U.S. Men's Bobsled Team Poses Nearly Nude To Raise Funds for Olympics

Competing in the Olympics can be costly — not just in terms of the years of training it takes to get there, but everything that goes into equipment, travel, and actually being at the Olympics.

So the U.S. men’s bobsled team came up with a tried and true method of raising money. They posed for a racy calendar.

“The original idea was to help with the funding,” bobsledder Carlo Valdes told The Washington Post. “Federations can’t take care of everything. We still gotta pay out of pocket for some things. We need help with that, and luckily, the calendar has provided a small buffer outside of what people have donated.”

The calendar has cleverly been dubbed “The Bob-Spread,” and features the athletes posing in various states of undress, sometimes serious, sometimes cheeky (pun fully intended). It’s enough to keep anyone who appreciates the male form flipping to the next page all year round.

They’re also selling individual prints courtesy of photographer and team member James Reed, for those who want a bigger and bolder copy of their favorite look.

“Is it over the top?” Reed wrote in his Instagram post announcing the calendar last November. “Absolutely, yes. But it highlights what is unique about the sport of bobsledding. There is no one athlete or body type that can push a sled well. We are all different and push fast for a different reason.”

Fortunately, the team was able to raise $90,000 in a single week before the calendars even became available, but the added incentive brought in an additional cushion after they sold 400 copies of the calendar before The Washington Post drew attention to their creative financing solution.

Securing more funds than anticipated helped the team run a second sled this season and put some money away for future team expenses. It’s also going to help team members offset their personal costs attending the Olympics.

Although the team isn’t currently planning on doing this yearly, they might give it another go for the next winter Olympics in 2026 — gotta keep the fans wanting, after all!