Holding a frame of very busy bees in front of your naked body would make most men wince, but it was all for a good cause as local growers stripped off and posed for their ‘Horti Boys’ calendar.
Twelve growers semi-stripped or went the full monty – albeit behind a frame of bees, bunch of flowers or pruning bag - to raise awareness about mental health issues.
Ben Conning and Hamish Rush were two of the 12 that dared to bare and though Ben admits he just cannot help himself when people ask him to do anything - he has to say yes - Hamish was one of the instigators and also the one that braved the bees.
“It turns out that bees are quite calm if you treat them the right way. And the local apiarist was on standby.”
While Hamish is posing in an apple orchard in full flower, Ben is chopping celery in Conning’s market garden and the other 10 growers in the calendar all represent a different horticulture sector.
Growers feature in their own crops - from blueberries, pears, kiwifruit, grapes, hops, cherries, and boysenberries to peony flowers - all well placed for a touch of modesty.
The idea of a calendar was sown a couple of years ago over a few beers when Hamish and fellow grower Evan Heywood got talking about the prevalence of mental health issues and wondering how they could raise awareness within the local community in a light-hearted way.
“One of my friends had gone down a deep, dark hole and we were wondering how he was going and how we could get more discussions out there.”
They talked about the firemen calendars and kicked the idea around for another year before deciding they had to do something rather than just talk.
“Within a week of making a commitment, I’d ripped my shirt off and had a photo taken,” Hamish says.
Then they had to find others to obligingly take their clothes off and pose in their horticulture domain, which was not as hard as they thought.
“There were guys lining up wanting to be part of it for the fun and the cause. They knew it would be something that would create a conversation.
“I’ve had a mate commit suicide, so it does happen. Already, since starting the calendar, it has prompted someone to ring up about someone they were concerned about and asking where they could go to get help for them.
“We’re not here to print thousands of calendars, but for something good to come out of it. We’re not all the same and some people on the exterior look like they’re in control and you get them in a corner and they say they’re sweating bricks.”
Both Hamish and Ben say the horticulture industry has been through tough times in recent years including hail, Covid challenges, labour shortages and poor returns for some crops.
“Rural people tend to suck it up and get on with it,” Ben says.
“But it is a stressful game and you are at the mercy of lot of things.”
Hamish says posing naked or semi-naked is showing their own vulnerability, which is part of mental health.
“I saw it as a great metaphor - taking your shirt off to show emotional strength.
“It’s showing you are prepared to make yourself vulnerable and that’s what mental health is all about.”
Growers of all ages put their hand up to pose for the calendar and Hamish says it reflects the nature of mental health issues which affects everyone.
“It turns out no age is exempt from mental health and the middle-age group is at the most risk financially.”
Profits from the Horti Boys calendar are going to The Care Foundation and Farmstrong.
Connings Food Market stocks the calendars near Richmond and Toad Hall in Motueka has them. They can also be purchased online here.
