STING LIKE A BEE
Martin Stark is setting up the World Gay Boxing Championships to share his love of the sport with his community. He explains to Mike Hitch the deeply personal motivations behind his passion. Photography by Nigel Owens.
The World Gay Boxing Championships are on the way. Gloves on, boys!
The boxing ring is unfamiliar territory to most in the LGBTQIA+ world. And yet it’s here that Martin Stark is hoping to leave his mark. Become a boxing devotee in just the last few years, Martin’s passion for the sport is such that he’s hoping to inspire others in the LGBTQIA+ community to slip on the gloves and step into the ring. More, he’s in the process of setting up the first World Gay Boxing Championships (WGBC).
Inspired by The Bingham Cup, the world gay rugby competition, Martin has made it his mission to bring competitive, inclusive boxing to people across the globe. He earnestly describes the WGBC as “an inclusive, straightfriendly organisation” that will work to “disrupt homophobia, biphobia, transphobia and interphobia in boxing”.
But it’s more than just about bringing the gays into a new sporting arena; for Martin, it’s deeply personal and rooted in his own history.
Martin has been hospitalised over 70 times on his life – and it has nothing to do with boxing injuries. “There’s a deep connection between boxing and me as an expression of courage,” he explains.
Martin suffers from Addison’s disease, which causes the body to produce insufficient amounts of cortisol, a necessary immune-boosting hormone that regulates the body’s management of stress. When the body is under stress, as when it’s fighting off an infection, this deficiency can result in a life threatening Addisonian crisis characterised by low blood pressure.
“When you’re sick, you can become very sick,” says Martin. “When you have an infection or face intense levels of stress, your body will increase its levels of cortisol, mine doesn’t. In the event of an Addisonian crisis, your body can shut down.
“I was diagnosed after being in two induced comas and having a tracheotomy after major surgery and not recovering. The easiest thing to do was accept it. It was a painful process but acceptance is the first thing that gives you power over how you feel.
“I had a very severe Addisonian crisis at the end of 2017 that almost killed me. I had to learn to make sure I took my medication, know how to best manage my body, when to push, how to stop, and how to manage my stress.
“To help deal with that and help boost my
self-confidence, I approached my local martial arts centre for a few self-defence classes – and the second class was boxing.
“I’d never participated in the sport before, but I discovered it was something I was good at, and it progressed from there.”
Originally from the UK, Martin arrived in Australia when he was 25, just before the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. Since coming out to his accepting family at 27, and marrying his partner of 18 years, Martin’s become an amateur boxer and keynote speaker who champions the principals of inclusion, diversity, courage and health.
These principles of health and wellbeing, as well as the experiences of growing up as a gay man, are what motivates him to share the sport he loves with his community.
“I was always the last to be picked at team sports at school, as many LGBTQIA people experience, but it all clicked when I started boxing, even while still dealing with the PTSD from… almost dying,” he says casually.
In Martin’s opinion and experience, boxing has significant mental health advantages.
“It’s a great way of boosting self-confidence, and the endorphins you produce…! But when you’re hitting a bag, the relationship is between you and an inanimate object. It’s a great way of processing emotions.
“When I practiced shadow boxing [preparing to fight an opponent] for the first time, I realised it wasn’t just me, and that there was going to be another person in the ring. I felt a real sense of connection and a tremendous amount of respect for the other person who I would be sparring with.”
Despite a growing number of LGBTQIA+ athletes who’ve come out over the last 12 months across a broad range of sports, boxing maintains a heteronormative veneer, which begs the question: why aren’t more of us stepping up to fight?
“There’s never really been an LGBTQIA+ boxing championship,” says Martin, “unlike a lot of other sports. The Gay Games have 30-plus sports. There are LGBTQIA+ boxers out there, but there’s never been an event to bring everybody together.
“The WGBC is about creating that opportunity, it’s about connecting with people who are already involved in the sport.
Particularly creating a ‘straightfriendly’ LGBTQIA+ inclusive championship because it’s important we include our allies.
There’s never been a grassroots movement to create a family of LGBTQIA+ boxers. We are the first organisation to do that.”
Speaking of allies, Martin says, “the boxing family are welcoming of LGBTQIA+ plus people,” and he’s already received expressions of support from Boxing Australia and Boxing NSW. “The support so far has been beautiful.”
All things going to plan, Martin hopes the inaugural World Gay Boxing Championships will take place in Australia in 2023, coinciding with Sydney hosting World Pride. Prior to that, an exhibition WGBC event is planned for 2022 and, in the short term, to increase visibility and participation, “fight nights” are in the works.
The WGBC has already reviewed the Australian Human Rights Commission’s guidelines on trans and gender-diverse people in sport, which were issued s at the end of 2019. The major guiding principle is simple – physical safety.
“Safety for everybody,” says Martin. “It’s a combat sport but it’s a very safe sport and it’s a controlled sport. When it comes to trans and nonbinary people, this is where we’ve proposed a program that’s inclusive.
“We’ve issued a draft program, which is subject to change as we consult authorities, community groups and the NSW government, but I cannot stress the importance of the inclusivity and creating a safe-space.”
As well as the presence of onsite doctors and evaluations to determine specific boxing classes, Martin is also aware of the importance of psychological safety in the ring.
“In sport, levels homophobia and transphobia are high. Sport also has major impacts on mental health so psychological safety is about creating a welcoming environment. That’s why it’s so important to have LGBTQIA+ sporting events: to disrupt homophobia, transphobia and biphobia.”
Self-discipline and mental awareness are qualities that boxers develop with training.
“Boxing creates a great physical and psychological inter-connection – float like a butterfly and sting like a bee,” says Martin, referencing a mantra made famous by Muhammad Ali.
“There’s a lot of discipline required and becoming aware of your body, and I believe having that connection to your body creates a healthy mind.”
Many regard boxing as a somewhat brutish pursuit, but the intersection of mind and body and the discipline the sport requires, has lead Martin down the path to healing and recovery.
“Becoming a boxer was a validation that I matter. I survived comas, I was hurt, but I came through it and I needed to be healthy. Boxing is now a big part of my health, and I want to give back and make a difference to the sport I love, and the LGBTQIA+ community I love.”
There’s a lot of discipline required and that connection to your body creates a healthy mind.
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