Blog | “Magic Mike,” “Sports Illustrated” have Myrtle Beach roots, push envelope on sexual images
Warning: Images below may not be suitable for children.
There’s been much talk lately about crime in Myrtle Beach because of what happened during last year’s Atlantic Beach Memorial Day Bikefest, and Myrtle Beach being listed as the 12th most dangerous city in America.
I’ve written a good bit about those things.
You can read about some of it here .
And here .
But if we are to be honest, what convinces a lot of the estimated 16 million annual tourists to flock to our beaches, despite talk of crime, is something else entirely.
It is that the Myrtle Beach area sells sex, no matter if we want to admit it or not.
That the trailer for the racy “Magic Mike XXL” was released this week and “Sports Illustrated” has put together maybe the raciest cover of its annual swimsuit edition is a good indication of just what Myrtle Beach produces best.
Magic Mike is a sequel to a popular male stripper movie. Portions of the movie were filmed in Myrtle Beach.
Sports Illustrated is the venerable sports magazine that was birthed right here in Myrtle Beach.
Judge for yourself if I’m exaggerating about either product (not that I’m complaining).
Here is the Magic Mike trailer ( they say you can spot Myrtle Beach landmarks in it if you can get past the, um, other sights):
And here is the Sports Illustrated cover:
I’ve made this point several times before, but Myrtle Beach can only be considered a “family beach” if we acknowledge that family includes Uncle Tim making the rounds at Thee Doll House after playing 36 holes, cousin Jimmy partying and drinking all night on Ocean Boulevard and second-cousin Sue sporting a string bikini in Walmart while purchasing a few coolers.
Yes, we may have more houses of worship per capita than just about anywhere else, but we are better known for the other kind of entertainment, and that’s why people keep coming back.
That’s unlikely to change any time soon.
This story was originally published February 5, 2015 at 9:52 AM with the headline "Blog | “Magic Mike,” “Sports Illustrated” have Myrtle Beach roots, push envelope on sexual images."