Warwick Rowers return from press tour of America

The University of Warwick Men’s Rowing Team have launched their fundraising efforts in new markets with a recent promotional tour of the USA.

Five student representatives of the club, which has a large following within the gay community, spent 12 days in New York, Los Angeles and Miami at the beginning of December.

They conducted a range of interviews and photoshoots, and were covered by media platforms including The Huffington Post, E! News, Fox, GQ, Gay Times and Buzzfeed.

The publicity trip was to boost sales of their 2015 Naked Calendar and to promote the philanthropic dimension of their efforts, whereby 10% of sales proceeds go to anti-homophobia and anti-bullying charities.

The team, described as “Gay Britain’s favourite nude pin-ups” by GayStar News, received a positive response from media and Twitter sources in a country traditionally unfamiliar with the ‘Naked Calendar’ as a concept.

Reaction to the rowers focussed on the wide-ranging success of the calendar, which, as The Huffington Post noted, is now sold in 77 countries and has thus far raised “over $300,000”.

The trip was paid for through previous years’ calendar sales. A publicist was hired to help the club connect with the media, although no media training was done beforehand.

There was no external or official assistance from Warwick University.

The intensity of the experience took the group by surprise. A member of the group told the Boar: “None of us realised how much work it was going to be.

“We were up at seven in the morning most days and I came down with a cold by the end of the trip.”

They also found time to shoot stills for their 2016 calendar, attend the LA premier of their ‘making-of’ film, and take part in the Elizabeth Taylor World Aids Day event held in West Hollywood.

Some interviews focussed on the culture shock of being in America. Thomas Robinson, a second-year History student, told the New York Times: “Single women here just see you and go for it.”

He added: “They’re more bullish in the US than they are in the UK.”

More often the interviews highlighted how far the calendar concept has come in six years, where, the rowers admitted, it was initially just their grandparents that bought it.

In the intervening years, as sales have accelerated, the message behind the calendar has also been refined. Since then, a charity, Sport Allies, has been launched by the Rowing Club as a vehicle to combat homophobia in sport.

He added: “The best moment personally was attending an event at Princeton University. It was an honour to highlight our work at such a prestigious place.”

Whilst at Princeton the group explained: “We [as Sport Allies] wanted to say we’re not only getting naked and raising money for our club, we’re also getting naked for gay men.”

Angus Malcolm, the club photographer stated: “Sport Allies is about recognizing that the LGBT community is marginalized in sports, and this is about saying that’s not right.”

Recent research shows that 30 percent of American athletes report being harassed or attacked because of their sexual orientation whilst participating in a sports team.

The group member admits he is touched by the reaction to the trip, both from home and abroad, citing one tweet in particular from a former Warwick student, thanking the group for their efforts.

The anonymous tweet to the rowers (@naked_rowers), sent during the trip, stated: “I’m a closeted former student of the university, and I wanted to say thanks for the amazing work you are doing.”