Gay profsnal surfer Craig Butler once bullied kids durg his youth. It's one of his biggt regrets. Now he is tryg to change how people look at gay men sports like surfg.
Contents:
- THIS GAY SURFER STARTED AN ONLYFANS PAGE TO FEEL SEXY, AND ’S WORKG
- THIS GAY PRO SURFER ME OUT TO HIS "MAT" WHEN A GROCERY CLERK H ON HIM
- COMG OUT: TO BE A GAY SURFER
- YOUNG IRISH SURFER TO BE FIRST OPENLY GAY SURFER ON WORLD TOUR
- GAY SURFERS GET "OUT IN THE LE-UP"
- EXPLORE OUR GAY UCHSURFG PLAC
- SURFG: THE SPORT OF EEDOM? NOT IF YOU’RE GAY
- THIS GAY MEXIN SURFER ED HULA-HOOPG TO START HIS NEW LIFE
- GAY SURFER TALKS ABOUT THE NEW SURFG DOC FILM, 'OUT THE LE-UP'
THIS GAY SURFER STARTED AN ONLYFANS PAGE TO FEEL SEXY, AND ’S WORKG
A new documentary sh a light on gay surfers around the world, and fds secret liv, stggl for sponsorship – and even suicis. <strong>Will Coldwell</strong> reports * gay sufers *
Googlg expedns to the words “gay” and “homosexualy” only add to his ever-growg anxiety. Earlier this year, I spoke wh Chance Wheeler, another gay former llege athlete, who says OnlyFans allows him to feel nfint his body. “I thought would be nice if I uld fd at least one other gay surfer out there, ” he says.
And as the membership grew – to clu many who thought they were only gay surfer the world – so did the stori. Surfers, cludg many profsnal on, were wrg to Castets to expla how they had felt pelled to keep their sexualy secret, faced homophobia the sport or stggled the surf dtry as a rult of g year Thomas, along wh Atralian former state champn surfer David Wakefield – who chose not to pursue a surfg reer out of a fear of beg “found out” as gay – cid to go on a trip around the world to meet some of them. Their journey – ptured award-wng documentary Out the Le-up, which premier the UK this week – sheds a light on the experienc of gay surfers around the world as seeks to unrstand why the sport ntu to stggle to be open about the the stori heard are that of former petive surfer Sie Hernanz, whose fellow surfers and roommat moved out after fdg out she was gay.
THIS GAY PRO SURFER ME OUT TO HIS "MAT" WHEN A GROCERY CLERK H ON HIM
* gay sufers *
It also touch on the tragic se of Ben Roper, a young gay surfer om one of Sydney’s famo surf gangs, the Bra Boys, who killed himself last year.
COMG OUT: TO BE A GAY SURFER
For all of the eye-openg experienc associated wh the sport of surfg, there seems to be ltle mentn or acknowledgment of surfg’s gay muny. * gay sufers *
“I have seen so many talented female surfers e and go bee they didn’t have the support om the surfg dtry due to the fact that they were eher gay, spected of beg gay, not feme enough or they simply did not f the image that brands believe sells product, ” she says. “To e out as gay the surfg dtry is to step out of the bounds of what is nsired ‘marketable’, so I suffered the nsequenc of that, ” she actn shot om Out the Le-up.
YOUNG IRISH SURFER TO BE FIRST OPENLY GAY SURFER ON WORLD TOUR
Craig Butler is a young surfer om Ireland that is sperate to make the World Surfg League and if he do he will bee the first openly gay surfer that petn. * gay sufers *
Photograph: PRFor Ian Thomson, who directed the documentary and is himself gay and a surfer, is not jt the profsnal aspect of surfg that n feel very hostile to a gay person. The way a lot of the guys do that is by puttg other people down, and homophobic slurs are part of that. And you get this msage that if any way I show my te self – my homosexualy – I’m jt gonna get massacred out here.
GAY SURFERS GET "OUT IN THE LE-UP"
The spir of surfg is eedom, yet many surfers don't feel so ee. The surf film tells the story of all gay surfers who seek acceptance, happs and some really good wav, whout any type of discrimatn. * gay sufers *
”The issue of homosexualy and surfg draws a lot of wir problems the sport has wh diversy general – somethg that seems at odds wh the easy-gog, unterculture liftyle many feel reprents. There is still yet to be an openly gay male pro surfer at the ele level who is currently on tour – spe the fact that more tradnal sports, such as football, gby and boxg, have had succsful athlet e out. And another e is jt that there have never really been any gay surfers out there, so I would jt ll that ignorance and a lack of visibily.
”The aim of the film – which has been shortlisted to be ed as part of the tn programme Atralian high schools – is not simply to challenge homophobia surfg, but also to help refe and mornise the image of homosexualy general. “The media is still picturg gay people as livg the cy, wearg the same cloth, gog to parti …” says Castets, who feels that the perceptn of gay culture – a siar way to surfg – hasn’t evolved much sce the 80s. “I thought if we were able to make this film, we would be able to change that stereotype and show a new image of what is to be gay 2014.
EXPLORE OUR GAY UCHSURFG PLAC
Gay surf mps are, thankfully, on the rise. Here, exame the bt om Brazil, Costa Ri, the Canary Islands and Atralia! * gay sufers *
I thought that if people found out that I was gay that they would no longer want to be associated wh me and would thk of me as jt another stereotype. All the lols at home know that I'm gay, and they're not aaid to give me some harmls playful stick about the water. As a mate of me that I do a b of travelg wh for surf put , "If someone stops likg you for beg gay, then what kd of msag do that breath about that person?
SURFG: THE SPORT OF EEDOM? NOT IF YOU’RE GAY
One of my mat has known that I am gay sce school, and my other mate I've gone to great lengths to hi to him the fact that I'm gay. That night we got on the beer and I said enough is enough and turned to mate and said to him "man, I'm sorry, I'm gay. I spent a lot of my young teen years feelg like a plete loner and a total outst bee I am gay.
THIS GAY MEXIN SURFER ED HULA-HOOPG TO START HIS NEW LIFE
The bt part has been people's reactns to fdg out I'm gay and beg able to break a stereotype of gay people, pecially when surfg. When I me , I was chattg wh one of the pros and he was lghg and said he had seen the film that I am talkg about beg gay. "For all of the eye-openg experienc associated wh the sport of surfg, there still seems to be very ltle mentn or acknowledgment of surfg’s gay muny, " says Founr, Thomas C.
GAY SURFER TALKS ABOUT THE NEW SURFG DOC FILM, 'OUT THE LE-UP'
However, for all of the eye-openg experienc associated wh the sport of surfg, there still seems to be very ltle mentn or acknowledgment of surfg’s gay muny.