In what they’re dubbing positive masculinity, the tackle calendar aims to reshape the conversation about what it means to be a man in the two thousand twenties through photography.
12 guys from around the UK stripped off to show that all bodies are beautiful regardless of your age, size or skin tone.
The calendar is also launching a photo magazine in 2021 and will feature lots of guys in their homes, in the nude to challenge the notion of toxic masculinity and impossible body expectations that you might see in mainstream media.
The tackle calendar was shot over a period of 2 months (when lockdown restrictions eased) and featuring 12 men, of all ages, backgrounds and ethnicities from across the UK.
Speaking about the new tackle project, which is an offshoot of the Naked Rugby Players, photographer and Art Director, Jake Hook said, “It was really important for us to keep pushing the message that every body is important, valid and beautiful and we want to celebrate normal bodies in media.
Media gives us “unrealistic ideals of what our bodies should look like”
“While representation of “ordinary” bodies is improving in the media, we are still bombarded with unrealistic ideals of what our bodies should look like, and it’s just not good for our mental health, self-esteem or well-being. There’s still a lot to do to ensure that we can all feel comfortable in our own skin. We think we’ve found some incredible guys, brave enough to strip off for us to prove, no matter your age, your size or your skin tone, your body is wonderful”.
A donation from each sale from the calendar will go to Balls To Cancer and is available from their website, and Amazon.
There are over 70 naked men in this calendar. Six inclusive rugby teams got together for their second calendar to raise money and awareness for Balls to Cancer and inclusive rugby… It was voted a top 5 charity calendar this year. Shot by THEGAYUK’s very own photographer, Monty McKinnen. Available to buy from their website TheNakedRugbyPlayers.com from £10.00 or from Amazon
Red Hot 2019
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Today is the launch of Red Hot American Boys 2019 Calendar at @chichilarues from 7-10pm. Don’t miss your chance to meet the models including stunning Graysen Quinn @graysenquinn and get your calendar signed by photographer @thomasknights from 8pm ? Join the after-party at @theabbeyweho from 10pm till late ? Visit our online shop to get your calendars and other exciting items ⬆️ LINK IN BIO ⬆️
There are three versions of this calendar in 2019 the truly naked one and the more SFW one, which features butts and the American boys! Shot by Red Hot photographer Thomas Knights and art director Elliott James Frieze, the calendar raises money for the Movember Foundation’s Testicular Cancer Awareness. Available for £20.00
The Dreamboys
Bring the world-famous Dreamboys in your home with this stunning calendar. This year’s offering features the incredibly hot Jake Quickenden. Available from Amazon
Naked Sword
There really isn’t anything hotter out there. Well maybe the sexy naked firemen, but Naked Sword is offering up hunks and twinks in equal measures. Brace yourself for a sexy year with Kayden Gray, Ryan Rose, Francois Sagat, Roman Todd, and eight more horny hunks. Available on Amazon from £16.79
Dieux du Stade
Our second Rugby player calendar of the year, who could not fall for these ridiculously hot guys in the world famous, Calendrier Dieux du stade. Available on Amazon from £19.04
Meat Magazine
Described as a f**k you to body shaming, the Meat Calendar promises to deliver page after page of guys of all shapes and sizes. Unfortunately it’s completely sold out, but hopefully, they’ll restock!
The Naked Rugby Players 2019 have been well studied to become a finalist in The Calies – UK Calendar Awards. Oh, and they’ve released some new pictures to celebrate!
Having fought off hundreds of entries from major brands the guys are now up against four other calendars to win the title of Best Charity Calendar 2019.
The prestigious awards are judged by major high street brands including John Lewis, Waterstone, HMV and Calendar Club to find the best in 2019 Calendars. Winners will be announced during an awards ceremony in central London on the 28th November.
