Twelve men from Essex have braved the camera to create a calendar for a good cause.
Anthony Jefferson and Daryl Ambrose came up with the idea to create a ‘dad bod’ charity calendar, to raise awareness around male mental health.
Statistics show that one in eight men in England are reluctant to seek help, when it comes to their mental health.
Anthony told the Braintree and Witham Times: ‘Daryl and I came up with the idea of creating a calendar that was tongue-in-cheek but had a touching story behind it.
‘Mental health is something close to my heart and all the men taking part have stories about how they have battled depression, but are on the more positive side of life now.’
All of the men taking part in the project are supporting the Mental Health Foundation.
Each calendar costs £10 and money will be donated to support important research.
Anthony, who is a father to three, lost his son two years ago. His family friend also took his own life in August, at the age of 21.
Anthony said: ‘My son was full of life, even at the end, but unbeknown to close family he had other demons he was battling and would never talk openly about his feelings.
‘It affected me in a way that I felt I failed him.
‘This calendar is a testament to all those who are suffering and we want to give something back.’
Daryl developed mental health problems after he was diagnosed with diabetes.
He ended up getting himself into debt and is still struggling to pay it back.
He said he wanted to do something to help anyone dealing with their own mental health issues and when he saw a muscular men calendar, he thought about doing a ‘dad bod’ version instead.
Daryl posted online to see if anyone would be interested in starring in the charity calendar. His post was met with a lot of positive interest.
The ‘dad bod’ shape usually refers to a lack of toning around the male body, and research has shown more and more people are growing fonder of the body type. A study earlier this year found that 65% of people said a ‘dad bod’ was attractive.
The calendars are available to pre-order on PayPal. Once they are printed, buyers can either get them delivered by post or collect them.
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