Winter is almost here -- but that’s not stopping the men on the University of Warwick Rowing Club from stripping down.
For their fifth consecutive year, the British rowing team has unveiled another nude calendar -- featuring the young men in all of their, well, glory. The nude calendars, which began in 2009, were conceived as a way of fundraising to spread awareness against homophobia. Since then, sales have spread internationally, with last year’s calendar selling out within a couple of days to customers in over forty countries.
A portion of the sale's proceeds will go to a new program, Sports Allies, which was recently formed with Educational Action Challenging Homophobia (EACH). This program allows the team to give back to their fans in the gay community by continuing their fight against homophobia in the form of an “It Gets Better”-like campaign and crisis hotline. Below is a teaser-trailer of the team in action.
The photographer of the calendar and director of the film was London-based Angus Malcolm, and according to his website, he specializes in photographing men. His Tumblr also has some very fun behind the scene shots from shooting the calendar.
“There can be a reluctance among males to be seen to be too bonded to their male friends in any emotional or physical way," says Jonathan Charlesworth, Director of EACH. "The Warwick Rowers use tongue-in-cheek videos and photographs to challenge this, and in doing so I think they are taking constructive and positive stand against homophobia."
If the ubiquity of these photos on social media and news outlets is any indication, the calendars of these athletes au naturale will sell like hot cakes once again. For more information about the calendars, head over to their website or follow the team on Twitter at @naked_rowers.