His discovery at the car show has always been part of the Tyler mythology (cue Tyler to roll his head back and sigh with the mention of a "Tyler mythology"
![Wink :wink: :wink:](/images/smilies/modern/wink.gif)
). I'd like to examine that in conjuction with why Tyler rocks.
The car show story has been mentioned so many times it has become canon.
David discovered Tyler at the Miami Beach Car Show. As with most myths, it has a basis in truth but it's only part of the truth. In the short interview with Tyler that begins the 7/23/08 shoot with Derek, there is this exchange:
David: When the first time we met you, we were at...you were at the Miami Beach Car show.
Tyler: Mm-huh, with my dad, yeah.
David: Yup.
In the same interview, Tyler mentions that he was raised in Phoenix and that while he had not had sex with guys before he'd modeled, he had fantasized about it.
Add to this the interview that preceeds the 6/14/08 shoot with Tyler, Dustin, Ryan and CJ. When told by David to "tell the truth" about how they all came to
Broke Straight Boys, here is part of the conversation:
David: And Tyler, how did you get to...
Tyler: Umm, I was just looking for something that make extra money and I just went to the websites and kinda went to the modeling places on the website.
David: And then also our stuff came up?
Tyler: Yeah.
In this interview, all four guys admit they were attracted to doing gay porn because it pays better than straight porn.
Somewhere else - in a place I can't find this morning - I'd swear I heard Tyler say he submitted a standard application for modeling to
Broke Straight Boys Or maybe I read it. (Can somebody else help me out here?) In any case, the above interviews make two points clear. Tyler applied to
Broke Straight Boys to be a model in the conventional way and he was at the car show with his father.
The rest of this is all supposition but I would be suprised if I was far away from the truth:
Tyler has turned 18 in Phoenix. He is looking for extra money. Open to exploring his fantasy of having sex with a guy, he has heard gay porn pays well and so he searches the Internet for options. Modeling for
Broke Straight Boys pops up. He submits an application, including the required pictures. A representative of
Broke Straight Boys contacts him and offers to send him to Miami for a shoot. If he hasn't told his parents before this moment, Tyler now needs to let them know what he is doing. Somehow he has to explain why all of a sudden he is flying to Miami Beach. His parents, showing understandable and proper concern, are leery of sending their son half way across the country to do a gay porn video shoot. For Tyler's protection and his parent's peace of mind, Tyler's father accompanies him to Miami. Once there, Tyler and his dad agree to first meet David (and I'm guessing Eddie, too - he's the "we" in the "we were at" quote above) in a public place. It's safer that way. They decide to meet the Miami Beach Car Show, which is taking place at that moment. (Somewhere else on the site Tyler has admitted he's always been into cars.) The four of them meet and discuss things. Tyler and his dad become comfortable enough with David and Eddie to proceed. David then shoots the set-up shot with Aiden (from the beginning, Aiden's stumbling into David at the car show is part of the script) at the car show. Tyler and his father stay in Miami Beach for the remainer of the week while Tyler does his still unreleased but in-the-can solo shoot and three more with Aiden. At the end of the week, Tyler and his father fly back to Phoenix.
I realize this is a lot of speculation but it totally fits the facts. Yes, the myth is true. David and Tyler met for the first time at the car show. The story can be repeated again and again and everyone nods, yes. But a whole lot of conventional business and family dynamics also happened. David doesn't cruise the town searching for models, his camera always rolling. Come on, David is too much of a professional for me to believe in amaturish moves like that. On the other side of the camera, I can also assume that Tyler wasn't born with his maturity. He was raised to be mature. The romantic in me likes to think he brought up his idea to do gay modeling to his family early on, that Tyler and his parents have a very open relationship. I know I've read a post where David says Tyler has the support from his family for what he's doing. In any case, it is obvious Tyler comes from a strong family background. Tyler is mature because his parents supported him in handling life's challenges as he became capable of handling them. They protected him when needed but also let him become a man on his own.
Why does Tyler rock? Because he was raised well.