Robert Irwin in ‘scary place’ after underwear shoot
Robert Irwin says he’s found himself in “a scary place” after posing in his jocks for an ad campaign.
The 21-year-old conservationist – the son of late Crocodile Hunter star Steve Irwin – recently stripped down to his boxers for a Bonds campaign that sparked a viral reaction.
The steamy photoshoot features the young wildlife presenter posing in nothing but his smalls while cradling pythons and other reptiles.
“Say g’day to our new brand icon, Robert Irwin, like you’ve never seen him before,” Bonds wrote on Instagram to launch the campaign in April.
“Who better to rep comfy down under than the Aussie wildlife legend himself?”
You might like
But ahead of his appearance on the US’s Dancing With the Stars Irwin admitted to a bit of a downside following the wild reaction to the risque shoot – he’s not game to read his direct messages on social media.
“I’m in a scary place right now. I’ve been kinda sorta avoiding the direct message section for a little bit,” he told UsWeekly.
“The last couple months have been very eye-opening, that’s for sure. And I really thought in modelling Bonds underwear or doing Dancing With the Stars, that sort of thing, I could bring in a whole new audience to listen to my conservation message.”
Stay informed, daily
Irwin hopes his upcoming stint on 34th season of the TV dancing competition will bring his passion to a wider audience.
“I definitely feel like I’m really lucky that now I’ve got a whole new audience that I can reach and hopefully just put out a bit of positivity,” he said.
“You just got to give it your all. And you’ve got to try as hard as you can to have a bit of fun.”
Irwin said he was grateful to follow in the footsteps of his sister Bindi. She won the Mirrorball Trophy in 2015, when he was just 11.
“I mean she won Dancing With the Stars and just was such an incredible shining light. I remember watching [her] on that show just thinking, ‘This is the coolest thing ever!’,” he said.
“A little part of me was thinking, ‘I want to do this one day’. I just feel so grateful that I get to follow in [her] footsteps … I’m going to need all the help I can get. I’m not a dancer. It’s good nerves, though.”
-with AAP
