Macic Silk & Male Power

For this article, BODY publisher Nick Monjo traveled to Hauppauge, Long Island to meet with Jeff Baker, president of Male Power and Magic Silk. The result is an examination of the history of the brands and their prominent place in the world of provocative underwear.

The story begins with Jeff’s father, Sam, who came from the men’s sportswear industry, and launched Male Power in 1975. This was one of the first overtly sexy men’s underwear brands, explained Jeff, and “the world was not ready for him.” But his father's unusual specialization, and lack of competition, allowed the new company to grow and prosper. Eight years after the launch, Jeff, who was recently out of college and 22, joined his father. “We were a great team and I enjoyed working with him tremendously,” remembered Jeff.

Up until the late 1980’s, Male Power was exclusively a men’s brand. But eventually the company added a women’s label, Teensy Weensy, which was designed exclusively for strippers: Through the Eighties and into the start of the Nineties, father and son built the business together.

Eventually, however, the two ran into “some conflicts that could not be resolved,” with Jeff exiting the company at the end of 1992. And after waiting a few weeks to see if the two could get past their differences, Jeff decided to launch his own underwear company: Magic Moments, Inc.

“I started with silk boxers for men,” Jeff Baker continued. “I was a jobber, buying silk boxers and reselling them. The brand happened to be Visitor, a men’s sportswear brand, but that didn’t matter. Silk boxers were a hot item.” Soon the business became more sophisticated, and he began designing his own styles and initiated production in China. He introduced the Magic Silk brand, and added some basic women’s styles. By the mid Nineties Magic Silk’s business was split evenly between men’s and women’s underwear, and was rivaling, in size, his father’s Male Power business.

“In the Nineties we were selling to hundreds of small stores across the country: Key West, Provincetown, Christopher Street. These predominantly gay areas were actually hot for Male Power from the mid Eighties through the Nineties,” continued Baker. The business was not directed at department stores, but rather specialty stores, distributors, sexy chains and adult shops. “We became known for our customer service, integrity, strong customer relationships and a highly united team. At the ILS trade shows, many referred to us as the Magic Silk Male Power family because we always went out together as a team and had great times whether alone or with customers.” Pointing to the loyalty of his staff, Baker noted that today, “excluding the principals of the company, the ten longest employed total 243 years.”

Over the years, “the fit, the fabrics, and the quality of the merchandise, which was always better than the competition,” has distinguished the brand according to Baker. Over time, the companies expanded to offer a wider variety of styles, of which “about 10% to 15% were bedroom costumes, not Halloween costumes.”

Before the end of the 90’s, Jeff and his father had repaired their personal relationship, but still maintained their two businesses separately. When Sam Baker suffered a stroke in early 2001, however, the two merged the companies, with Jeff taking over the leadership role. While Baker would not disclose the exact sizes of the businesses in 2001, he noted that Magic Silk was then the larger of the two. 

Father and son continued to build the businesses over the next several years, until Sam passed in 2015. The first decades of the new millennium were a time of expansion with “better designs, better delivery, more trade shows and international expansion after 2010,” according to Jeff Baker.

“Today, in many ways Male Power is the big dog in sexy men’s underwear,” Baker posited, acknowledging that there are several other larger sexy women’s underwear brands. “Male Power offers the largest variety of sexy men’s underwear in the world,” he claimed, noting the brand has “approximately 1,100 SKU’s, all sizes, with approximately 450 unique styles.” The Magic Silk and Exposed brands “alone have approximately 1800 current active  SKU’s, including all sizes. Approximately 700 unique items.” In addition to the U.S., the brand sells in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South America, Mexico and Canada.

Apparel categories include “dance/rave/festival wear, men’s and women’s fetish wear, men’s novelty gag underwear, dress up/role play underwear" and an extensive queen size collection.  

Today quality is what still sets both brands apart, emphasized Baker. “By offering high quality you lock in the consumer. They are happy when they try on the product.” Even though sexy underwear is considered more of a frivolity than a necessity, the CEO has always insisted on quality. “We did not want to play the cheap game. We do not want to put out junk.” The company is also known for its customer service, close relationships with clients, and its extensive, well photographed and slick catalogs and marketing materials.

While the two brands still maintain a small amount of manufacturing in New York, almost all production now occurs in China. Of Magic Silk’s current styles only two or three percent are actually silk these days.

One of the latest design moves at Magic Silk was to bring in fabric designs with direct reference to marijuana (leaf prints) and edible products that contain THC (such as brightly colored gummy bears). These styles are in the company’s Hazy Dayz collection. Other recent trends include bondage inspired looks and lingerie items that can be worn as outerwear. The brands also utilize a wide variety of materials, fabrics colorations that follow current fashion trends.

The development of the business over the years is mirrored in the physical expansion of Magic Silk. “I started in a 350 square foot basement in 1992,” recalled Jeff Baker. He moved the business to a 2000 square foot location in 1994 and then expanded to 4000 square feet in 1996 and soon doubled that to 8000. With the merger with Male Power in 2001 the combined companies were operating out of 12,000 square feet.

We interviewed Jeff Baker at his current location, an attractively decorated office and warehouse space in a 20,000 square foot building that Baker acquired in 2014. 3000 square is rented out to an independent non-profit, with Male Power and Magic Silk occupying the remainder. Together the two brand employ about 30 personnel.