Calendar Creative Director, Jake Hook, said, “To be nominated for this award alone was fantastic news, to make the final has been incredible and I’m so proud of each and every one of the seventy-one players who gave up their time, and clothes, to help support their teams and Balls To Cancer. The 2019 Calendar sold out in just three weeks this year meaning we had to re-print. This is fantastic news for the charity and for encouraging more guys to regularly check themselves for signs of cancer, which tragically takes many lives each year.”
The Naked Rugby Players returned earlier this month with a Renaissance themed calendar following the success of their first calendar.
The six inclusive rugby clubs from around Britain stripped off to raise awareness for both inclusive rugby and to help shine a light on the importance for guys to check their tackle for lumps and bumps regularly, in partnership with the Balls To Cancer charity.
200,000 men are diagnosed with cancer every year. 80,000 of those will die from their cancer.
As with the first calendar, a proportion of the money raised through the sales of the calendar goes to Balls To Charity and to the inclusive rugby clubs involved.
The Naked Rugby Players calendar is here and it contains 52 nekkid mens!
Six LGBT rugby clubs around Britain got starkers earlier this year to raise awareness for both inclusive rugby and the importance for guys to check their tackle for lumps and bumps, in partnership with the Balls To Cancer charity.
From Edinburgh to London, Swansea to Manchester, Northampton to Newcastle, the teams braved the cold, the driving rain (and the rare occasion of sunshine) to bare all on the pitch, locker rooms and showers. Money raised from the sales of calendars help support the clubs involved and the Balls To Cancer charity.
Photographer Monty McKinnen said,
“Turning up to each club was a challenge as we didn’t know who the players would be, or how comfortable they’d be when we asked them to strip and get up close to pose with each other. It turned out in the end they didn’t need much encouragement to derobe. In fact at one club we turned around to find them all stood there naked on the pitch before I’d even got the camera out!
“I have so much admiration for these guys who bared all for charity. 200,000 men are diagnosed with cancer every year. 80,000 of those will die from their cancer. It’s time we got to grips and get a hand on the situation. I hope this calendar empowers guys to check their packages more often and to feel comfortable talking about male cancers.”
One in two men will suffer cancer in the UK during their lifetimes. Cancers which are detected early, such as testicular cancer, are beatable – but only if the message gets through that men should check their equipment regularly, which is why the Calendar features a cheeky monthly reminder.
In total 52 guys of all shapes and sizes got completely naked for the calendar, which the organisers hope will bring much needed attention to testicular cancer and the importance of LGBT+ inclusive sports in the UK.
Bridgend in South Wales seems to be enjoying a bit of a heatwave as I make my way to meet Russ Hughes, the photographer and creator of the Boys of Bridgend for a chat about the upcoming 2016 calendar. Well, it might not be a heatwave but it’s definitely warmer than usual for April and things are about to get a whole lot hotter as he’s promised to bring along one of this year’s new recruits for a chat. There are definitely worse ways to spend an afternoon.
I arrive to catch the tail end of an ongoing shoot, though I seem to have missed the opportunity for naked men with this one. It’s a young woman getting head shots for a portfolio, I’m informed. As she leaves, in walks Rhys, one of the calendars newest recruits who I can only describe as ‘traditionally beautiful’. Even fully dressed you can see that he is in splendid shape with his boyish good looks and cheeky smile. I’m impressed. If this is a taster of what is to come with the new calendar then pulses are set to race the world over.
We sit, drinks are poured and our chat begins. I’m interested to know how the Boys of Bridgend began. Unlike other calendars on the market, the guys who feature here aren’t part of a collective group or team and while some of them have known each other for a long time, the only solid connection that seems to bring them all together is that they all hail from this small Welsh town. So I begin by asking Russ how it all came to be.
“I’m asked on a regular basis to do charity work, be it donating shoots as prizes or shooting charity events, but I wanted to do something more to help, so one day I hit on the idea of a calendar and it all went from there. I’d never done anything like it before and I had no idea about the amount of work that it needed, but once I set my mind to it there was no stopping me. I just had to work out who to shoot, where to shoot, how to fund it and how to get it made on a tiny budget. I also set myself a timescale of 3 months to get it all done. Now that I know what I know, that seems insane, but I went into it a bit naïve and looking for a challenge and I definitely set myself one.”
