If your wall is looking bare, we have the perfect stocking stuffer for you.
Worldwide Roar, formerly known as the Warwick Rowers, has released its 2021 nude calendar just in time for the holidays. The twelfth edition calendar (and the second as Worldwide Roar) continues to build on WR’s long-standing commitment to challenging homophobia, toxic masculinity, gender equality, and systemic racism.
This year’s calendar joins a huge range of existing products including ROAR Portfolio monthly digital subscription, five stunning large format coffee table books, limited edition art prints, premium quality embroidered onesies and of course, a very stylish face mask!
Learn more about the calendar at WorldwideRoar.org and read more about the history below.
Nearly 40 percent of the men in this year’s calendar identify as LGBTQ+. Since starting its calendar in 2010 as the Warwick Rowers, the popular nonprofit has raised over £250,000 (nearly $333,000) for great causes including Sport Allies, whose mission is to use sport as an inclusive and supportive route to personal growth.
This summer, Worldwide Roar began funding an international academic research program led by professor Brendan Gough at Leeds Beckett University in England and professor Michael Kehler at the University of Calgary in Canada that will gain insight into male mental health and seeks to learn how healthier masculinities impact society.
More information on the study, called Athletes for Action, can be found at the study’s own website.
“I had to break through some personal barriers to come out as LGBTQ+ and then a few more to get naked for inclusion,” world-record holding rower and former Olympic rower (2012 and 2016), Robbie Manson, pictured here from 2019's calendar, said in a statement.
“But it’s been worth it. Coming out and later taking part in WR enabled me to show that embracing openness and vulnerability can make you a better man. We must support men to break free from set ideas and expectations that are damaging to them and to the people around them. The urgency of this is becoming clearer every day.”
Former rower and long-time contributor, Lucas Etienne (pictured here), has been working with the project on both sides of the camera for five years. He saw that men taking their clothes off to support LGBTQ+ rights could form the basis for a broader commitment to healthier masculinity.
“Our society has rightly begun to address how we look at women, and how that promotes abusive thinking and behaviour," Etienne said. "It’s long overdue and there’s still a long way to go. That’s why we must also challenge how we look at men, and how men see themselves and each other. Too many men ask to be looked at with fear and awe instead of love and respect. We must drop our barriers, embrace equality and welcome being looked at by people of all genders and sexualities. I’ve done it and although I’m no exhibitionist, it’s been a positive, liberating experience.”
“We are proud of our 10 year history as the Warwick Rowers, and we celebrate that history by keeping the initials WR from our original name,” the nonprofit said in a statement.
“Now, as the Worldwide Roar we are able to share that history and the incredible experiences it has given us with sportsmen everywhere. We want sportsmen everywhere to feel that they truly own WR’s future as a global voice for healthier masculinities.”
Want to get involved with Worldwide Roar? Every participant embarks on a transformative personal journey that equips them to become active partners in creating a more inclusive world for everyone.
All men regardless of age, ethnicity, sexuality, birth gender, or physical disability are welcome. To register, visit SquadWR.org.
