Ben Cohen profile

MetroSource magazine has an in-depth profile of Ben Cohen:

His StandUp foundation has become a major force for good in the lives of LGBT students. Now, Ben Cohen speaks to Metrosource about how he went from scoring rugby goals to fighting for kids’ rights.

If you’re a fan of international sports, you might know Ben Cohen as a British rugby star. If you’re an admirer of brawny, hairy-chested men, you may recognize him from his series of sexy pin-up calendars. But if you’re a member of the gay community, you’re probably most familiar with him as the founder of the Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation, the organization he created to combat homophobia and bullying among schoolkids.

So how did this straight sportsman become a champion of gay kids’ rights? In some ways, the gay community chose Cohen. “While I was playing rugby, I realized that I had a gay following,” Cohen tells me. About six years ago, it was brought to his attention that — of his tens of thousands of Facebook fans — a vast majority of them were gay men. Cohen didn’t mind that these fans might like him more for his pecs than his performance on the field, but it did plant the seed of an idea: He wanted to do something to give back. “To be able to say, ‘Look guys, there’s more to me than — and I can’t believe I’m saying it — looks and a hairy chest,’” he says.

Keep reading HERE.