Scantily clad lads raise $25,000 from calendar

Twelve local growers who stepped out of their comfort zone and dared to bare for a calendar, have raised $25,000 for mental health.

The Horti Boys 2024 calendar is a collection of bare-chested growers with sometimes as little as a bunch of flowers or wincingly, a frame of bees to hide behind, all in the name of fundraising for a good cause.

Ben Conning from Connings Food Market is the August model, posing bare chested in the celery crop of the family’s market garden and though he was “dropped in it”, it was all for a good cause.

The main recipient of the fundraiser is The Care Foundation, with a portion also going to Farmstrong, to be spent on mental health.

The foundation’s general manager, Clare Haywood, says it is fantastic for a bunch of rural guys to step out of their comfort zone to model for the calendar and the money will be spent locally in rural areas.

“I think I have to give them 10 out of 10 for their bravery. There would have been some cajoling because it’s really putting themselves out there.”

Two of the models, Hamish Rush and Evan Heywood, were the instigators of the calendar after seeing a close friend struggling with mental health issues.

“We were out to dinner and thought, ‘what do we do?’” Hamish remembers. “Then the wives looked across and said: ‘you guys should do a fireman’s calendar’.”

While they are “really stoked” with the money raised, he says it also prompted discussion on mental health which was their primary drive.

Will they pose for another calendar? Maybe in a year or two, says Hamish who is featuring now in September. Or maybe it’s time for those who came up with the idea to do the modelling.

“We’re trying to convince all the wives to do it now.”