Men strip down for Movember Red Deer calendar

What’s got 13 months and a baker’s dozen of good looking dudes from Red Deer in it?

That would be the #DadBodForARadCause Movember Red Deer calendar, a project undertaken for the first time this year to raise funds and awareness for men’s health issues.

The project, says co-coordinator Meagan Parisian, is one which was born with one tweet of a photo featuring a partially clad man on a motorcycle.

“Everything just kind of came to a head when we realized we had over 500 Twitter notifications in the span of 24 hours,” Parisian says. “My co-coordinator and I kind of talked about it and said this is something that has to happen.”

Now, the public is invited to purchase #DadBodForARadCause calendars for $20 a pop. All proceeds will go to the Movember Foundation and as an added bonus, Scotiabank has agreed to match all proceeds up to $5,000.

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While it’s all in good fun, Parisian notes the project does tackle some important health issues.

“We’re talking about prostate cancer, testicular cancer, men’s mental health, all of those kinds of things,” she says.

“We had so many dads and gentlemen in Red Deer volunteer to be a part of this. It says a lot about the community that we live in that we will take an idea and just run with it and we will make it happen.”

One of the men featured in the calendar is 106.7 The Drive Program Director and mid-day announcer Peter Michaels aka Mr. April.

“I saw it and thought, ‘Boy, that’s a pretty cool idea,’ and sometimes I don’t think things all the way through and I’m like, ‘Sure, I can take my shirt off for a calendar.’ That’s pretty much how it went down,” he laughs.

“Thankfully, I haven’t had any cancer or mental health issues, but there are a lot out there whom I do know who have had those problems, so it’s definitely a good thing to raise money and awareness for.”

Buy a calendar, Michaels adds, because not only do you to get to look at some rad bods for an entire calendar year, you’re helping a great cause.

Other community partners include Troubled Monk, The Bra Lounge, Twig and Barrys Underwear and The Bistro on Gaetz. Calendars can be purchased at Troubled Monk, The Bra Lounge and The Bistro on Gaetz.

If the calendar isn’t for you, you can contribute by making a donation to Movember Red Deer or the Movember Foundation, or by participating in other Movember activities like growing a moustache.

A wrap-up event will be held December 1 at Troubled Monk starting at 6 p.m. for anyone who’d like to attend. The event will include a cheque presentation from Scotiabank.

Additionally, organizers are looking for models for next year’s edition.

For more information, visit the Movember Red Deer Twitter page or ca.movember.com.