If you spend five minutes with me, you will discover that I am eternally stuck in the 90’s. Whether it be my taste in music, movies, television or fashion, I miss that shit every day of my life. The 90’s were the best, and they had some mega hunks, and, lucky for me, a lot of those mega hunks went on to become even bigger mega hunks!
The above pic is from YM Magazine’s Hottest Guys of Summer 1998 issue (you people probably don’t even know what YM Magazine is…pfft). I’m going to be honest with you: None of the guys on the cover of this magazine are on this list (even though they’ve all aged pretty well), however, a bunch of dudes from inside the magazine that were considered to be some of the hottest guys of 1998 ARE on this list, so let’s have a look and see what hunks are even hunkier now, shall we?
Andrew Keegan
Andrew Keegan and Devon Sawa were my biggest pre-teen crushes ever. I’m pretty sure they’re what caused my sexual awakening. While Devon Sawa went on to age just sort of OK (definitely not an ugly dude), Andrew Keegan has become a fine wine who I really feel like I could nab now because, I mean, what else has he got going on, ya know?
Leonardo Dicaprio
Leo has been one of the sexiest men on the planet for almost 20 years, which makes me feel super fucking old. He was always a hot babe, but now he’s got that handsome, mature, George Clooney kind of thing going and I am super into it. The man is ageless.
Ben Affleck
Ben Affleck used to be a hot in a “I’m from Boston and kind of a meathead” way, but now he’s hot in a “I’m a successful grown man who can grow some nice scruff, direct Academy Award winning films, and make you forget all about Gigli” sort of way.
Ryan Gosling
Back in the 90’s, Ryan Gosling was just a lanky Canadian cutie from shows like Breaker High, Young Hercules, and Are You Afraid of the Dark??Then he moves out to Hollywood, gets a personal trainer, and BAM! You’ve got the best looking man on the planet.
James Van Der Beek
The funny thing is, back in the 90’s I didn’t even think James Van Der Beek was hot. In fact, I fucking hated him and thought he was lame, just like his stupid character, Dawson Leary. However, now I think he is extremely handsome and actually has fantastic comedic timing. Good for you, Van Der Beek! You changed my mind across the board!
Justin Timberlake
When I look at old pictures of Justin Timberlake from the late 90’s/early 2000’s, I can’t help but wonder “How the fuck did I find him so fucking attractive?!” LOOK AT HIM! He had a bleached white-boy afro, wore the ugliest clothes imaginable, and FREQUENTLY wore colored sunglasses like he was goddamn Bono or something! Thank God he looks so damn good now. Yes, JTim has really taken back his sex symbol status and no longer looks a fool.
Mark Paul Gosselaar
He was mega cute as Zack Morris, a character I had a total little girl boner for. But now, Mark Paul Gosselaar is allllll man. If you haven’t watched his brief guest spot on Weeds, go watch it. Now. You’ll forget Zack Morris ever existed.
Ryan Reynolds
Back in the 90’s, Ryan Reynolds was just the comedic relief on Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place. He also sported some seriously unfortunate frosted tips and facial hair. However, Ryan has come a long way and is now an extremely sexy leading man who has been married to famous babes like Scarlett Johansson and Blake Lively.
Joseph Gordon Levitt
Back in the 90’s he was cute and funny, but now he has proven himself to be both extremely handsome and extremely talented, both in front of and behind the camera (Don John was actually really critically acclaimed). That haircut went a long way!
Joshua Jackson
Two tv characters owned my heart in the 90s: Jordan Catalano (Jared Leto) from My So-Called Life and Pacey Whitter (Joshua Jackson) from Dawson’s Creek. Both men still look absolutely fantastic and like they haven’t aged a damn day, but I chose to put Joshua on this list since I wrote about Jared and his glorious man bun in my last blog. To be honest, the entire main cast of Dawson’s Creek have all gone on to be way way sexier, so, you know, good for them!!!
Honorable Mention: Paul Walker
We all know if it weren’t for his recent death that Paul Walker would’ve topped this list because that man got better looking every minute of every day. May he R.I.P. He was an eternal fox.