[PHOTOS] Meet the gorgeous men of Melbourne

Elska is a project centered on traveling the world, meeting a selection of everyday local guys, and introducing their city and lives to readers through honest photography and personal stories. Below, photographer Liam Campbell shares exclusively with GayCities a selection of photos and behind-the-scenes commentary about some of the men he met in Melbourne, Australia, for the latest issue.

Jayke F

My first day in Melbourne didn’t get off to the best start. My first shoot with Jayke happened to be in an outer suburb, taking me an hour and a half from my hotel in the CBD to get there. I had greatly underestimated the size of the city and put too much faith in the city’s public transport, meaning I ended up late for the shoot and half my shoots here (and normally, I’m never ever late). However, Jayke quickly turned my mood around with his easygoing attitude and his offer to drive me back after our shoot so I wouldn’t be late for the next. This kind of relaxed positivity ended up repeating itself from various guys here, and it’s probably my favorite attribute of Australians. 

Jayke’s happy-go-lucky vibes continued during our session, which took place in a park near his home. By all appearances, this was just an everyday park, the sort of place where people jogged or walked their dogs. However, barely five minutes after arriving we spotted a mob of kangaroos, and this was the first time I’d ever seen the animal. Talk about a great welcome to Australia! Jayke, however, seemed more impressed with sightings of wombat poos scattered on the ground, which had an amusingly cubic shape. 

Jayke’s good humor continued during our home shoot. We did a scene of him tossing around a basketball and then trying to fit it into his shorts. Next, we did a scene of him using a toy sledgehammer to bonk himself and me on the head. For our final scene, he took off his glasses, but instead of placing them out of the scene, he placed them on top of his shaft. It was rather ridiculous, and I am very charmed by the ridiculousness.

Sam G

Melbourne has long been one of our most requested cities to visit, so it’s sad that it took us until our 48th edition to finally get there. Our first visit to Australia happened for our 17th issue, which we made in Perth, a city I chose to feature primarily because it wouldn’t be so expected. But as soon as we published it, we got loads of messages crying out, “Why didn’t you come to Melbourne?”

One of the strongest voices for a Victorian issue was from a guy called TIN, a queer singer-songwriter and big Elska fan, who I promised to make the first person to know if we eventually decided to visit his city. But by the time that finally happened, it turned out that he was living in London. However, TIN told us to contact his good friend Sam, whom we met and who became the issue’s cover boy. 

While I was sad not to meet TIN, I might never have met Sam otherwise. And Sam was undoubtedly a highlight of the trip. He was the kind of guy who made me feel incredibly at ease, someone who brought out my quirky side with his quirkiness. Usually, it’s my job to make the men I photograph feel at ease, but sometimes, I do not feel at my best, and Sam was there to lift me up. 

Herald J

Beyond kangaroos and wombat poos, coffee seems to be at the heart of the Australian experience. Based on my previous trips to Perth and Sydney, I had already discovered that Aussies consider coffee a religion, but Melbourne takes it to a higher level. Every street in the city had a coffee place, or two, or four… and almost every person I met here started our session by asking if I fancied a cup. 

I’m definitely a coffee fiend, so I was happy to oblige in all the invitations that got extended, but I discovered that Melbournians take their coffee a little too seriously. After a stroll along the promenade in St Kilda, Herald invited me for a drink at a café he frequented. I ordered a flat white, following his lead, and after my first sip I saw stars, it was the most glorious cup I’d ever had. 

However, immediately after Herald took his first sip, he apologized. “I’m so sorry. Normally, it’s a different barista working, and this one really messed it up.” Dumbfounded, I asked what exactly was wrong with it. Apparently, it was a little too hot and had a slightly burnt aftertaste. It proved I’m an idiot regarding coffee, but I would enjoy more coffee lessons with Herald one day.

Axle J

One of the reasons that so many people urged us to do an issue in Melbourne was because people declared it to be Australia’s queerest and least conservative city. After my trips to Perth and Sydney, which were hardly lacking in these areas, I was skeptical, assuming that such boasts were a case of hyperbolic local pride. However, my shoot with Axle proved otherwise.

His invitation to meet me at a beach was appreciated, and I looked forward to publishing photos that showed a different side of Melbourne since this city isn’t famous for beaches despite having some great ones. After we arrived and Axle pulled down his jeans to reveal the skimpiest swimmers I’d ever seen, I no longer noticed the sea or the sand. There was just his body… and my worries that other people nearby might be shocked at the sight of him. Yet no one batted an eye… if a woman can wear a teeny weeny bikini, then why can’t a man? 

Axle later told me how the liberal spirit of Melbourne transformed him from a shy guy to quite the exhibitionist. He wasn’t just going to beaches in scandalously small swimmers but also attending unclothed club nights, modeling for life drawing classes, and, of course, doing photoshoots for Elska.

John H

I discovered another aspect of Australian culture is a love for their unique native flora and fauna. My shoot with John, meant to be a simple walk around his neighborhood, turned into a guided nature tour. Every corner we turned, he would point out a bird, tell me about its habitat, and mimic its call. Or he’d tell me about a certain tree, ask if I’d seen one before, and describe its growth pattern. 

The tour ended up continuing when John invited me to his home. In the back was a lush garden, and the house had its back walls replaced with floor-to-ceiling windows so nature could be enjoyed from the inside as well. I saw some beautiful birds in the garden, which I supposed were attracted by the specific plants he had chosen.

And then I noticed a curious little box room that jutted out from the main house. He told me it was for his cat to get some sun and watch the birds. Fun fact about the state of Victoria: cats are not allowed to roam outside to protect native birds; anyone who does let their cat escape the house suffers severe penalties. 

Zac S

When I reached the final evening of my week in Melbourne, I had photographed 16 men. It wasn’t quite a record for me, but definitely at the higher end of my usual workload. That final shoot left me on a high, so I decided to take a stroll in the city, grab some dinner, and then get an early night before the morning flight back home to New York. But my excitement would not ebb, so I decided to open up one of the apps and soon chatted with a guy who lived in the building next door to my hotel. Within half an hour, we were together, and my camera was back out of its case.

My unplanned shoot with Zac was one of my favorites, both because he was a sweet guy and because I have grown to adore meeting people spontaneously. While I’ve always tried to approach people with an open mind, not set expectations, and shoot based on whatever conditions happen to be present, it becomes difficult when I schedule meetings with the men of Elska a month or more in advance, which is how it worked for this issue and most before. 

We had to be creative and even a bit silly with Zac, which I love. We shot him on the sofa playing with a cushion, then wrapped in a blanket in bed, and then used lamps to make funny shapes and shadows. Our conversation was mostly about Zac’s discovery of pup culture. I asked if he had a pup hood and what it looked like; he lamented that the good ones were expensive, but he was saving up for one… which reminds me, I should get in touch and ask if he’s got one yet. 

The new made-in-Australia issue, ‘Elska Melbourne’, is available in a print format and an electronic version. A companion e-zine called ‘Elska Ekstra Melbourne‘ is also available and contains hundreds of pages of bonus outtakes, behind-the-scenes tales, and even more local boys and local stories.