17c起草社区

FROM BuzzFeed to The Advocate, Simon Dunn has been popping up all over the place in recent months, tackling gay stereotypes and homophobia in sport one story at a time.

It鈥檚 partly because the rugby union player, a longterm member of the gay-inclusive Sydney Convicts team, grabbed media attention when he made the switch to elite bobsleigh and became the first openly-gay man in the world to do so.

His rise is also partly because of his huge following on social media, especially Instagram.

Since moving to Calgary, Canada almost 18 months ago, Dunn has already competed in bobsleigh tournaments in various places around North America as part of the Australia 2 team.

鈥淎s an openly-gay athlete, I feel passionate about representing my country, and redefining the identity of the sport, one unmarred by sexual orientation,鈥� Dunn told the 17c起草社区 in December.

In an interview with the UK鈥檚 Attitude magazine in February, Dunn said he knew he was gay from a very young age but his passion for rugby made him take a very long time to come to terms with it.

鈥淚 didn鈥檛 come out until my final year (of school). There鈥檚 only so many excuses you can use as to why you won鈥檛 date girls before people start to ask questions… I used them all,鈥� he said.

鈥淲hen I first came out I tried to fit into the 鈥榥ormal鈥� gay image: I gave up sport, spent a lot of time in clubs, etc.

鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 until I started playing (rugby again) for the Convicts and found a group of guys with similar interests that I was truly happy with myself.鈥�

Dunn鈥檚 loyalty to the Convicts is such that he made a quick trip home in August last year to play with them and help them win the Bingham Cup Sydney 2014 gay rugby world cup tournament.

He said the crossover from rugby to bobsleigh all came down to 鈥渓uck鈥�.

When he relocated to Calgary, he began working for at the Winter Sports Institute. In his spare time he played for the local rugby team, and it was during one of these training sessions that he was invited try out for the Australian bobsleigh team.

He succeeded, and is now the brakeman for Lucas Mata, who competed in Sochi.

鈥淭he rest is history,鈥� Dunn told Attitude.

His newfound fame sparked a lot of interest and attention: he has over 20,000 Instagram followers and thousands of Facebook fans. His photos have also featured in various stories and viral 鈥渓isticles鈥� around the world, including ranking number 76 on BuzzFeed Australia鈥檚 hottest 100 Australian men for Australia Day.

Despite his legion of fans, he remains single.

鈥淚鈥檝e had a few offers, mostly in Australia, which isn鈥檛 very convenient considering I live in Canada,鈥� he joked, before going on to admit his crushes on One Direction鈥檚 Liam Payne and English Olympic diver Tom Daley.

鈥淚鈥檓 good friends with Matt Mitcham, and I tried for years to get him to set me up with Tom Daley. Obviously it didn鈥檛 work.鈥�

Nonetheless, Dunn hoped to inspire other young gay sportsmen with his internet fame, believing it would be a win for him if even one kid grew up realising their sexuality wasn鈥檛 an issue in the sporting environment.

鈥淯nfortunately the majority of the gay community have been bullied, me included,鈥� Dunn told Attitude.

鈥淪o speak up. If you suffer in silence the only person that suffers is you.

鈥淪peaking up can easily resolve the issue.鈥�

**This article was first published in the April聽edition of the 17c起草社区, which is . To obtain a physical copy, to find out where you can grab one in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Canberra and select regional/coastal areas.