Russ Hughes/Boys Of Bridgend
The 2015 calendar went on to be a big success, selling in over 35 countries, so it seems that it was a challenge that he managed to overcome, but what about the process of making it. How did it get off the ground?
“I’d love to say that it was plain sailing but it seemed like we hit brick walls at every turn. On the day of the very first shoot the model text me to say he was pulling out. I think he’d spent too long overthinking it and had talked himself out of it by the time the shoot day came. We were already miles behind schedule and I was panicking like you wouldn’t believe. I text one of the other guys who finished work and drove over, so we at least got the shoot done, but we were still a guy short. By the time we had completed all 12 shoots we had lost a further 2 guys who then had to be replaced, and we were still behind schedule. Aside from the shoot problems, we also had trouble finding funding to even get it printed. Companies just weren’t interested. In the back of my mind I was worried that I would be left with hundreds of pictures but no calendar to put them in. I ended up paying over half of the printing costs myself just to make sure that it was made and nobody ended up disappointed.”
You’ve been teasing us on social media with snippets from this year’s calendar, which is very obviously different from what we’ve seen before, so what sparked the change?
“There’s a couple of reasons, really, but mostly because of how well the last calendar did. We always thought that we would sell a couple of copies locally, raise some money for the charity and that would be that, but it went down a storm and people were buying it from all over the world. It was obviously a winning formula so changing that this year is a bit of a risky move, but we don’t want to get complacent, either. We did it one way and it worked well, so now we want to test the water and give everyone something different. People who have already bought the calendar already have lots of black and white images of naked men in the Bridgend countryside, so if and when they decide to buy the new calendar we will be giving them something completely different for their money so it won’t seem like they’ve paid for the same thing twice. We’ve put out teasers on Facebook and Twitter which have had a really positive response, which is brilliant, but just like last year, you haven’t seen anything yet. The final calendar images are still under lock and key and have been seen by nobody.”
“Keeping things fresh and new is what we want to do, and we really have changed everything. The theme of the calendar is completely different, we’ve got a bunch of new guys and we’ve also changed the charity we will be supporting this year as well.”
Russ Hughes/Boys Of Bridgend
Money raised from the 2015 calendar went on to support the Everyman Appeal, which benefits men who suffer from testicular and prostate cancer, while money from the 2016 calendar will go towards the Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation. How did that partnership come about?
“The guys over at the StandUp Foundation have been amazing. Really, truly amazing. We have had such a great response from fans and we really want to be as interactive as possible, so when work started on the new calendar we put it to our supporters for them to suggest charities that they would like to see us donate to. The response was incredible and there were lots of worthwhile charities thrown into the mix, but the one that came up over and over was the StandUp Foundation, so it was a no brainer for us. We contacted them to explain who we are and what we do and within an hour they were on the phone to us to get it in place and they have been fantastic ever since. The work they do, especially within the LGBT community has been so brilliant and the fact that we can help them is amazing. It’s like we’ve come full circle. It’s no secret that if it weren’t for the LGBT community the first calendar would have been nowhere near the success that it was. They really took us to their hearts and gave us sales all over the world. I love the fact that we can now give back to them in some way by supporting a charity that does so much work, both here in the UK and elsewhere in the world, to tackle homophobia. If we can make one persons’ life a little easier through sales of this calendar then we will have done something worthwhile.”
“It really is an amazing charity,” adds Rhys. “I do a lot of charity work but I’m especially proud to be supporting the StandUp Foundation. What this charity is striving to achieve and already have achieved is a massive boost for not just the youth but people of all ages. No-one should have to grow up being bullied or feeling ashamed. It’s bad enough to witness it let alone being the one on the receiving end of it, so the message the charity is sending out is such an important one. We all need to stand up and hopefully we can encourage more people to acknowledge what is going on and do more to help stop it.”
And it was just those sort of prejudices that put another spanner in the works for the boys this year which could have seen them have to cancel the 2016 calendar altogether.
