Eleven ordinary men have bravely stripped to their boxers to star in the debut campaign from a new, inclusive underwear range.
British boxer shorts brand Surge tapped up men of all ages, shapes and sizes to bare all for their photo shoot, designed to represent a cross-section of men across the UK rather than an 'unattainable' image of perfection.
Surge's brand director Austin Armacost, a familiar face from reality TV shows in the US who also stripped off to appear in the shoot himself, said the shoot was a deliberate effort to not ostracise anyone.
'Men with muscles, skinny guys, larger guys... we want them all to feel sexy and confident when wearing our brand,' he said.
The team at Surge felt that while the female fashion industry has made significant strides around body diversity - the same can't be said of men's clothing.
New men's underwear brand Surge is set to debut with a campaign that celebrates diversity (pictured L-R: Luis Gabriel Gonzalez-Castro, 40; James Andrew Vickery, 23; Daniel Leo Stanley, 30; Austyn Farrell, 25; Austin Armacost, 30; Scott Keith, 35; James Slevin, 25; Christopher Paul Barnes, 43; Jay Kamiraz, 39; Dexter Montgomery, 18; and Jordan James, 21)
Austin said: 'We sat down and designed this range over a year ago and from day one it was decided that our brand was going to be an inclusive brand.
'Every single person is beautiful and this needs to be celebrated more. There is a lot of talk of female high street brands using plus size models but where are the men?
'We want to add towards overcoming an unattainable beauty standard and display an accurate representation of the 'Every day man'.
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ShareAccording to the brand's research, one in 10 men training in UK gyms could have a condition which can lead to depression, steroid abuse and suicide in relation to the rise in muscle dysmorphia.
In 2017, NHS figures show the number of men being admitted to hospital with an eating disorder had risen by 70 per cent over the past six years, and those referred for treatment had risen by more than 40 per cent in the past two years.
Discussing the pressures to look a certain way, the eleven models spoke candidly about their own battle with body image.
Christopher Paul Barnes
Christopher Paul Barnes (pictured), 43, from London revealed the best part of his body is his chest. He believes social media hasn't impacted how people view their body
Christopher Paul Barnes, 43, from London insists he doesn't think social media has impacted the way people view their bodies.
Standing at 5 ft 6in, Christopher who weighs 11 stone, says he feels comfortable naked and sees his chest as the best part of his body.
Daniel Leo Stanley
Daniel Leo Stanley (pictured), 30, from Brighton claims he tries to ignore pressure to confirm to society's standards of being muscular
Daniel Leo Stanley, 30, from Brighton, also says he feels comfortable naked - and claims the constant comparison with others on social media 'is normal, but at such a high rate is unhealthy'.
Speaking about the pressure to meet society's expectations of looking a certain way, the 5 ft 8in hair expert said: 'Not a certain way, but generally there is a pressure to lose weight and to be muscly. I do try to ignore that and work with my body's natural size and shape.'
Describing his favourite body parts, Daniel said: 'My mouth because I have nice lips and teeth. My legs because they are big and thick.'
Dexter Montgomery
Dexter Montgomery (pictured), 18, from Essex revealed he has become more confident of his body since undergoing an operation
Dexter Montgomery, 18, from Essex who weighs 17 stone 2 lbs and stands at 5 ft 11in, admits he used to hate the way he looked.
Speaking about his confidence when naked, Dexter said: 'More so than before my operation, I used to hate the way I looked. But I'm a lot more accepting of my body.
Dexter whose favourite aspects of himself include his legs and hair colour, revealed he does feel pressure to look a certain way.
He continued: '[Social media] makes people feel they need to look a certain way, but there are a lot of body positivity accounts which is good. A lot of changes still need to be done.
Scott Keith
Scott Keith, 35, from London claims social media only shows edited images and there is a pressure to be 'ripped'
Scott Keith, 35, from London who weighs 9 stone and is 5 ft 7in, admits at times he doesn't feel comfortable naked and feels there is a pressure to look a certain way as 'all "models" are ripped and not normal'.
He said: 'Sometimes [I feel good] if I'm having a good day and I've not had too many carbs.'
Speaking on social media's impact on body image, Scott, whose favourite body part is his eyes, continued: 'You only see perfect people posing that have been touched up.'
