Boys of Bridgend tease new naked charity calendar
By Will Stroude
You might remember the Boys of Bridgend from their 2015 charity calendar, which saw the lads of South Wales strip off help raise money for testicular and prostate cancer.
There’s no rest for the naked though, and after selling in 35 countries around the world, work’s already underway on the 2016 follow-up – this time in aid of the Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation, which aims to tackle homophobic bullying, both in schools and on the sports field.
The identity of the 15 men participating in this year’s edition are being kept firmly under wraps, but we’re re-living the best of last year to whet our appetite ahead of the big reveal…
“We’re really excited about working with this charity,” says the project’s creator and photographer, Russ Hughes.
“We wanted to make the new calendar as interactive as possible and really get to know the people who have been supporting us and to find out their views and thoughts, so when we asked people on Twitter and Facebook for ideas about who they wanted to see us support this year there was one name that came up over and over again, and that’s the Ben Cohen StandUp Foundation to tackle bullying and homophobia.
“It’s a cause that really resonates with both our supporters and members of the team and the work they are doing, especially within the LGBT community is amazing.
Support for us last year was overwhelming from all corners but it was the LGBT community who really got behind us and made us grow, so it’s fantastic that we can come full circle with this years calendar and give our support back to them by raising money for this cause.
Images: Russell Hughes Photography
He added: We’ve got a mix of new and returning guys this year but we’ve upped our game and now have 15 men featuring this year, so the pages will be fit to bursting, and we’ve also been filming the shoots to bring a video element to people as well.
“It’s one thing that people asked for over and over last year, so we’re going to make sure they aren’t disappointed… We really are aiming big and hoping to raise huge numbers for the StandUp Foundation”.
The boys have also set up their first ever crowd-funding project to help fund the new campaign, which you can lend your support here.
If you can’t wait for the new shoot though, you can still grab a copy of the 2015 calendar and follow the boys on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. It’s all for a good cause, after all…
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