© Sol Neelman.  Chessboxing. Berlin.

Sol Neelman is a failed athlete turned sports photographer living in his hometown of Portland, Oregon, USA. In 2007, he left his staff job at The Oregonian newspaper to pursue a life-long project documenting sports culture around the globe. This past spring, Kehrer Verlag in Heidelberg, Germany released his first book, “Weird Sports,” in the United States. His images have also appeared in a variety of publications, including National Geographic, Stern, ESPN The Magazine, Rolling Stone, Newsweek, TIME and The New York Times. He has a weekly photo column on Wired.com and is already busy working on his next book, cleverly titled “Weird Sports 2.” These recent images are a sneak peak.

© Sol Neelman. The Dirty Dash. Midway, Utah.

© Sol Neelman. Utah Undie Run. Salt Lake City.

© Sol Neelman. Lingerie Basketball. Venice Beach, California.

© Sol Neelman. Ladies Arm Wrestling. Los Angeles.

© Sol Neelman. Nuclear Cowboyz. Portland.

© Sol Neelman. Flaming Tetherball. Seattle.

© Sol Neelman. Light Saber Fencing Class. San Francisco.

© Sol Neelman. The Color Run. Seattle.

© Sol Neelman. Drag Queen Prom Dress Rugby. Seattle.