Michael Skrzypcak best known by his stage name Eric Stryker, was an American gay pornographic

Gay pornography

Gay pornography is the representation of sexual intercourse between men with the primary goal of sexual arousal in its audience. There is also a tradition, and continuing considerable output, of lesbian pornography....

 performer and model. He was known for his handsome blond features and his muscular physique. he also performed as Noel Kemp for Colt Studio

COLT Studio Group

-Overview:It has produced all-male erotica for over 40 years. Started in New York City in 1967, moved to Los Angeles for twenty five years and is now based in San Francisco, California...

, Mike Kelly, Mike Saunders and, Michael John Saunders.

He was born in Erie, Pennsylvania

Erie, Pennsylvania

Erie is a city located in northwestern Pennsylvania in the United States. Named for the lake and the Native American tribe that resided along its southern shore, Erie is the state's fourth-largest city , with a population of 102,000...

 and served in the U.S. Air Force, where he rose to the rank of sergeant. After retiring, he worked for a time as a construction worker in Phoenix before moving to Los Angeles, where he began modeling for Colt Studios. He appeared in over fifty porn films, chiefly for Le Salon, Huge, and Buckshot. His most popular titles included A Matter Of Size, Arcade, Asian Knights, Student Bodies, Good Hot Stuff, and Rawhide. Stryker's co-stars ran the gamut of the classic porn star roster, including J. W. King and Bill Henson.

In 1984, shortly after his lover died from AIDS

AIDS

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...

, Stryker was himself diagnosed with HIV

HIV

Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...

. His response was to focus his activities away from the life of a porn star and become an activist for AIDS awareness. Stryker continued his studies in architecture at Woodbury University and his regular workouts. As he put it, "I live for the day." He worked with the AIDS Couples Group and lectured around the country for the AIDS Project Los Angeles. In 1987, he appeared in the PBS documentary, It Starts With A, his last film appearance. In his last public appearance, his body showing the effects of Kaposi's sarcoma

Kaposi's sarcoma

Kaposi's sarcoma is a tumor caused by Human herpesvirus 8 , also known as Kaposi's sarcoma-associated herpesvirus . It was originally described by Moritz Kaposi , a Hungarian dermatologist practicing at the University of Vienna in 1872. It became more widely known as one of the AIDS defining...

, he marched in the Christopher Street West parade in Los Angeles in a tank top and shorts, becoming one of the first persons with the disease to publicly display its symptoms. On February 19, 1988, he died of AIDS at Sherman Oaks Community Hospital. He was 33 years old.

Selected filmography

• Rawhide (1981)
• Wrestling Meat 2 (1982)
• Easy Entry (1983)
• Good Hot Stuff (1983)
• A Matter Of Size (1983)
• Bathhouse Fantasies (1984)
• The Best Of Buckshot Productions (1984)
• Knockout (1984)
• Student Bodies (1984)
• Asian Knights (1985)
• Firsts (1985)
• Hot Shots Volume 1: All Star Revue (1985)
• Hot Shots Volume 6: Kink (1985)
• Bore 'N Stroke (1985)
• Lovers & Friends (1985)
• Thinking Big (1985)
• Asian Orgy (1986)
• Hot Shots Volume 30: Hot Jocks (1989)
• Arcade (1990)
• Alley Cats (1991)
• Magnum Griffin 10 (1991)
• Magnum Griffin 12 (1991)
• Magnum Griffin 9 (1991)
• Wrestling Meat 2 (1992)
• Easy Entry (1995)
• An Excited State