Dieux du Stade

Cover of Dieux du Stade 2007 calendar, featuring Julien Arias.

Dieux du Stade (English: Gods of the Stadium) is the title of two books and several calendars and DVDs first published in 2001, featuring nude and semi-nude photographs of members of Stade Français, a Paris-based domestic French rugby team. In more recent years, players from other rugby union clubs and athletes from other sports have also been included.

The calendars and book have mostly black-and-white nude, erotic photographs of the players. The photographs are known for their homoerotic character. Starting with the 2004 edition, a DVD covering the making of the calendar has also been released every year.

Reception

Originally created in support of charity, the popularity of the calendars has been credited for the increased fame of the Stade Français team, as well as rugby in general, in France. The calendars have also received a warm welcome from the gay community around the world due to the homoerotic quality of the images. The British writer Mark Simpson coined the word 'Sporno' to describe the DDS aesthetic.

The calendars are part of a marketing strategy crafted by Max Guazzini, President of the rugby club. A savvy marketer who built the NRJ Radio group, he has successfully used the calendars to attract a new audience to rugby matches (live and on TV), such as women.

Photographers

The photographers for the yearly editions have been as follows:

• 2001: Kris Gautier
• 2002: Kris Gautier
• 2003: Mathias Vriens
• 2004: François Rousseau
• 2005: Carter Smith
• 2006: Fred Goudon
• 2007: Mariano Vivanco
• 2008: Steven Klein
• 2009: Peter Lindbergh
• 2010: Tony Duran
• 2011: François Rousseau
• 2012: François Rousseau

Licensed Products

In 2006, a cosmetics company bought a license from the club to launch a line of skin care products for men. These "Dieux du Stade" products can be found in France only, and were launched in 2007. They carry names linked to rugby, such as the shower gel "Retour au vestiaire" (translation: "Back to the locker-room").

In 2005 the hardcover book Dieux du Stade: The French National Rugby Team (published by Universal Publishing) was released, containing photos by François Rousseau taken mostly at the same time of the 2004 calendar shoot. In 2010 photos by Tony Duran taken at the same time as that year's calendar shoot were released in the book Gods of the Stadium (published by teNeues Publishing).

See also

• Stade de France, the French national stadium

External links

• Official stores:

Books:

Calendars:

• • French
  • English
• Dieux du stade: Le making of du calendrier 2004 at the Internet Movie Database
• Dieux du stade: Le making of du calendrier 2005 at the Internet Movie Database
• Dieux du stade: Le making of du calendrier 2006 at the Internet Movie Database
• Dieux du stade: Le making of du calendrier 2007 at the Internet Movie Database
• Dieux du stade: Le making of du calendrier 2008 at the Internet Movie Database
• Dieux du stade: Le making of du calendrier 2009 at the Internet Movie Database
• Mariano Vivanco: 2007 Dieux du Stade photographer