You probably don't use a paper calendar anymore — opting for the one on your phone instead — but there is one that you may be wanting for the wall. It's for a good cause and features some fine-figured firefighters, writes Seven Sharp reporter Nina Burton.
The man behind the new firefighters' calendar, which aims to raise money for men's health and the Movember movement, is former firefighter and former policeman Bevin James.
"From a selfish point of view, I just wanted to be in the calendar — from a vanity point of view," he laughed.
"We're [men] not very good at sharing our experiences, and at times we can clam up rather than talk about our problems. It's my opportunity to give back."
When James put the call out for firefighters to feature in the calendar, the men were only too happy to help.
Former All Black Steve Devine, who features in the month of March, explained why he posed for the cause.
"In New Zealand we men don't go to doctors, and it's costing lives. It's a great cause — I'm in. That was eight weeks ago, so it's been a pretty full-on eight weeks.
"I've been doing a lot of walking, which has probably helped with the skinfolds."
Devine said he'd just come off a night shift before the calendar photo shoot.
"We had three separate fires, as well as a medical event… it was a long night." He then raced for a quick gym session to "pump up" for the shoot.
February firefighter Cameron Graham, who's based at the Auckland Central Fire Station, said Movember was an important cause to be helping.
"Through the work we do, we go through some pretty tough times together — as with any front line service. Movember's a foundation that gives back and tries to support those who need it."
Staying in shape for the shoot was a challenge.
"I love food, I eat a lot of food, so the hardest part was cutting down portion sizes when preparing for the shoot.
"It wasn't easy to just forego a lot of social events and go to the gym and eat some broccoli."
Robert Dunne, country manager for Movember in New Zealand, said he's proud of the firefighters.
"I'm really proud of these boys and what they've achieved in a short space of time. I'm looking forward to seeing the end product."
Aesthetics aside, Dunne said the calendar is about spreading the message of men's mental health.
"In terms of me having this conversation with you or some of the companies I go into during the month of November, I can promise you thirteen years ago I didn't do that — I wasn't invited in because men's mental health wasn't even on the agenda.
"It absolutely is on the agenda now, and people are thinking about mental health, so that's awesome, but also in many regards, we're also at the start of the journey," he said.
"In terms of truly creating behaviour change, we're starting to know a bit of stuff. Getting men to act on that is still a work in progress, but we are getting better at it."
Ten thousand copies of the 2024 firefighters' calendars have been printed and can be purchased on the Kiwi Firefighters calendar website.
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