We Talk to Aussie Rugby Player (and Gay Ally) Nick Youngquest

Even before professional rugby player Nick Youngquest struck up his public friendship with his out teammate Gareth Thomas, many gay men were already aware of the very handsome Youngquest.

After all, the 26-year-old Australian has appeared in rather racy pictorials for not one, but three gay magazines – DNA in Australia, Attitude in the UK and the French magazine Têtu. And those weren’t even the first time Youngquest had stripped down, having first done so in 2006 for a charity calendar in Australia that raised funds for National Breast Cancer Foundation.

But it is Youngquest’s recent friendship with his Celtic Crusaders teammate Gareth Thomas – so humorously documented via their tweets – that has elevated Youngquest from just being a sex symbol for gay men to actually being an incredibly cool gay ally. 

By showing he’s not only comfortable being admired by gay men, but in so publicly being “mates” with them, and even – gasp! – sharing a locker room with a real live gay rugby player, Youngquest has demonstrated that the homophobia of professional athletes like Australian rules footballer Jason Akermanis isn’t the only attitude in the sporting world.

AfterElton.com recently caught up with Youngquest via email to discuss being a gay sex symbol, how he came by his pro-gay attitudes and more, (Note: AfterElton normally does not do email interviews but given Jason’s schedule and the fact he’s in Europe, we made an exception.)

AfterElton.com: How did you and Gareth meet?
Nick Youngquest: Gareth and I met this year when he came to the club we both now play for called the Crusaders. I remember the first day he turned up and everybody was in awe of him because he is such a big deal in the rugby world, especially here in Wales!