“Yeah, it was a really sh**y time, actually. After the success of the last calendar we had companies actually approaching us wanting to help fund the next one, which was a big relief for us. When I had a meeting with them to discuss the new theme and charity our biggest sponsor decided to pull out. He didn’t want his company to be seen to be supporting LGBT causes as he thought the association would be detrimental, and so that was that. We didn’t try to persuade him as that’s not the kind of attitude that we want to be associated with, either, so we were happy to part ways but it left us with a big hole to cover our printing costs. We decided to dip our toe into Crowdfunding to see if that would help and luckily we have ourselves some amazing supporters because we hit our target in 8 days. How amazing is that? All our former sponsor did was confirm the fact that we were supporting the right charity this year, and once again the LGTB community came through for us when we really needed it.”
I was keen to know how Rhys, a 24 year old support worker, found himself signing up to appear in the latest calendar. Was there any sort of audition process or did you manage to just win them over with your looks? (Cue lots of blushing)
“I’ll have to leave all the ladies and gentlemen decide about my looks I think. I just saw an advert that was posted way back in January to say they were looking for guys for the new calendar so I thought I would give it a go and sent over some pictures. They asked some questions about me, I think to make sure I would be comfortable getting my kit off, and about my job and age, stuff like that, and then it all sort of went from there. It all happened pretty quickly, really. I’ve done a lot of charity work in the past, though nothing like this, but I am up for anything so I figured I’d give it a go and it’s been great.”
And what about the shoot? You didn’t have to get naked in the great outdoors like last year’s recruits, but how did you find the overall process of it?
“It was actually a really great experience, to be honest. Shooting with the props was really funny. That was probably my favourite part of the shoot because we had a good laugh doing it. Russ helped me to settle in really quickly and we just got in with it. I wasn’t nervous or shy but I wasn’t sure how I would take to doing the poses. When you see photo shoots they always look great but you never realise how awkward it can feel because it’s not something you naturally do, but Russ was happy with what we got so I left feeling confident that it went well.”
All of the guys from this year are being kept firmly under wraps, so has it been difficult to keep the secret about what you’re doing? Does anyone know?
“I checked with Russ and then told my parents, brother and my partner. I think I will probably get a bit of a ribbing from the boys I play football with when they find out, especially when they see some of the shots we took, but they will know it’s for a good cause so it will all be in good fun. My family thought it was hilarious but they’re really proud of me for doing it.”
So what’s next then? Calendar buying time is still a few months away but you’re all still hard at work. What can we expect to see from you over the coming months?
“We don’t want to take anyone or anything for granted. We’re trying really hard to be as interactive as possible and get amongst our followers and supporters, so we’re on Twitter and Facebook every day chatting with people and keeping everyone up to date. It’s important to us that we build connections with people rather than disappear for eight months of the year and then come begging when we have something to sell. We want to be approachable and friendly and not just be salesmen. We’re constantly thinking up ways to bring content to people and we release new teaser images all the time to show people what we’re doing. We’re hoping to be able to get out on the road this summer and go to some local Pride’s so if anyone wants to see us, get in touch. We’ve got a big reveal coming shortly where everyone will finally get to see all the guys from the new calendar for the first time and loads more merchandise coming out as well so if the calendar isn’t enough, you’ll soon be able to buy clothes, keyrings, mugs and loads of other stuff, with money from all sales going to the charity. We’ve also been working on video content, some of which you can see already on YouTube, with more to be released throughout the year. It’s going to be a busy few months. Bigger and Better. That’s what we keep telling everyone.
Orthodox Calendar is the title of wall calendars and videos first published in 2012, featuring nude and semi-nude photographs of members of the Orthodox Church. The calendar is the brainchild of a group composed mostly of Orthodox eastern Europeans of the former communist region. The primary goal was to create the very first organised global effort against homophobia in the Orthodox Region. At the same time, the calendar takes an ironic approach to the Orthodox Church itself, which in recent years has been embroiled in artist repression, questionable behaviour and homophobia.
