Chasing the Boys and Chasing the Sun: My Story of Sun Worship and Where It Got Me

By Will Seagers

Summer has always been my favorite time of the year. Bathing suits, bulges, boys and of course a good suntan! Growing up on the East Coast in New Jersey meant one thing in the summer - The Shore.

Starting off as a youngster, the boy stuff hadn't quite kicked in, but I was already indoctrinated into the tanning thing by the age of seven. With an above ground pool in the backyard in north central N.J. and frequent trips down the Garden State Parkway to Asbury Park and other points on the "Shore" during each summer, I wasn't happy unless I had a nice deep tan... it was sort of a merit badge.

I remember around the age of seven or so, my parents rented a bungalow in the Ocean County hamlet of Ocean Beach. That's where I got my first bad sunburn and some sun sickness, as well. I remember I felt terrible and was shivering and unable to sleep with the pain. The next day I had a huge blister on my shoulder as a memento.

Fast forward a decade or so when my family actually lived at the shore. I guess you can figure I was always tan. Now is when the "Boy Thing” started to kick in. I didn't go to the beach where the rest of my family went. I chose the next town up from us... it had a gay beach. I learned the ropes and the art of cruising pretty fast. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to me, my skin was taking a beating and "remembering” all of the sun I was throwing at it.

Moving along to my Flight Attendant days. Now in my early twenties, I trained in Miami Springs for what used to be Eastern Airlines. No need to say this, but Miami = Sun. Even though my first six months were based out of JFK, I opted for every Florida or San Juan flight that I could get. I particularly loved being dark tan in the dead of winter!

Next stop San Juan, Puerto Rico! As soon as my first six months were up and I could make my move, I transferred to San Juan. Here, my goal was to attain the tan of a lifetime! (Little did I know that it was more like a life sentence!) Lots of sexy Latino men on the beach, too. All it took was a certain nod and we'd be off the beach and headed to bed! I wound up playing too hard in P.R. and losing my job. I was having too much fun and missed a couple too many flights! Oh well!

Back up north to NYC (and a summer on Fire Island!). Fire Island was my first experience with nude beaches. Boy, did that make things easy! Lol. But I left the NYC area in the fall to help a friend in Phoenix. It had a neat gay community and WOW, the Desert Southwest Sun. It was just about as powerful as it gets!

Then there was the migration to San Francisco, where I lived for fourteen years. Although one could get a pretty good bronzing up on their rooftops, like I did in my apartment, it was the Russian River and its resorts that beckoned. So, for the first few years, every Friday was the hour and a half pilgrimage north to The Woods or many of the other Russian River Resorts. Great California Sun and lots of wild sexy places to visit! And when in town during the winter, there were the tanning salons. It was from overuse of a tanning bed that I got a Malignant Melanoma! Should have stopped there, right?

After returning once again to the East Coast in 1991 to N.J. and ultimately NYC, I discovered a little gem of a beach just outside the waters of N.Y. on the Jersey shore - Sandy Hook - and it was a nude beach! Yay! For where it was and what it was (a state park), it was the wildest beach that I have ever experienced. All sorts of bodies in all levels of arousal.

And what kind of beach story would be complete without the addition of South Beach, Miami Beach, Fla? By this time, I was 44. It was an international port of call. With that came some extraordinary beauties... and raring to go! I remember walking the beach in my favorite black speedo and being summoned by this gorgeous, long haired Adonis to come up to his beach front house. I still get out of breath remembering that one! But wait, there was more. Here I am again, walking the beach in my favorite little speedo, and what had to have been the most spectacular specimen of mankind walked right up to me, gave me a peck on the cheek and started rubbing my crotch. In broad daylight, we had sex on the beach. "Mr. DeMille" - where were you? We were quite ready for our close up!

Ok. Fast forward through nearly twenty-five more years of sun recklessness to the (sort of) moral of the story. At age 71, I have just undergone my sixth Mohs Procedure for skin cancer. I have not forgotten my fabulous times on the beach. And, neither has my skin. The one thing I have to share with everyone it is this: the sun is not your friend. Please be careful.

Thank you to Will Seagers for use of his photos.

Bio of Will Seagers:

Will Seagers (also credited as Matt Harper), within his multifaceted career and participation in numerous gay communities across the country in the '70s and '80s and beyond, worked as a print model and film performer. He made iconic appearances in releases from Falcon, Hand in Hand, Joe Gage, Target (Bullet), J. Brian, Steve Scott, and more, including in lead roles in major classics like Gage's L.A. Tool & Die (1979) and Scott's Wanted (1980). He brought strong screen presence and exceptional acting to his roles and was scene partners with many fellow legends of classic porn.