Boys of Yoga: How 6 Regular Guys Are Challenging The Stereotype

One describes himself as a ‘citizen of the world’, another as a ‘truth seeker’. They all hold down normal day jobs too, but the six guys beyond the London-based movement ‘Boys of Yoga’, have something else in common. They’re all passionate yogis.

“To most guys, yoga is pink lycra and vegan chicks,” is the opening statement to their online manifesto. But the Boys of Yoga, founded by Charlie Kelly, Michael Wong, Marc Laws II, Marcus Veda, Carl Faure and Adam Husler, say that there is more to Yoga than kale smoothies, lentils and burning incense.

Which is why they’ve pitched themselves as an uncelebrated minority, disrupting the female dominated Yoga scene and spreading the word that Yoga is not all gentle and fluffy, and certainly doesn’t compromise masculinity; it’s a practice for dudes too.

“It can make you sweat and push you to the edge,” says Marcus, who got into yoga after a football injury. “I got hooked and it slowly took over my life,” he adds.

“Stereotypes and words can confine us into a narrow tunnel, and we miss the bigger picture,” says Marc Laws II, who works for lululemon UK pushing the boundaries with menswear and is a co-founder of Yoga Connects, the UK’s biggest yoga festival taking place in July. “It can stop some of us from trying anything, because we think we’ve got it figured out based on a definition,” he adds.

Through an honest digital portrayal of life in London as a male yogi, the group are challenging common misrepresentations and the barriers that make it embarrassing or difficult for guys to get involved in Yoga. In a series of video interviews, they creatively address those barriers, and in one particularly hilarious clip… do what only a guy would do on camera.

“Guys do Yoga too. Normal guys that watch football on the weekends. It doesn’t make you less of a man; it makes you a better one. You just need to be man enough to be open to that,” says co-founder Michael.

“You can get ripped if you want,” says Charlie, not dismissing the fact. “But it’s the other incredible elements, like strength, flexibility and self-awareness, that impact life on and off the mat.”

The Boys of Yoga movement officially launched this month. Follow the journey on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

Get involved by visiting www.boysofyoga.com