Luis Gabriel Gonzalez-Castro
Luis Gabriel Gonzalez-Castro (pictured), 40, from London claims he makes a conscious effort to keep away from anything that causes him pressure to look a certain way
Luis Gabriel Gonzalez-Castro, 40, from London revealed he feels comfortable naked and his legs are his favourite part of his body. He weighs 13 stone 9 lbs and has a height of 5 ft 11in, and says at times he does feel pressure to look a certain way.
He said: 'At times yes, but I'm trying to come away from that feeling.
'In a positive way [social media] has made people really consider their lifestyle. Not necessarily to look perfect but to be healthier from the inside.'
James Andrew Vickery
James Andrew Vickery (pictured), 23, from London believes everyone should embrace the way they look
James Andrew Vickery, 23, from London who is 5 ft 9in, says he doesn't feel a pressure to look a certain way and believes everyone should embrace their appearance.
He said: 'We were born to look the way we should, so we need to embrace that and not be ashamed of what we look like.
'My favourite part of my body would have to be my eyes, but if we had to talk about being naked then it would be something more explicit.
'Social media has affected people's views in many ways because people nowadays have to portray a certain image into today's world.
'Social media is a massive platform nowadays and people use it more to see what people are doing, looking like and of course to judge.'
Jordan James
Jordan James (pictured), 21, from Wokingham says he only feels comfortable naked sometimes and thinks his bum is his best feature
Jordan James, 21, from Wokingham who is 5 ft 9in, revealed his bum is his favourite body part.
He says sometimes he does feel a pressure to look a certain way as on social media 'People use filters and do not show their real selves.'
James Slevin
James Slevin (pictured), 25, from Glasgow claims social media has made many people more self concious
James Slevin, 25, from Glasgow who weighs 11 stone, also claimed his bum as his favourite body part.
James stands at 5ft 9in and says he doesn't feel a pressure to look a certain way but social media has 'made people much more self-conscious.'
Austyn Farrell
Austyn Farrell (pictured), 25, from London revealed he can feel intimated by expectations to look a certain way because of his career
Austyn Farrell, 25, from London who stands at 5 ft 11in says he feels comfortable in boxers but not fully naked. The dancer who notes his thighs as his favourite attribute claims sometimes he does feel pressure to look a certain way,
He said: 'As a dancer I can be judged a lot. Especially when dancing topless on TV, I can feel very intimidated.
'I feel [social media has] done terrible things for peoples bodies, especially me. People compare bodies on social media and body shame each other too much! We live in a world now where so many people don’t feel comfortable in their own skin.'
Jay Kamiraz
Jay Kamiraz (pictured), 39, from London claims he has been a victim of body shaming and social media trolls in the past
Jay Kamiraz, 39, from London weighs 9 stone and chooses his eyes and décolletage as his best attributes.
He said: 'I feel comfortable naked behind closed doors, it has taken a while for me to get where I am with my body confidence.
'Social media and media in general does pressure you to look a certain way. I want to break away from pressure and help people feel confident.
Social media can do one of two things, it can help promote confident bodies or it can promote negativity like trolls and body shaming – I have been victim to it.'
Austin Armacost
TV's Austin Armacost (pictured), 30, says expectations to look a certain way are especially prevalent in the gay community
Austin Armacost, 30, who now resides in Leeds after finding fame on American reality TV revealed his bum is his favourite body part. The 6ft Surge brand director claims he's extremely comfortable with being naked.
He said: 'I am extremely comfortable being naked. As you can tell from one of my many nude Instagram posts. I love my body and work hard to keep it in the best shape I can. I turned 30 this year and it is definitely getting harder to maintain.
'But, I appreciate all of the various shapes and sizes of the human form. People need to embrace and appreciate variety.
'I feel pressure from beauty standards, perceived perfection, etc. within the gay community as well i find it particularly pressuring. I hope to encourage people to embrace their bodies, own every inch and every pound. You are beautiful!
'[Social media has] unfortunate the with the massive increase in apps such as FaceTune & Snapseed, picture on social media are becoming less and less authentic.
'This perpetuating an even more unattainable beauty standard. That is why I wanted to do this campaign to show people that we are all different and that is ok.'
Surge is available worldwide from www.surgeunderwear.com
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