For a generation of gays figuring out their identities, it was the classic love story.
Bailey and Jess were gym buds in high school, and often worked up a sweat with one another in the weight room. To cool down, they showered together.
“Last summer, we just f*cking bonded,” says Jess.
How about we take this to the next level?
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One of those words serves as the perfect harbinger of what’s to come…
As gay people recount their favorite movies and pieces of self-expression this month, an iconic adult film studio is entering the discourse. On X, a user named “Simon Fruit” shared a still of the Sean Cody classic, Muscle buds Bailey and Jess. (Short, sweet and to the point. They don’t make ’em like they used to!)
“During this Pride month, I would like to take a moment and honor one of the most iconic gay movies that changed lives,” says Simon.
Launched in 2001, the gay adult site was the brainchild of a software engineer-turned-photographer named–you guessed it–Sean Cody. The studio is still active today, pumping out sultry content featuring muscly, hairless studs.
While clip-sharing hubs, OF and social media platforms like X have made adult content more widespread–and more salacious–than ever, it’s important to never forget one’s roots.
In a digital world filled with hardcore imagery, the weight room bromance between Jess and Bailey seems innocent and quaint.
With a frat boy giggle, Jess explains to the director how they become “best friends.” They’re getting ready for their first three-way Saturday night, and oozing with anticipation.
“I have a very serious girlfriend,” Jess remarks.
Fortunately for the audience, Jess’ “very serious girlfriend” doesn’t preclude him from playing around with Bailey.
“I’m excited about the toys,” Jess says.
Us too… bro.
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The ensuing 20 minutes fulfill the fantasies of every closet case. The boys play with dildos–“sword fight!,” yelps Jess–and smack each other’s butts with heavy paddles.
They engage in all of these very gay behaviors while maintaining their hetero facades. They are just boys who are horsin’ around, like when football players slap each other on their backsides, or tie up freshmen in the locker room (hazing was still prevalent in the early 2000s).
The aughts represent a transitional moment in the arc of gay connectivity. The advent of the internet moved classified ads from queer newspapers and magazines to Craigslist, while chat rooms and message boards served as real-time meeting spaces.
Yet the smart phone, and hookup apps, were still a decade away. WiFi wasn’t prevalent.
Sean Cody is synonymous with self-discovery, as well as dial-up.
With a lack of queer representation in pop culture–celebrities only started coming out en masse in the mid-90s–adult content served as a gateway for many. Bailey and Jess weren’t just adult film stars on the screen of your family’s desktop.
They were transformational figures.
Of course, Sean Cody actors only highlight a very small sliver of the gay community. While the studio’s crew is more racially diverse today, every actor is still ripped, masculine and hairless.
But the fact is, most cultural relics from the early aughts haven’t aged well (look no further than Carrie Bradshaw). Sean Cody’s heralded place in gay lore remains in tact.
By the way, the real life Bailey (Todd J. Morgan) and Jess (Michael Timothy Tobin) maintain more guarded online presences today. Perhaps that’s for the better.
They look best with the benefit of nostalgia, anyway.
This was probably one of the hottest videos I ever saw. I wonder what happened to them? Did they stay friends/lovers? Or did they never speak to each other again?
— Acoolerclimate (@acoolerclimate5) June 11, 2025
I used to enjoy my time watching this video a couple times each day
— Doug Miller (@dougym) June 10, 2025
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