Following an autopsy, however, the Los Angeles County Coroner's office determined Shafer's death was the result of 'methamphetamine and cocaine toxicity', with hypertensive cardiovascular disease possibly being a contributing factor. Initial reports indicated he might have suffered a heart attack. Shafer was found dead in a vehicle near his home in West Hollywood, California on March 5, 2015. In 2012, Shafer returned to the pages of Playgirl for a 20th anniversary photo spread in the August issue. Īs of 2008, Shafer was working as a fitness trainer and certified Pilates instructor. Shafer's next directorial project was Circuit, a fictional look at the world of gay male circuit parties. Shafer wrote, directed and starred in Man of the Year, a 1995 mockumentary about his time as a semi- closeted gay man in the role of a heterosexual sex symbol. Shafer related that he did Playgirl for 'validation' as a model because he never believed himself to be attractive.
Born in Carbondale, Illinois, he was most noted in the modeling world for having been Playgirl magazine's 1992 'Man of the Year'. Dirk Alan Shafer (Novem– March 5, 2015) was an American model, actor, screenwriter and director.