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When I bought my first copy of Gay Times magazine as a teenager 15 years ago, the best one could hope for with celebrity representation might have been an interview with the openly gay Boy George — or maybe a straight “gay icon” such as Sinitta. You wouldn’t have expected to open up and read an interview with a straight sports star, never mind find them posing starkers for the titillation of thousands of gay boys.

Clearly, time has moved on. This Wednesday’s GT features a bevy of celebrities in the buff, and includes, most significantly, three of the attractive new faces to have appeared during the 2012 Olympics: diver Chris Mears, judo martial artist Ashley McKenzie and Luke Campbell, the gold medal-winning boxer.

For Chris Mears, who is straight, his reason for stripping off for a gay mag was simple: to take on team-mate Tom Daley. “I’m trying to steal his gay fan base by doing this shoot for GT!” he jokes. “I have no issues being around gay people. I know people through Tom who are gay and I’m good friends with them.”

Mears and his team-mates join a bevy of straight sportsmen who have recently stripped off to appeal to the gay community. They include Matt Jarvis, the West Ham footballer who appeared on the cover of Attitude and decried the lack of positive gay role models in sports, calling on closet players to come out.

In France, rugby players have a unique appeal for gay fans, thanks in part to Stade Français, the Parisian professional team which has produced a nude calendar and an accompanying homoerotic DVD each year since 2001. Initially targeting women, the calendars and the DVDs have now become — almost exclusively — the preserve of gay men, and regularly top the sales charts at many gay specialist retailers. Alexis Palisson, who plays for France, also posed on the cover of gay magazine Têtu in the buff and claimed rugby was the sport most tolerant of gay people and players.

In one sense, the straight sportsmen who appeal to gays are compensating for the lack of gay role models in sport. Just one, England cricketer Steven Davies has come out; former Welsh captain Gareth Thomas is the only rugby player to have done the same. Justin Fashanu, the one professional footballer ever to have come out, killed himself in 1997 after years of abuse.

The straight sportsmen comfortable with their sexuality, however, are happy to experiment with their “gay side”. Mears jokes about his grooming habits and says he’s often propositioned for gay sex on Twitter, something that doesn’t faze him. There’s also a commercial imperative too: although small in number, the gay community is typically better off than the national average and prepared to splash out on celebrities who appeal. As Darren Scott, GT’s editor, told me: “I think any stars — straight or not — would be daft not to appeal to the gay community. We’re loyal, loving and dedicated. It’s an accolade to be referred to as a gay icon, although we have to give you that title — you’re not allowed to proclaim yourself one, thank you very much.”

Gay Times is available to buy from Wednesday 23 January 2013