Through their unconventional and bold images, Orthodox Calendar’s creative team seeks to counteract the negative and outdated influences of most of the Orthodox Church leadership. While recognizing that change might not come quickly to the official Orthodox Church position, Orthodox Calendar nonetheless believes that at least it can encourage people to reflect and realise that there is an urgent need for an update in values as part of the modern society.
Through their unconventional and bold images, Orthodox Calendar’s creative team seeks to counteract the negative and outdated influences of most of the Orthodox Church leadership. While recognizing that change might not come quickly to the official Orthodox Church position, Orthodox Calendar nonetheless believes that at least it can encourage people to reflect and realise that there is an urgent need for an update in values as part of the modern society.
The first series in 2013, called “For freedom of speech, unity and tolerance” tells the individual story of 12 intensely masculine young men and their guests representing different parts of Eastern Europe. All are open-minded and believe that it is important to be perceived as individuals committed to diversity and acceptance against homophobia who reject contempt and violence. Disrespect for gay human beings weakens thousands of children and adolescents, promotes risk-taking, and increases vulnerability to HIV and those steeped in silence, shame and secrecy.
The second series in 2014, called “LOVE IS LOVE – ORTHODOX OR NOT!” pays tribute to gay marriage. It’s the story of young gay couples from Eastern Europe sharing a common dream of one day being able to wed their beloved at the altar of their local Orthodox chapel.
The third series (#OC2015) called “S.A.L.I.G.I.A (Superbia, Avaritia, Luxuria, Invidia, Gula, Ira, Acedia)” pays tribute to social tolerance. The story takes place on the right bank of the Moskva River south of Moscow, where some priests believe that same-sex unions are NOT a sign of the coming apocalypse, contrary to what Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill may claim. These priests set out, in a humorous way, to remind the world that homosexuality is NOT one of the 7 deadly sins and in fact that Jesus Christ never even referred to homosexuality as a sin!
Yet in the words of many in the Orthodox hierarchy, LGBT people have suddenly become the worst kind of sinners – an omen of the impending end of the world. What about wrath, avarice, sloth, pride, lust, envy and gluttony?
Starting today, anyone can discover #OC2015 wall calendar pictures by simply ordering on-line from Amazon or directly from their store at www.orthodox-calendar.com/shop. The price for the classic wall calendar is €18.99 and the explicit version is €34,95. The “Making Of” DVD is priced at €16,99. Check out the Orthodox Calendar on Facebook:www.facebook.com/CalendarOrtodoxAVA and Twitter: @OrthodoxCalenda
And we’re loving it… Those clever bods at ASOS certainly know how to get our attention… Afterall what’s not to like – male models, semi nekid…
We’re very keen on Mr June and Mr August AKA Alex and Ollie – What do you think?
The Cover…
Hello Mr June…
Play it again Sam… sorry Ollie..
Here’s the ASOS Blurb…
ASOS has launched its exclusive ASOS Boys 2014 calendar featuring some of the most popular male models at ASOS including Ollie Loudon, Alex Libby and George Alsford.
Produced by the ASOS Studio Team, all proceeds from the calendar will be donated to the ASOS Foundation, an independent charitable trust which provides young people with life-changing opportunities, support and inspiration through long-term partnerships with established charities.
The calendar is available to purchase at ASOS, priced at £8. Here is the calendar. About ASOS Foundation
The ASOS Foundation is an independent charitable trust, funded by ASOS and supported by our employees and customers. Its mission is to provide young people with life-changing opportunities, support and inspiration through long-term partnerships with established charities. Wherever we help, we hope to create sustainable and long-lasting change.
_Diverse_Publishing_%2B_Monty_McKinnen_(1).jpg "52 guys got completely starkers to raise money for testicular cancer in this calendar 21")
_Diverse_Publishing_%2B_Monty_McKinnen_(1).jpg "52 guys got completely starkers to raise money for testicular cancer in this calendar 23")
