Bear Magazine's Teddy Mark

Hey Teddy, for all of our readers can you give them a brief background?

My background is in marketing/design/advertising and owned my company in Seattle in the 90’s which did campaigns for clients such as Microsoft, Xerox, Campbell Soup, Disney, K2…. I closed the company once Butch Bear began to seriously take over my time. That was around 2005. Frankly, I had grown tired of the stresses of a corporate career and Butch Bear (and now the other brands) gave me a totally different kind of artistic freedom and release. It’s still stressful, but in a different way. Can anyone orgasm that much? Oh haha!

All those naked pictures of you on the web, when did you first pose and what was it like?

After several years of being behind the camera I made the jump. In the process I realized that I don’t make a very good model. Perhaps I’m too self-conscious or used to being in control…being the subject of the camera is actually uncomfortable for me, but it’s not something to complain about. I’m just flattered that there are guys who want to see me stroke my chest and say “ooooo”. Though I now have a greater respect for those who make it look so effortless!

Have you been in videos?

I do appear in one of our videos “Muscle Bear Motel” though it’s only a body part. Can you guess which one?

When did you launch Bear OmniMedia?

Bear Omnimedia was started in 2006, which is the new parent company of the video brands Butch Bear, Bear, Backroom Films and our publication Bear Magazine. Our first brand was Butch Bear which was started in 2001.

Bear OmniMedia has been nominated for GAYVN awards, what was that like?

There’s always an extra thrill when you are recognized by the industry you work in. We have 13 nominations, in and out of the bear category (ie: editing, best leather movie, etc.). This is the first year that a bear studio has penetrated the gay mainstream awards that much. Kinda cool.

Where is the strangest place you’ve found yourself naked?

For strange I would say that it would be walking naked on the nude beach at Nantucket. What makes it strange is that a jeep full of children drives by at that very moment, pointing at me. One of them yells out of the window,”Mommy! Mommy! There’s naked people!” Yeah, that was a very strange feeling. But also good for a chuckle.

Tell us about Bear Magazine.

Bear Magazine is the original source for hairy, masculine men, which started publication in 1987. We took over publication last year when the courts granted us all the trademarks and copyrights of Brush Creek Media (the previous publisher). Honestly, though we felt secure in the video market, after looking around we really didn’t see any publications around that where doing a good job “filling the hole” of quality bear smut and championing the entire reason why the bear community started in the first place. So literally overnight we added Bear Magazine to our roster of projects. We started with issue #65 last September 2008 (the prior publisher stopped at #64) and are currently releasing #67. The look is fresh and clean, filled with tons of hunky, hairy guys. There are several new additions, such as the fold-out centerfold and all in full-color. We’re doing our best to keep the original energy alive while meeting the needs and expectations of the new generation and ever-evolving bear market.

How did you meet your other half?

We met at the 1995 Spring Thaw Event in Seattle. He was a wandering bisexual looking to leave his 7-year marriage to a woman and I was in the midst of leaving my 10-year relationship with a guy. I wasn’t looking, but it just happened. A few weeks later I realized that this was it, and I gave my ex his final walking papers. We’ll be celebrating 14 years together this August, and our 1 year marriage anniversary a week after that. (We took advantage of California’s gay marriage ruling last year at Lake Tahoe.)

If you could have a drink with anyone living or dead – who would it be and why?

This may sound cliché, but probably Jesus Christ; he has some explainin’ to do.

So, what’s next?

Bear Magazine 67

We just opened BearsList.com, which is a totally free, easy and retro way to find hook-ups with bears. Since Bear Magazine no longer prints personal ads, this is our answer to help bears connect with like-minded, horned-up men and to satisfy the BEAR-Player philosophy of instant, hairy gratification. Designed to work in conjunction with your favorite profile site. –Also look for Butch Bear greeting cards, 2010 Calendar and a Butch Bear photo book called “Muscle +Fur” sometime this year.

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