Mitch Gaylord is a perfect 10… literally!

Exactly 40 years ago (on July 31,1984), the American icon became the first gymnast in U.S. history to score a perfect 10 at the Olympics, leading the U.S. men’s gymnastics team to gold at the 1984 Summer Games.

The remarkable feat took place in Los Angeles, where Greg Louganis, another Olympic legend from Southern California, took home two gold medals as well.

Gaylord’s flawless routine on the rings will forever remain part of U.S. Olympic lore. We thought it was worth revisiting this week, with gymnastics taking center stage in Paris. The U.S. women’s team won gold, and the men captured bronze, their first medal since 2008.

When Gaylord stuck his landing, there was no doubt about the judges’ scoreboards: 10s, 10s, 10s across the board!

“I stuck the landing. I ran back to my teammates, we were all doing the high fives,” he said in an interview about the historic moment. “Then I hear this massive eruption in the crowd. I turned around, and that’s when I saw the ’10.0’ going up on the scoreboard.”

Then on the high bar, Gaylord nailed his signature routine, the Gaylord 2. His incredible effort nudged the U.S. past the Chinese, who dominated men’s gymnastics at the time.

Gaylord, with his baby face, tanned physique and chiseled build, became a Hollywood fixture following the Games. He made his acting debut in the 1986 film American Anthem, where he plays a jaded gymnast who falls in love with a fellow gymnast at the gym, and trains for nationals.

Speaking of training, perhaps Gaylord’s most memorable commercial foray (at least in our gay eyes) was his stint as the pitchman for Soloflex. The exercise machine, which was released in ’86, promises to unlock your “body’s potential.”

The ad features Gaylord front and center. “A hard man is good to find,” it says.

We love the word play… and Gaylord’s rock hard abs!

Gaylord appeared in ads for an array of products, including Diet Coke, Nike and Levi Strauss and Co. Sadly, those commercials seem lost in time… or at least not discoverable on YouTube.

But fortunately, some scenes from American Anthem have stood the test of time. Or we should say, at least Gaylord’s rockin’ bod survived. (The movie was critically panned.)

Sex appeal has been a longstanding selling point for male gymnasts. Some of our favorite out gymnasts, including Heath Thorpe and college sensation Sam Phillips, seldom hesitate to go shirtless. (Two out Brazilian gymnasts, Arthur Nory and Rayan Dutra, are competing in Paris. Unsurprisingly, they are quite popular with the gays as well.)

Over the years, many male gymnasts have leaned into the idea of showing more skin. In fact, U.S.Olympians Sam Mikulak and Jake Dalton and others have advocated competing shirtless.

“People make fun of us for wearing tights,” Dalton told the Wall Street Journal in 2016. “But if they saw how yoked we are maybe that would make a difference.”

Phillips, who’s quite “yoked” himself, is on board. “There are absolutely zero drawbacks to competing shirtless,” he told Outsports.

As for this year’s American male gymnasts, they won their first bronze since 2008! A pommel horse specialist from Central Massachusetts, Stephen Nedoroscik, stole everybody’s heart.

Babygirl!

There’s no word on how Gaylord, 63, feels about competing shirtless, however. These days, he’s a financial advisor for Morgan Stanley, he’s probably more likely to be in a suit and tie than tight spandex.

But 40 years later, his adage remains true: a hard man is good to find.

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