Internet’s favourite shirtless running guy ‘holds prayer sessions’ at gay bars
You’ve might have already seen a clip of Ethan Renoe – a hunky running fanatic who’s getting a lot of attention online.
The runner shot to fame after he was interviewed shirtless in the rain during a Chicago weather report.
After getting stopped by news channel WGN TV, a shirtless Renoe explains: “It’s a great day for a run!”
So this just happened. Enjoying the weather, are you, “Ethan”?
Posted by WGN TV on Sunday, December 13, 2015
Questioned about why he’s running in the rain in shorts in mid-December, he continued: “Too wet to wear a shirt, you know? I love running for the rain.”
Stoking the hopes of male-attracted people everywhere (and racking up 4.5 million views and thousands of thirsty comments), he quickly added: “I’m also single.”
But that’s not all he gets up to. It turns out that when he’s not running, Renoe spends his by reaching out to men outside gay bars.
NBC Chicago revealed that in 2013, he helped set up the Christian student movement titled ‘Free Prayer Chicago’.
He explains: “What we do, Friday and Saturday nights, we go out and stand out by street corners – by a bar or club, wherever people are.
“As people are walking by, we hold up cardboard signs that say ‘free prayer’.
“Basically our mission is to love the city of Chicago and the people of Chicago as best we can.”
Noah Reynolds, who currently leads the group, says it spends most of its time outside Chicago gay bar Progress in the LGBT Boystown gayborhood.
He explained to NBC Chicago: “My primary purpose of going there is to show this community love that has been severely damaged by those who claim to be Christians.
“That area has been hurt by people who claim Christ’s name.”
However, the group doesn’t always get the response it’s hoping for.
Noting that the group is compared to homophobes, Reynolds added: “Westboro Baptist is nearly the antithesis of what we are. Our message is a message of grace through faith.
“We have had people suggest sign changes and we have tried ‘God Loves You,’ ‘Free Prayer for Everyone’…
“What ended up happening was we would get a lot of just thumbs up, so after thinking about it we decided to keep it as ‘Free Prayer to have some ambiguity about it.
“The mystery of the sign gets people to come to us.”
The gay bar told the channel that the students have never caused a disturbance and were a “non-issue”.
