A GROUP of men who dared to bare all in a hilarious calendar are celebrating raising £25,000 for men’s cancer charities.
Mick Uttley and Ian Cranmer are the local stars of the Fat Lads calendar featuring a group of podgy blokes from across Yorkshire who have recreated a series of famous images from the entertainment world.
These include The Beatles’ Abbey Road photo, Lunch Atop a Skyscraper and Kim Kardashian’s naked pose.
Mick, 41, of Old Mill Lane, Barnsley, said the group originally set out to raise about £10k or £12k and have a laugh in the process.
But he said: “When you think about charities, you think a couple of grand is good money. So to get to £25,000 is staggering.
“Quite a few people gave me £20 or £30, and some didn’t want a calendar which is fair enough. We also had some other fundraisers like a race night and collection pots on bars.
“I got made redundant last year, and I really focussed on it. It was very rewarding.”
Mick said they men had a lot of fun making the calendar, and stripped off on a playing field in Stocksbridge for a football shot, and in the middle of Rotherham town centre to recreate the Abbey Road photo.
He said: “You’d be surprised how many people were in Rotherham at 5.30am. There were taxis, people going to work, people going home from the night before.”
Mick said the main aim was to raise as much money as possible for Prostate Cancer UK and the Sheffield Hospital Charity to help testicular cancer care. A presentation night was held on Tuesday where each charity was presented with half the proceeds.
He added: “When I was a kid, you used to hear to the C-word and that was it, people would die. These days, people are living with cancer. It’s all about getting people to check for lumps, and going to the doctors to get checked out.
“My dad had prostate cancer, which is part of the reason why I wanted to join in. He’s ok now, and him and my mum and sister and other relatives have all supported it.
“Cancer is all about catching it early. People need to get themselves checked out, it doesn’t hurt and if they do have something catching it early will give you the best chance possible.”
