Michael Lucas remembers the days when the All-American beach boy was the iconic gay sex symbol. But as the 1990s settled in, the industry started to see more penetration of foreign models. Spearheaded by the huge popularity of Lukas Ridgeston, the movement offered more opportunities than ever before — even if the models’ heritage was still initially seen by some as a selling point (just ask Lucas, whose Russian roots were the marketing emphasis in “Red Alert”).
