10 beautiful men from around the world mark a sexy decade

Elska is a unique indie publication that has spent the past decade travelling the world, photographing diverse local men and sharing stories about real gay lives. Each issue is dedicated to a different city, and since Elska’s founding in 2015, 54 cities have been featured, comprising 827 men.

Here, Elska’s editor and chief photographer, Liam Campbell, shares with GayCities ten portraits from each of the project’s first ten years to celebrate their milestone anniversary, along with commentary for each.

Year One: Friðrik Á from Reykjavík, Iceland

The main reason why I chose to name my project ‘Elska’ was because it means ‘love’ in Icelandic. I wanted to convey the idea that beauty shouldn’t be something narrow, and that if you take the effort to get to know people and expose yourself to diverse types of people, your sense of who you find beautiful expands. That was my experience, and I hoped that Elska readers would share my feelings, especially if I could introduce them to men in an honest and intimate way.

As for why I specifically chose the Icelandic word for ‘love’, it’s because Iceland means so much to me personally. It was the first foreign country I ever visited, which I did when I was eighteen, and this was also my first experience being an out gay man. Back home, I hadn’t had the courage, but in this place where no one knew me, I went for it. People accepted me with ease and this feeling of freedom, as well as the intense beauty of the country, started a life-long love affair with Iceland. So naturally, it was an early goal that I would make an issue of Elska in Reykjavík.

The first guy I met for the Reykjavík issue was Friðrik. I love how he didn’t fit the stereotype of what an Icelandic person looks like, i.e. blond and perhaps beareded, even though he was born and raised in that country. It gave an early clue to the sort of diversity that Elska would come to display throughout the years that would follow.

Year Two: Bruce B from Cardiff, Wales

I hadn’t intended to make an issue in my home country at all, but when the production of what was supposed to be the next issue ran late, I had no choice but to quickly make a replacement issue. The easiest way to do that was to make one locally.

Despite being a city I didn’t really want to feature, it turned into one of my proudest ever editions. First of all, I was excited that Cardiff also proved to be more diverse than I expected. Secondly, I was beyond pleased that many of the men I featured chose to write a story contribution in the Welsh language. And third, I actually got a lot of good press from this issue, including from some national media.

I probably owe a lot of the success of Elska Cardiff to Bruce. I’m the sort of person who’s always been uncomfortable with marketing (yes, I know that makes me a bad person to run a business). Trying to devise headlines or send press releases that are sensational or would appeal to the masses always makes me cringe. However, Bruce was of the ‘all publicity is good publicity’ mindset. He ended up making his own media campaign for me… Before I knew it, there were headlines across Wales with headlines like, ‘Seventy-two year old male model bares all for gay magazine’. The attention helped drive sales of my still-new publication and it also showed me that it wasn’t only celebrities or models who could garner headlines!

Year Three: Juan C from Bogotá, Colombia

In the early years of Elska, I tended to have an have an almost fashion sensibility for my photography. I would ask guys to prepare a variety of outfits — usually six looks — and then we’d choose a neighbourhood in which to conduct our scenes. At the same time, I also did at-home portraiture, which sometimes was without clothes, but this was more rare. In fact, I often felt so shy about asking men if they wanted to bare all that I often didn’t ask at all. In Bogotá, that all changed. 

Colombia was the first country I ever visited in Latin America, and I was astonished by how open people were. Indeed I didn’t even have to suggest to the men I photographed that unclothed shoots were an option because they were asking for it anuwau. And when we did these shoots, they didn’t show the slightest hint of shame or even nervousness. It was an incredibly refreshing environment that also rubbed off on me, making me less embarrassed about such portraiture for the future. Elska Bogotá ended up the most naked issue yet, and it would hold onto that title for two years, only breaking when I finally returned to Latin America for my issue in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Juan bared all for our shoot, and he was quite explicit in his images as well. However, I chose to share this photo for GayCities simply because this is my favourite shot of him. I love the colourfulness of the scene and the quirkiness of his jumper. I also adore how sexy he looks, with that fabulous jawline and fierce stare. It proves to me that sometimes the sexiest photos show almost no skin.

Year Four: Nathan T from Perth, Australia

For four years, I was promoting Elska with the idea that I didn’t feature famous people. However, I would come to break that rule for the first time in Perth. 

In fairness, Nathan isn’t quite as famous as Hugh Jackman or Chris Hemsworth, but I was still a huge fan. He appeared in the second season of The Great Australian Bake Off, where he was totally charming and totally gay! I followed him immediately, and to my surprise, he followed me back. I’m not sure who sent the first DM, but before I knew it, we were talking about him doing a photoshoot and story for Elska if I ever happened to make an issue in Perth.

