Steve Sandalis

Steve Sandalis (born July 24, 1970) is an American model, bodybuilder and actor. He is best known for being "The Topaz Man" and appearing on over 700 Romance novel covers. Steve's image is on over 50 million books. Steve is a household name to the over 70 million fans of the romance genre worldwide. Considered very handsome and classically well built, Steve has become one of the most prolific male romance cover models of all time. Before retiring in 1996 he was a fan favorite attending many publishing industry conventions and events.

Steve was attending the University of South Florida in Tampa, Florida where he started modeling. He was discovered by Mary Anne Palumbo, publicity director of Penguin Books, who chose him to be "The Topaz Man" on a series of romance novels. In 1995 he won the Mr. Hercules Body Building Competition. Steve claims he was named after Steve Reeves, who played the lead role in the movie Hercules (1958 film). In 2002 he was rank one of the sexist men alive by Playgirl Magazine, he was Playgirl's cover man Feb. 1994.