Mamil Explained

Mamil[1] (or MAMIL[2]) is an acronym and a pejorative term for a "middle-aged man in Lycra"[3] [4] – that is, men who ride an expensive racing bicycle[1] for leisure, while wearing body-hugging jerseys and bicycle shorts.[2]

The word was reportedly coined by British marketing research firm Mintel in 2010.[5] It gained further popularity in the United Kingdom with the success of Bradley Wiggins in the 2012 Tour de France and at the 2012 Summer Olympics,[5] held in London. The British UCI World Championships victories in recent years have also spurred interest in cycling in the UK.[6]

In Australia the popularity of this sort of cycling has been associated with the Tour Down Under and the 2011 Tour de France winner Cadel Evans.[7] Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott has been described as a "mamil".[8]

And in Slovakia, for example, the popularity of racing cycling and wearing colorful Lycra on the roads rose after Peter Sagan begun winning in Tour de France and World championships.

Buying an expensive road bicycle has been described as a more healthy and affordable response to a midlife crisis than buying an expensive sports car.[9] [10]

There are documentaries investigating this cycling culture. MAMIL is the title of a one-man play by New Zealand playwright Greg Cooper, written for actor Mark Hadlow.[11] It is also the title of a feature-length documentary directed by Nickolas Bird and produced by Bird, Eleanor Sharpe and Mark Bird.[12] [13]

External links

Notes and References

  1. News: Rise of the Mamils (middle-aged men in lycra). Dominic . Casciani . 14 August 2010 . . British Broadcasting Corporation. 14 December 2013.
  2. News: Middle Aged Men In Lycra. Wallace. Wade. 2 September 2012 . . . 14 December 2013.
  3. Web site: Mamil . . . 14 December 2013.
  4. Web site: MAMIL . https://web.archive.org/web/20200413221232/https://www.lexico.com/definition/mamil . dead . 13 April 2020 . . Oxford University Press.
  5. News: The humble Mamil: why we need 'middle-aged men in Lycra'. Matt . Seaton . 11 September 2012 . . 14 December 2013.
  6. Olympics further sparking British cycling boom, but concerns remain . 2014-01-26 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140203113008/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/olympics/2012/writers/alexander_wolff/08/03/british-cycling-revolution/index.html . 2014-02-03 . dead . Alex . Wolff . . August 3, 2012 . Time Inc..
  7. News: A new species of mamil hits the road . Verity . Edwards . 21 January 2012 . . . 14 December 2013.
  8. News: Pest or indigenous species, the mamil abounds . Huynh . Kim . 16 October 2013. The Sydney Morning Herald. Fairfax Media. 14 December 2013.
  9. Web site: In the Land of the Mamils: Where Men Are Men and Bikes Are a Semester at Yale . Jennifer . Parker . 16 November 2013. Bloomberg Television. Bloomberg L.P.. 5 January 2014.
  10. News: Mamil at the crack of dawn . 19 October 2013 . . 8 January 2014 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140108125427/http://www.bt.com.bn/features-emmagoodegg/2013/10/19/mamil-crack-dawn . 8 January 2014 . Bandar Seri Begawan . Emma . GoodEgg.
  11. Web site: Middle aged man in lycra takes his issues to the road . . Charles . Anderson . June 4, 2015.
  12. Web site: New Documentary Explores the MAMIL Mindset . 17 October 2017 . . Hearst.
  13. Web site: Mamil . Demand.Film . 24 February 2018.

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