The SOMA Bare Chest Calendar (BCC) while under control of AIDS Emergency Fund (AEF) and the Positive Resource Center (PRC) is produced and managed each year by a steering committee made up of previous contestants and long standing volunteers. The Calendar is sponsored and underwritten by the Miller Brewing Company and Golden Brands San Francisco

The history of the Bare Chest Calendar begins at San Francisco’s Arena Bar (now the Stud) in the South of Market area in 1984. It began as a bare chest contest that evolved into an Arena Bar calendar for the year 1985. The contests were held at the Arena for a year and half when the Arena Bar was suddenly sold halfway through the calendar year 1986 contests. The calendar moved to the S.F. Eagle, its home from calendar years 1986 through 1998. In 1999, the Bare Chest Calendar found a new home, the Powerhouse Bar on Folsom Street. And the Powerhouse has been the home of the Bare Chest Calendar since. As a note the 1986 calendar is the only time in the calendar's history that a full color poster calendar was issued, rather than the traditional wall calendar.

Mr. Marcus, the one man who has been with the calendar since the first days, was one of the original owners of the Arena Bar. When Terry Thompson moved as manager from the Arena to the S. F. Eagle, he asked Marcus to continue emceeing the contests. In 1990 the calendar committee (spearheaded by Jerry Roberts) introduced the first public street sales of the calendar. Each year since, the calendar men have set up shop on various Saturday afternoons at the corner of 18th and Castro Streets to sell autographed calendars directly to the public. As a result, many more locals and tourists have been introduced to the calendar.

June of 1998 found the calendar men making their first-ever appearance in San Francisco’s Gay Pride Parade. The ’98 judges awarded the Miller Brewing–sponsored float their "Absolutely Fabulous Ribbon" and named the calendar men exemplary. Each year the calendar men appear on a 42-foot float and toss souvenirs to the crowd along the Market Street parade route. The calendar won the "Absolutely Fabulous Ribbon" again in the 1999 and 2000 parades. The S.F. Gay Pride Parade is the second biggest outdoor event of its kind in California following the Tournament of Roses Parade.

2001 was the year of the first–ever Bare Chest Calendar Reunion. Organized entirely by volunteers, the BCC Reunion was held at the Eagle Tavern and over 100 alumni attended with some coming from as far as New York. The most senior Bare Chest Calendar man still living is Mr. July 1985, Kym Whittington. Kym is now living in Australia and still looks great.

At the Inter-Club Funds 36th annual Motorcycle Awards in February 2002, the 2001 Bare Chest Calendar’s dinner/date auction was honored as the Best (Non-Club) Beverage Benefit of 2001. The first dinner/date auction of calendar men occurred in 1992 and has remained a popular highlight of the calendar marketing effort. From the stage in the Eagle Tavern patio, each calendar man is auctioned off. Six calendar men are auctioned in September on the Sunday marking the start of Leather Pride Week in S.F., with the remaining six auctioned on the first Sunday of the following January. Mr. May 2005, Drew Ugrinow, set a calendar record of $4100, the highest amount ever paid for any calendar man in the history of the calendar.

A variety of (well-known) San Francisco restaurants donate dinner-for-two to the dinner/date auctions. Additional valuable prizes, donated by local gay businesses, are awarded through raffle ticket sales while additional revenue is generated from beverage sales. The highly popular dinner/date auctions normally attract a crowd in excess of 500 and garner net proceeds of approximately $10,000, all in the span of three hours.

Attesting to the increased popularity of the Bare Chest Calendar, the two dinner/date auctions of the 2003 calendar men brought in $13000 and $11000 respectively, nearly double the amount and a record for this event. And in 2004, a single contestant was auctioned for a record bid of almost $3000. The dinner/date auctions have been in part successful due to the witty information and interaction by its emcee, Lenny Broberg, International Mr. Leather 1992. Lenny emceed the dinner/date auctions from 1992 to 2005.

