Barefoot Man Research Patron

As a Barefoot Research Patron, you will have a lot of contact with our twin researchers, Alex and Sebastian. Both highly experienced senior data analysts with blue chip international consultancy firms, Alex and Sebastian will want to talk to you about a range of issues that will drive our content creation, the development of our learning programme and the work we do with policy makers on supporting healthier masculinity. 

What Do You Like About Looking At Men?  

What Would You Like Other Men to Understand About Your Experience as a Man?  

Are We Delivering What You Want?   

How Could We Do Better? 

This is your chance to speak to us in live group zoom calls, one to one session and participating in surveys. 

Our Takeaway From Working with Academia: Do Your Own Research! 

We have always been a campaigning project with an ambition to educate.  We started at a university and one of our founders worked in academia on sexual health promotion.  

Our unique approach to tackling issues such as homophobia and other aspects of outdated rules of masculinity has attracted academic interest for over a decade  

We have always sought to collaborate with academics and universities, and we worked successfully with academics to establish the evidence based for the work of Sport Allies.   

Ultimately, however, we have concluded that the unusual character of our project does not fit well with the institutional character of universities. 

The COVID pandemic highlighted this problem.  We contracted two universities to undertake a major research project into the experience of the men who take part in our project just before the 2020 lockdowns disrupted normal life. 

It was a struggle for everyone, but we made it through the pandemic by being creative, adaptable and solution-focused.  Our partner institutions lacked that agility, and everyone missed out on a time- critical opportunity to gain valuable insight from professional research.

We learned a valuable lesson. At Barefoot Man we will literally do our own research, avoiding critical exposure to large, inflexible institutions, however well-intentioned they might be. 

Lean, Agile and Delivery Focused: The Barefoot Approach to Research 

We have worked with some incredible men and women over the years.  Women who have been delighted to see the male (and female) gaze turned towards men. Men who literally have skin in the game, and care about the future and the legacy of this project.   

Among those men are Alex and Sebastian, twin brothers and two of our long-time content contributors. They are also data analysts with postgraduate qualifications and experience in working with major consultancy firms.   

Our commitment is to run the research programme efficiently and effectively.  We are a lean organisation with very little bureaucracy but with access to all the skill sets that will enable us to deliver meaningful outcomes at very low cost. 

Alex and Sebastian – Our Barefoot Data Analysts 

Our famous twin brothers share a common passion for gathering data and analysing it to create real world solutions.  They will gather and study feedback on our content and from our training programmes.  

With your support, they will interpret the responses our project generates, how well it is working, and how we can make a bigger contribution to changing policy, particularly in the crucial area of educating young people.  

The guys will publish reports, manage indices and hold regular meetings with our Research Patrons. 

What will the Barefoot Data Analysts be Studying? 

Our creative content challenges the dominance of the straight male gaze.  By disrupting this gaze to explore how we look at the male body, the Roar addresses deep-seated assumptions that prevailed for centuries.   

Our community has always included male athletes who undress for our cameras as part of their journey towards healthier masculinity, creatives who seek to change how we look at bodies, and the men and women who engage with the content that results.   

Alex and Sebastian will capture how we all feel about it.   

Barefoot already possesses a decade of anonymised data from millions of pounds worth of global sales from the Warwick Rowers era onwards, waiting to be analysed and understood.  This is a solid foundation, but just the start.   

Alongside quantitative data, a range of real-world and virtual interactions between Barefoot contributors and the project’s supporters throughout the world to generate detailed qualitative feedback. This will support causes like: 

• Scientific research that will advance healthier masculinity, LGBTQI inclusion in sport and beyond, gender equality, feminist perspectives 
• Research, products and services promoting greater physical, mental and emotional well-being for all 
• Charities addressing related issues such as domestic violence, freedom of speech, LGBT inclusion 

We plan to house the Barefoot Research within the Barefoot Institute, an educational charity that will be responsible for original research, training and policy development.

Your participation and your funding support will help us to make all of this a reality.