Barefoot Man Calendar 2024 - All Photography: Angus Malcolm

Not only do the guys of Barefoot Man produce a calendar each year but they also release a number of downloadable movies which show more of the guys in action. The films are a quality production and are full of sexy rowers showing off their impressive oars and rollocks. Despite the fun they are all serious sportsmen and there are some World class competitive rowers among them.

You can purchase the calendar and films, as well as loads of other items from the Barefoot Man Website.

Angus, how do you find such glorious locations for the pictures?
Well, a lot of it is to do with who's willing to give us free locations because we try to avoid spending a lot. I know that sometimes people in the past have thought, "Oh my God, look at these guys from Barefoot Man. They are just gallivanting around the world, having a fantastic time in all these glamorous locations." But the truth of it is that we generally go where the free stuff is. A supporter gave us a house in Bel Air, and a famous Italian TV journalist gave us the use of his apartment in Positano in Italy. And then of course, because I spend a lot of time here in Spain, we have lots of beautiful locations in Andalusia. If anybody has a location that they would like to offer us, we're always very happy to hear about it.

For over a decade, their award-winning calendars, films and books have been promoting inclusion, gender equality, LGBT rights and healthier masculinities. With the help of thousands of supporters around the world, they have created and funded Sport Allies, a registered charity that builds on the message of sports-led inclusion through media partnerships.

Approximately 6% of the UK population is gay and yet homophobia in sport remains a serious issue in the UK. 70% of British gay males under the age of 22 who play team sport are either completely or partially closeted from their teammates. Reasons for this include a fear of bullying, a fear of being rejected by teammates and a concern about discrimination from officials.

73% of youth in one study do not believe that youth sports are a ‘supportive and safe’ place for lesbian, gay and bisexual participants. More than 55% of young LGBT+ people had been directly bullied in school.

Angus, are you surprised that there's still so much homophobia in society, even now?
Well I spoke earlier about the evolution of this project and we definitely started as a gay straight alliance. The idea was that straight sportsmen could make gay men feel more included in the world of sport. If they said, "We acknowledge your sexuality by taking our clothes off because we're guys too. And we know that you'll appreciate that." And, of course, gay men have very much appreciated the work of the rowers over the years.

But as time went on and as we started getting the interest of academics at universities who started interacting with us, we realised that was my way into this story. That was my lived experience. My big bang moment when I was in puberty of being confronted with a man's naked body and my journey to reaching a healthy relationship with that moment. The world is full of hegemonic masculinity, a preponderance of influence and authority that some men believe they have over others - it affects everything not just homophobia. It's about misogyny and sexism. And it's also about structural racism, and the belief that one class of person is better than another. All these things come from the same place.

Minorities - those people who are not straight white men, have to fit around the margins of the agenda of straight white men. We need to redefine the all-male space. This project does that. Instead of enabling toxic banter among men who think alike, we try to create a healing space where a diverse range of men can come together to explore what masculinity means to them. It gives them perspective on how differently we experience life. It's the key to becoming sport allies, and why we called the charity the name we did. This is not just about helping men. Healthier masculinity works for everyone.

Barefoot Man are always on the lookout for more guys to get involved. Everyone taking part embarks on a transformative personal journey that equips them to become active partners in creating a more inclusive world for everyone. They welcome men regardless of age, ethnicity, sexuality, birth gender or physical disability. They are particularly keen to include more BIPOC athletes, who have historically been under-represented in their photoshoots.

You must be over 18, identify as male and be active in some form of organised sport. Otherwise, they aim to be as inclusive as possible and to embrace men and trans men of all ages, ethnicities, sexualities, and physical abilities. They are particularly keen to increase the visibility in our project of people who are BIPOC, LGBTQ+ or play parasports.

Angus, what made you decide to change your name from Warwick Rowers to Worldwide Roar, and now Barefoot Man?
Well, there were a few reasons. I think the most important one, really, was that we wanted to grow as a project and it became unsustainable for one small boat club to provide all the visible faces for this project. That was one thing. And the second thing was that, actually, there were a lot of people who were very interested in what we were doing but didn't row at Warwick University. Well, why should they be excluded? Over the last year or two there's also been comments on the lack of black visibility in our project, so we set out to fix that.

The truth of it is that if we had stayed as Warwick Rowers, there would never be any black visibility in our project because that's such a very small subset of the population that we would be working from. And we want it to be more inclusive - moving on now to Barefoot Man achieves that.

Homophobia, gender equality and healthier masculinity are all related. They are issues that affect people of all genders and sexualities, and we must all work together to create a healthier environment where everyone can thrive.

A proportion of every sale is donated to Barefoot Sport Allies, a charity that aims to combat homophobia in team sports and to promote an inclusive and supportive route to personal growth for everyone.

Throughout 2024 the project will be launching new online courses, podcasts, live events, and a major new virtual exhibition space. They want to get the message out there with a calendar that helps everyone to see men differently.

Angus, thank you so much for telling us all about Barefoot Man. Good luck with this year's calendar!




Part 1 of the Pictures and our interview about Barefoot Man

You can purchase a Calendar direct from the Barefoot Man Website for just £21.99. This year as a special promotion you can add two calendars to your basket and you will only pay for one. On the site you'll also find loads of other items including photo sets, film downloads, signed limited editions and picture profiles of some the guys.

Please support this fantastic cause and buy yourself and your friends a really great Barefoot Man Calendar for 2024.

See the Barefoot Sport Allies website: sportallies.org
Tweet Sport Allies @SportAllies: twitter.com/SportAllies
Find Sport Allies on Facebook here: facebook.com/SportAlliesCharity

 

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