At the time, Elska was still relatively low-budget, so going all the way to Australia was a stretch. However, I let my fanboy motivation drive me to perhaps spend more than I should have. I also let my celebrity crush convince me to shoot an issue in Perth rather than a more ‘obvious’ city like Sydney or Melbourne. I tried to play it cool with Nathan, though, acting as if the decision to take Elska to Perth wasn’t all about him, even if it really was!

Ultimately, my gamble paid off. Elska Perth soon became the best-selling Elska of all time, surpassing Elska Reykjavik which had been holding that title since the first year. I don’t know how much Nathan is the reason for its success, but I know that I might never have gone at all if I hadn’t spotted him baking cakes on TV.

Year Five: Myeongjin K and Y.E.S. from Seoul, Korea

Before launching Elska, I had been working full-time as a flight attendant and part-time as a photographer. I initially had been dreaming about breaking into the fashion industry, and so I was often doing editorial-style shoots with amateur models back home in London. Then, when I’d travel somewhere with the airline, I’d bring my camera and shoot amateur models abroad.

The first place in the world where I did what I consider to be an Elska-style shoot was in Seoul, which was my favourite city to travel to as a flight attendant. I even studied some Korean so that I could talk to passengers in Korean, such as to greet them or to offer tea. Anyway, I didn’t manage to find any models before going to Seoul, but I was in such a mood to shoot that I decided to open Grindr and just ask a random guy. Quickly, I found one. Then I found another later that afternoon. This was the first time I’d ever so spontaneously met a person and did a photoshoot, a practice that would become the typical basis of how I make Elska now. In that sense, Elska was born in Seoul.

I finally returned to Korea in 2020 to make Elska Seoul, but this time, it was extremely hard to find guys willing to take part. As a conservative country, in particular with regard to LGBTQ+ issues, almost no one wanted to do something so public as being a gay magazine. For the portfolio of some unknown flight attendant, sure, but not for a magazine that was gaining in visibility. But then I found Myeongjin and his partner Y.E.S…

I found this couple because of an article that Myeongjin had written about LGBTQ+ rights in Korea. When I explained that I was trying to make a book about ordinary queer Korean men, they jumped on board and spread the word to other guys who were open enough to want to take part. If it wasn’t for them, the project that was born in Seoul would have ended there!

Year Six: Matt M from Belfast, Northern Ireland

It was COVID that led me to Belfast. During the peak of the crisis, it became impossible to continue making Elska, but then I had an idea… Travel bans weren’t applied to travel within my own country — the United Kingdom — so I chose to make an issue of it there. Then I specifically chose Belfast because it was the part of the country with the lowest infection rates. Nevertheless, when I arrived there, I couldn’t start shooting. I had to wait two weeks doing a home lockdown in my Airbnb.

When I finally approached my freedom and announced that I was looking for men, I got a huge amount of messages. Unfortunately, however, most of these messages weren’t from potential Belfast participants but rather from people around the world who asked if I was there to make a ‘gingers’ issue!

Frankly, I found these messages almost offensive. I’ve never gone anywhere in the world because of how I thought the locals would look. Appearance has never been my motivation. If I met some ginger men, then I’d shoot them; if not, then people would just have to be disappointed. 

Of course, on the island of Ireland, chances are that you’ll run into a ginger or two. When I met Matt, with his long red hair, he gave me an idea. After discussing it over with him, we decided to give those people what they wanted in an almost aggressive way. For the cover of Elska Belfast, I shot an image of Matt where we put his long hair in front of his face, and then I cropped the image to just above his penis so that the cover was dominated by ginger hair. While I’m sure that most people think the cover is lighthearted, the reality is that it came from a place of me wanting to shove a stereotype in people’s faces. Over time, I’ve also come to find it lighthearted, and I’ve also come to develop my own special appreciation of gingers.

Year Seven: Bruno V from Elska São Paulo

One of the low points in my career came out of São Paulo. Although up until that point I’d featured several trans men in Elska, this was the first time that I photographed a trans man who chose to bare all in his photographs. Sadly, I received multiple complaints about this, about not wanting to see a trans body so explicitly. 

I felt honoured that Bruno had been so bold and vulnerable in his pictures, and I fully expected readers to react the same way. I was genuinely shocked that the opposite was happening, and I didn’t know how to respond. I was afraid that the narrative could blow up and end up hurting Bruno. So instead of exploding, I replied something like, “Everyone is welcome to be in Elska no matter what genitals they have.”

