From the Golden Age of Trade 17

The charismatic and manly-looking guy recalled today both as DAK and John Converse (very probably his real name) became a gay icon during the late 60s, when 'vintage' erotica was moving into the 'retro' phase and the Golden Age of physique photography was drawing to a close. A proud and prototypical member of the USMC stationed just outside Washington D. C., he was
discovered in one of the downtown bars where Marines were known to 'do business with' or bash (or both) the largely gay clientele. The first photographer he posed for was Walter Kundcicz, and though an exact chronology is difficult to reconstruct, it's doubtful that Champion Studios marketed any 'John Converse' photos while he was still an active member of the Corps. His even better-known work--in the early 70s (by which time he had grown a mustache)--was for Lou Thomas's Target Studio, and, featured as "DAK" in the earliest Colt/Target magazines & photosets, he became one of the most popular of their models for nearly a decade. It's not known who shot and sold this brief color movie, but it effectively captures the DAK persona: though almost always unsmiling and arguably stern, his face and manner had a widespread appeal that endures, undiminished, to this day.