Peter Steele's Playgirl Cover:
Rock's Most Unlikely Pin-Up

"We went from being a hate band to being a lovers' band."

In an alternate universe, the teen magazine Tiger Beat might have released a special issue called Young Stallions, complete with the cover line, "What Makes Them So Hot? Our Ten Sexiest Rockers."

Reality wasn't far behind.

Instead, those words appeared on the cover of Playgirl's August 1995 issue, introducing readers to a very different kind of rock star.

The cover featured a sculpted, long-haired giant standing like a Greek god, one hand gripping his crotch while the other ran through his jet-black hair.

Inside, readers found familiar names like the Beastie Boys, Hootie & the Blowfish, the Meat Puppets, Slash and Glenn Danzig.

None of them appeared nude.

Peter Steele did.

The headline beside his face left little to the imagination:

"Type O Negative's Peter Steele. Naked and Hard as Rock!"

Peter was a man of his word.

The magazine delivered exactly what it promised.

Its centrefold showed Peter in all his glory, wearing nothing except his tattoos and an inexpensive digital wristwatch.

For someone so often described by friends as intensely modest and deeply private, there was nothing modest about these photographs.

Peter and several people close to him later claimed the shoot was the first time Playgirl had published a fully erect model.

That wasn't actually true. The magazine had crossed that line years earlier, beginning in 1980.

Still, the image was unforgettable.

Peter Steele, the towering lord of urban gothic doom metal, stood completely naked, confidently holding his enormous manhood in one equally enormous hand.

As one fan later joked:

"I was lucky enough to meet him. You don't realise how huge his hands really were until you see him in person. Just look closely at the photos."

A Natural Extension of Peter's Humour

In many ways, the Playgirl shoot wasn't as shocking as it first appeared.

Peter had already displayed his backside on the cover of The Origin of the Feces.

Appearing nude for Playgirl was simply another outrageous joke.

Looking back, that's exactly how Peter viewed it.

It was another opportunity to amuse himself while generating publicity for the band.

Roadrunner executive Howie Abrams remembered how sharply the photos divided the fanbase.

"That kind of thing splits people right down the middle," he said. "Some fans thought it was brilliant. Others were asking, 'What the hell is he doing?'

"But honestly, I think it worked in his favour."

From Hardcore Warrior to Sex Symbol

The idea of a hardened Brooklyn metal musician posing for Playgirl would have horrified the Peter Steele of the Carnivore years.

Back then he stood on stage with a shaved head and combat boots, staring out over crowds of skinheads throwing punches in the mosh pit at CBGB.

Less than a decade later, Peter had become someone very different.

The transformation wouldn't have worked with most of New York's hardcore legends.

It is almost impossible to imagine Vinnie Stigma or Harley Flanagan posing nude for a national magazine.

Peter, however, had evolved.

The man who had written "Christian Woman" looked less like a street fighter and more like the Greek god Adonis.

His long black hair, imposing physique and striking features made him surprisingly believable as a sex symbol.

If women were willing to pay to see him naked, Peter saw no reason not to give them exactly what they wanted.

After all, as he liked to joke, it was New York "Hardcore."

Above everything else, Peter found the whole situation hilarious.

He was usually the first person laughing at his own antics.

How the Photoshoot Happened

Although Peter didn't need much convincing to appear nude, the idea wasn't originally his.

At least not directly.

A dedicated bodybuilder, he had approached Roadrunner Records about appearing in Muscle & Fitness magazine.

With help from an outside public relations agency, discussions began with the publication.

Nothing came of it.

Eventually someone contacted Playgirl instead.

Their editors were immediately interested in photographing the athletic six-foot-eight musician.

Roadrunner's Sophia Fry still remembers her surprise.

"I still can't believe he agreed to do it," she admitted.

"I don't think it had any impact on album sales.

"I never heard Peter say he regretted doing it, but I think the actual photoshoot was difficult for him.

"It surprised everyone.

"After concerts, guys would come up asking him to autograph their copies.

"And it wasn't just women."

An Unexpected Audience

What Peter didn't realise at the time was that roughly half of Playgirl's readership consisted of men.

By then, there was no turning back.

The attention from gay fans made him deeply uncomfortable, but rather than complain publicly, Peter responded the way he always did.

With humour.

Years later he wrote "I Like Goils," summarising his feelings in typical Peter Steele fashion:

"I'm quite flattered that you think I'm cute.
But I don't deal well with compacted poop."

By then, Peter had become an expert at surviving controversy.

Compared with everything else he had endured throughout his career, the reactions to Playgirl barely registered.

Peter's Own View

At the time, Peter admitted he wasn't entirely sure what to expect.

"I really don't know how this is all going to turn out," he said.

"I just hope I live up to people's expectations.

"At first it was embarrassing being surrounded by photographers, technicians and makeup artists while I was sitting there completely naked, with everyone working and walking around..."