Even though we’ve been living with the concept of the ‘metrosexual’ man for nearly 20 years now, it can still be difficult for a heterosexual guy to openly admit his love of fashion.
In the very blokey environs of dugouts and changing rooms of GAA pitches around Ireland, we can imagine it’s even more difficult to be openly fashion-forward.
Kudos, then, to Neil Patrick Collins, a full-back Gaelic player for Roscommon, who used a column in the Irish Daily Mirror this week to break the glass ceiling for labels-loving GAA-heads everywhere.
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Under the headline, ‘My Double Life As An International Style Follower And Roscommon Footballer’, 26-year-old Collins writes:
“I’ve always been interested in personal style and self expression. Between living in Dublin and travelling the world, I have seen a lot of different forms of expression, but my favourite is through clothes and personal styling.”
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He talks about the regular slagging he used to get from friends and teammates for his seemingly outré style choices.
“I remember the first time I wore a trilby hat into the Roscommon dressing room, it caused consternation,” he writes. “Lads were bent over with laughter, and I enjoyed that we could share those moments of daftness together.”
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Collins reveals that he was warned not to stand out in the dressing room, and to try to adopt fashion choices that would make him blend in with this teammates. He says:
“I was under strict instruction from the Roscommon management to come to training ‘with a conservative mindset’, which I translated as ‘We don’t want you coming in with your mad shirts, or your top hats’.”
But, damn it, he refused to check himself, and found ways to accommodate his “double life”: “I could transform from a lover of colourful self expression, akin to a rockstar, into a serious athlete.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BE02A8oRJID/?taken-by=cryptic_collins
But, thankfully, there was a key turning point in the wider acceptance of his out-there fashion.
“I wore a two piece Japanese style suit, one I had designed and put together myself,” he explains.
https://www.instagram.com/p/7dCNu-RJB4/
“The lads were a bit blown away with how cool it looked, and its style. The entertainment had switched to admiration, or so it felt. I had never felt so accepted in all my footballing days to that point!!!”
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It has all inspired Collins to remain a dedicated follower of fashion, and he’s optimistic that Irish people – men, especially – will become braver in their style choices the more they’re opened up to the world.
“As Ireland continues to rise as a energetic hub of personality and style, I say keep experimenting with how you choose to express yourself,” he says.
“Keep travelling. Keep pushing the style boundaries. All the while, I’ll keep living my double life, as an international style follower and Roscommon footballer.”
You keep doing you, Neil!
