It’s a serious question that will give many innocent male bystanders pause: Where the hell are all the plus-sized male models? While the fashion and beauty industries have increasingly embraced curvy and plus-sized models like Bobbi Brown endorser Kate Upton and Calvin Klein model Myla Dalbesio, their male counterparts are surprisingly scant.
It’s this lack of body positivity that casual wear brand Chubbies is taking a stand against with the launch of the Chubbies Man Model Search, or as co-founder Tom Montgomery calls them, the “Chub n’ Dales.”
“I will say there’s a certain level of seriousness and loftiness and lack of relatability [in] men’s fashion,” Tom observes in an interview with Mic. Instead of feeling frustrated, however, it got him thinking.
“Our customer base is just full of some of the most awesome and some of the most relatable and aspirational people that we know,” he says. “Why shouldn’t these guys be the models in our campaign?”
Makes sense—not all dudes can be borta, after all.
Of course, this push for publicity is apt for their main product line: thigh-baring shorts with forgiving elastic bands that allow men to put on some gradual poundage over the years. (Their company slogan is “Sky’s out, thigh’s out.”)
In the description for the campaign video, which they launched on YouTube, the company states: “Somewhere along the way it was decided for us, not by us, what it took to be a ‘male model.’ Somewhere along the way a working knowledge of Nair and gluten-free groceries became prerequisites for joining the industry. Well not anymore. We’re taking a stand. Because last time we checked, this is America. Where men are not meant to be judged by the amount of pomade in their faux-hawks but by the fire in their eyes.”
10 winners will be chosen through public voting for the Chubbies Man Model Search, and each one will receive two-year modeling contracts with the company and a lifetime supply of Chubbies shorts.
Suh-weet!
Watch the full promo video below.
Photos courtesy of Mic