In talking with Benjamin Carlton this week about his 90s crushes, one made me think back to all the hot guys from that era that we loved but oftentimes forget. That’s because while Merlin Santana was IT on ‘The Steve Harvey Show,’ he can get pushed to the back of our minds on ‘90s Crush lists with bigger names like Will Smith, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Mark-Paul Gosselaar taking up real estate on the blogosphere.
So today, inspired by one of Benjamin’s choices, Merlin Santana, we’re going to take a look back at ‘90s crushes whose names we may not be able to recall at the drop of a hat, but when they are brought up make us go, “Oh yeah, he was hot!”
Sam Huntington
Tim Allen could do no wrong in the ‘90s which is why most of us went and checked out ‘Jungle 2 Jungle,’ but it was Sam Huntington’s Mimi-Siku that made us beg our moms to buy the VHS as soon as it dropped at Kmart. Yes, Sam has gone on to work quite steadily but chances are now that some years have passed and he no longer has that wild mane, many wouldn’t be able to instantly recognize, and when they did they’d go – Mimi-Siku?!
Gregory Smith
Where my ‘Everwood’ fans at? I did quit watching after like two-three seasons, but I started because Gregory Smith was the hot boy who lived on earth in the Queen Bee of Disney Channel Original Movies, the OG ‘Zenon.’ Who didn’t have a crush on him then? He was so sweet!
David López
If you were not thrilled to race home on Fridays and get the party started with ‘Ghostwriter’ on PBS then you probably have NO idea who David López is. That’s fine, the cool kids know him as Alex Fernández. *swoon*
Austin O’Brien
Speaking of swoon…chances are you did just that when you watched Austin O’Brien in either ‘The Baby-Sitters Club’ or ‘My Girl 2.’ Yes, he’s THAT guy. He played our favorite shy sitter’s boyfriend Logan in the big screen adaptation of a beloved book series and the soon-to-be cousin to Anna Chlumsky’s Vada Sultenfuss – by marriage. He had that signature ‘90s heartthrob hair and just, yeah…this was a crush to many, but not a crush that I feel like we name check enough daily.
Josh Server
Chances are if you live for ‘90s nostalgia, you mention Nickelodeon’s ‘All That.’ That’s a given, but how often do you comment on how hot Josh Server was? Well, in case you need a reminder, give his Instagram a follow because he aged like fine wine.
Robert Ri’chard
Another Nickelodeon show is hard to forget is ‘Cousin Skeeter’ because it stared a…puppet, but do you remember how gorgeous his human cousin played by Robert Ri’chard was? Those. Eyes.
Sean O’Neal
Nananana…remember wanting Sam from ‘Clarissa Explains It All’ to climb in your window?
Thomas Magiar
This is DEEP CUT because you had to have watched an off brand ‘Saved by the Bell’ called ‘USA High’ to know Thomas Magiar. He played this insanely hot guy named Christian and it’s a shame that’s all he ever did.
David Lascher
I feel like this is the poor man’s (cute) version of Paul Rudd. Alas, David Lascher was everywhere in the ‘90s from ‘Hey Dude’ on Nickelodeon to ‘Sabrina the Teenage Witch,’ but at the end of the day I feel like he’s a cutie that’s often forgotten.
Merlin Santana
Like I said when talking to Benjamin Carlton, when he came to me with Merlin Santana – I was thrilled because I feel like he was someone that got talked about a lot at the time, but who is left out of too many “hot guys of the ‘90s” lists today.
Crushgasm 