He began his career as a clothes model, most notably in a series of ads for Eminence briefs and Jordache jeans, both of which capitalized on his "beefcake" appeal.
As a result, Picturegoer became more sensational in the 1950s, with covers featuring cheesecake and beefcake-style artwork.
There were many double entendres indicating the song's true meaning, including a magazine that Lauper is staring at titled "Beefcake" and other sexual meanings such as the "self-service" sign and three gas pumps with the signs Good, Better and Nirvana in the cartoon part of the video, the vibrating motorcycle, the "masterbingo" part of the video with "Uncle Siggy" Sigmund Freud as host, and Lauper wearing blackout glasses with a white cane in several scenes of the video.