table of total hits with the notable exception of Milking Factories-1 which reclaimed the No 1 spot it had in 2022, returning IFNB to second place (and closing the gap in Table 1). These two continue to pull away strongly from the rest of the pack, who are now a long, long way behind them. 
 
This table has a number of older articles which no longer feature in Table 1, but have built up big totals in earlier years which are almost unassailable by new ones. Thus Brick's resurgence here, prompted by the release of new work in 2023 and continued in 2024, doesn't register in Table 1, where under-performance in earlier years depresses it's rating . He nudged past Amalaric's 'Slave to Passion' into 12th place and is closing in on Franco and Malex (two other old-timers). Further down, Homoeros (Art of the Cross) swapped places with The Hun, rising to 16th position and more than reclaiming the ground he lost last year. 
 
The Milking Factory series has 3 entries in this table and all consolidated their positions in the top 20 with Milking Factory No 4 overtaking Martin of Holland to take 14th place. Milking Factory No 2 is just outside the top 20. Homoeros is the only artist to have two dedicated articles in the top 20, although Kalabro contributed to 'Milking Factory 1' as well as his dedicated article, so he has a comparable claim.

There were no new entries to the top 20 once again this year, but there's a gaggle of contenders just outside and performing strongly (including 'Airforce Boys' and Brosfate 3). The bottom two articles, Kalabro and The Hun, are now vulnerable to this wave.

The entry level to this all-time top 20 is now 12,532 about 400 more than last year. It's about 10 times the winning total of the new posts in 2023 and 2024 which is why I have switched to the annual hit rates as the principal measure of 'all time' performance.
 
The mitchmen  'Index of Artists' page reached 99,300 hits at the end of 2024, a 13% rise (compared with 13% last time also). It would have earned top spot in this ranking if I counted it as a post.

~

mitchmen blog was first published in 2008 and ten of the sixteen years since then are now represented in this survey, the missing years between 2008 and 2022 are shown below
**These articles have yet to score enough hits to register in the table properly, I don't count every score less than 2000 hits. 2000 is position 402 currently.

 ~

The articles I post to this blog are very much based on my own interests and fancies but the results of this survey do help me plan future offerings. My readers preferences doesn't always match my own (where are Les, JoeT and Link?). Nevertheless it's gratifying to see such interest in the great gay fetish artists who often have a fairly low visibility on the web.

Remember, this comparison is only made for entertainment, since I don't really know how accurate Google's stats are, they don't seem to add up to the overall hits at the blog and I suspect they don't count the activity of people who just browse through the blog roll.

Thanks to all of you for your continuing interest and support.
 
This annual set of articles is made up of 3 charts
MPP3 - Most Popular Post of All Time (i.e. cumulative performance)
that's this article!
 
Charts and reviews for earlier years can be accessed by clicking the 'MPP' label below