The heightened interest and increasing popularity of the calendar have encouraged men outside the San Francisco Bay Area to become contestants. So in 1993 the calendar men began making weekend trips to other California cities for personal appearances and calendar autograph signing parties. These calendar fund raising events are regularly held in popular bars in Sacramento and the Russian River (Sonoma County). The calendar men also make a yearly visit to Palm Springs Gay Pride each November. In previous years, the men have traveled as far as Seattle, Washington and Phoenix, Arizona.

As a result of the one calendar man’s (Ingu Yun) interest in country/western music and dancing, the committee staged Hoedown ‘97 in November of that year. The first-ever country/western event, held at San Francisco’s beautiful Galleria Design Center, was such an overwhelming success that it continues to be produced as an annual Bare Chest Calendar event. Although it was a new event, Hoedown drew the largest crowd of 1997 to a calendar event and was the year’s second biggest fundraiser for the AEF. Hoedown 2002 raised $5000 for AEF.

Since its inception the calendar has been a benefit for the S.F. AIDS Emergency Fund and continues to be produced for that purpose. Beginning with the 1999 calendar, future monies raised through calendar sales and events would be shared with the S.F. Positive Resource Center (PRC). PRC offers free and confidential disability benefits counseling and employment services for HIV-infected persons who are able to return to work. In November 2002, the Positive Resource Center and the AIDS Emergency Fund acquired all rights to the Bare Chest Calendar; they are joint beneficiaries of the proceeds from Bare Chest Calendar sales.

From 1998 to 2002 the calendar was produced by SMMILE (the South-of-Market Merchants and Individuals Lifestyles Events), which annually produces the Up Your Alley Fair (Dore Alley on the last Sunday in July) and the internationally known Folsom Street Fair (last Sunday in September).

As a result of the calendar's earlier involvement with SMMILE, the calendar acquired a corporate sponsor for the first time in its history in 1998. Miller Brewing Company, the brewers of Miller Genuine Draft and Miller Lite, and its San Francisco distributor, Golden Brands, now underwrite the publication and printing costs for the calendar. The sponsors also outfit each calendar men with a personally embroidered leather vest, which they get to keep.

It takes approximately five months to produce each year’s Bare Chest Calendar, beginning in January with the selection process for the twelve men who will appears on its pages, to its official debut at the San Francisco Gay Pride festivities. On most Thursday nights from January to April, contestants compete for a spot on the calendar for the following year. Anyone may enter simply by filling out an application form at the Powerhouse bar on Folsom Street the night of the contest. There are usually five to ten men competing at each contest.

Each man goes through an on-stage interview by the Emcee. For 20 years "Mr. Marcus" Hernandez emceed the contests with help from four guest judges in front of the bar patrons. Marcus, the well-known reporter on the local and international leather scene for the Bay Area Reporter, would put the men through a well-honed program of witty, grueling, offbeat and humorous questions for the contestants provides a lively and entertaining evening for everyone.

The competition concludes in April, when the winners vie with each other for the coveted cover spot on the next calendar. Each month's winner receives a cash prize of $100 (or his choice of 12 calendars) while the cover winners receive an additional $100. Any contestant who fails to win one of the monthly spots may try again but only twice during a "contest season".
Occasionally, past winners will return to compete for a second chance to appear on the calendar but only a few have been successful. In the history of the calendar, only one man has ever appeared four times—Kevin Sims. Sadly, Kevin passed away in September 2000, felled by the AIDS virus that he raised money to fight through his four appearances on the calendar. Many of the men who appear on the calendar have friends who have succumbed to the disease or want to contribute their time and efforts to fighting the disease. It is estimated 40 of the men that have been on the Bare Chest Calendar have succumbed to AIDS.

Ron Hadfield originally wrote the BCC History. Ross Dierking has updated it with an assist from Mr. Marcus and Kym Whittington (Calendar Man: 7/85). Scott Brogan (Calendar Man: 1/2002 & 12/2005) edited/updated it for publication on the website for several years. And Moby D, as our current webmaster, will continue to edit and update the history. If you have info or were previously involved w/the BCC and would like to contribute to the rich history of the calendar, please email Moby above.