Nail polish, kilts, high fashion, boxing gloves: Who is Harry Garside?

He made a name for himself in the boxing ring, but Harry Garside has carved out a niche and challenged stereotypes as the face of metrosexual modern Australian man.

Olympic medallist Harry Garside made a name for himself in the ring, but it’s in fashion that the 25-year-old has carved a lucrative niche as the face of the modern Australian man.

He won six Australian National Championships, earned a gold medal at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, and earned a bronze medal at the 2020 Games in Tokyo. His victory marked the first time in more than three decades that an Australian had medalled in boxing at the Games.

He also wore nail polish at the 2020 Olympics and in doing so, challenged gender stereotypes.

Wearing painted nails, gowns, and skirts to Sydney’s red carpet events became staples of Garside’s influencer brand, aesthetic markers he used to showcase his allyship to the LGBTQ+ community.

Case in point: publicity material for Aussie fashion retailer The Iconic’s November 2022 ‘X Runway’ billed him as ‘The Boxer of the 21st Century who challenges gender stereotypes’.

Garside cat-walked alongside Sudanese-Australian supermodel Duckie Thot and Heartbreak High star James Majoos, and host of other models representing diversity.

Harry Garside pictured for The Iconic. Picture: Richard Dobson

Garside says his fashion choices have raised a few eyebrows. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

The former plumber made international headlines flashing his jocks underneath a long pleated skirt.

“I definitely didn’t think when I started boxing at the age of nine that I would be a runway model, but I loved it,” he told The Daily Telegraph at the time.

Having grown up with a “mum who is a spiritual, left-wing medium, and a dad who’s a conservative, right-wing tradie”, Garside added that he saw beauty in gender fluidity.

“There’s not many males, especially in boxing, who dress like this. It raises a few eyebrows, but I think my purpose is to showcase bringing both together.”

Garside relocated from Melbourne to the affluent Sydney suburb of Bellevue Hill in late 2021 with his then-partner Ashley Ruscoe.

In various interviews, he credited his flair for the flamboyant to his experience as a ballet dancer, a sport the Lilydale, Victorian, native picked up in 2019.

Garside and Ruscoe on the red carpet for GQ last November. Picture: Jeremy Piper

Attending the GQ Men of the Year Awards with Ruscoe in November 2022, the athlete turned heads in a pleated grey skirt, black boots, and bare chest ensemble. He was one of 10 nominees for Man of the Year, which was won by White Lotus actor Murray Bartlett.

By December, champagne house Piper-Heidsieck had named him a brand ambassador, flying Garside to the Australian Open in Melbourne as a guest of honour.

Garside ticks a rare box for brands. He fulfils the diversity requirement, but is still a straight white sportsman who can appeal to their core demographic.

“As a global Champagne House, we strive to be bold and daring in everything we do,” Piper Heidsieck CEO Benoit Collard said, “so we feel that Harry, who isn’t afraid to confront old traditions and challenge the norm, couldn’t be more fitting to join the Piper Crew for 2023.”

With an influencer management team behind him, his profile continued to grow, bringing forth opportunities like reality show I’m A Celebrity … Get Me Out Of Here!

On the show, he told campmates he was straight but often faced homophobia.

“People have often questioned my sexuality and been quite homophobic towards me,” he said on the show. “I get ripped down all the time. I am a straight man and I am very comfortable in my own skin but I am lucky I have got thick skin but I am sure that if they are saying that to an athlete, who else are they saying it to.”