To my relief, some of the people who complained about Elska São Paulo had a change of heart. After the initial spate of complaints, I started getting messages from people saying that they’d done some soul-searching and concluded that they were wrong. After reading Bruno’s story and settling down from their early shock, they realised that trans men did indeed have just as much of a place in Elska as any other men.

Since Bruno, I have featured more trans men, but none have revealed quite as much as he has. However, this will soon change with someone who will appear in the upcoming 55th issue. I am a little scared that there might be backlash again, but I am also hopeful that times have changed for the better.

Year Eight: Jérôme S and David F from Montréal, Québéc

Whenever people ask me what my favourite city is that I’ve ever been to for Elska, I usually say that it’s Reykjavík. However, the issue I consider the best among the first fifty issues of Elska was the one I made in Montréal.

I had been in love with that city way before Elska. Following my first year of university, which was in politics and French, I did a summer exchange in Montréal. There I found what I still consider to be North America’s best LGBTQ+ village, a unique and vibrant culture, and one of the world’s best dishes: poutine. 

When I finally returned to Québéc for Elska, I had very high expectations. And they were met in every possible way! The number of local men who wanted to take part in the issue was massive, their willingness to be bold in their photos was universal, and their conscientiousness in creating some interesting stories was admirable. Even though I’ve always said that I’d never make an issue in the same city twice, Montréal would be the place most likely to break it. 

Although I consider Elska Montréal the exemplar for its quality stories and photography, what most sets the issue apart is its display of love. It featured more couples than any other series: Jérôme and David, Erik and Thibaut, Logan and Antoine, Princepal and Cédric. They all proved why it fits so well; the meaning of my publication is ‘love’.

Year Nine: Nan N from Almaty, Kazakhstan

One of my favourite things about my work is that I’ve often featured more unexpected cities. The fact that my first UK issue was made in Cardiff (and not London), my first USA issue was made in Providence (instead of New York), and my first Japan issue was made in Yokohama (foregoing Tokyo)… However, perhaps my most left-field choice ever has been to feature a city in Kazakhstan. 

Frankly, I didn’t know what to expect from Almaty. My decision to go there came from little more than throwing a dart at a map. However, I was shocked at just how easy-going and up-for-it the locals were. Guys like Nan were full of energy and abandon. His silly little smile still fills me with joy every time I look at his photographs, and it reminds me that there’s a whole wide world full of gays to meet, that nowhere should be off-limits. 

My time in Kazakhstan has greatly inspired my current work. Since the start of 2025, I’ve embarked on what I call the ‘new era’ of Elska, which is based mainly on how Elska Almaty was made. After booking my trip to Almaty, I had been unable to find participants in advance, so I ended up going without plans or contacts. Then I arrived, opened some gay apps, and started contacting people to ask if they wanted to meet for a photoshoot and interview. Although it seemed scary, I ended up finding loads of people. What’s more, working so spontaneously made my work more authentic than ever, and also more exciting and fun to make.

This is how I make all issues of Elska since the fiftieth issue, which I made in Odesa, Ukraine.

Year Ten: Juanmanuel E B and Alonso R L from Madrid, Spain

It took me forty-six cities to finally come to Spain, something that was a bit annoying to long-time readers. Unfortunately, when I finally went, it proved surprisingly difficult to find men willing to take part. There was an air of conservatism and something like a desire to be 'respectable'. Even though I tried to reassure people that they could be as demure as they wanted in their photoshoots and stories, my previous work was scaring them off. Also, of the men who did take part in Elska Madrid, three of them bared all in their shoots but then begged me in a panic not to publish the photos. It was disappointing and also sad.

However, despite my Spanish experience being a more conservative one overall, it included one of the most outrageous and graphic shoots I’d ever done. Initially, I had planned to shoot Juanmanuel only (he appears in the top part of this image). However, when he turned up at the shoot with his boyfriend Alonso, ostensibly to tag along, I asked if he wanted to join. He agreed enthusiastically.

Oftentimes, couples shoots can be awkward. It’s difficult enough to coordinate two faces for one frame, but it can be even harder to find two people who are equally comfortable being in the spotlight. This couple, however, was beyond relaxed. They were also incredibly affectionate — there are practically more photos of them kissing than not kissing! Then, by the time we got home for the more intimate scenes, they were so charged that they gave me the closest thing to ‘adult content’ that has ever appeared in Elska. It definitely became one of the most unforgettable shoots of my career… Cheers to ten years of Elska… ten years so far, anyway!

A brand new compendium called 'Ten Years of Elska: Special Retrospective' is available, featuring some of Elska's favourite stories and portraits from the first fifty issues of the project. Individual issues of Elska are also available, along with e-books, art prints, annual subscriptions, and more.