Charity Ambassador For Skin Calendar

These pale and proud Aussies are posing nude to raise awareness about the dangers of sun damage.

Melbourne-based James Deg had the idea after noticing more and more people were sharing pictures of their tans and sunburn on Instagram.

The 28-year-old felt that people were under so much pressure to look good by sporting a year-round tan than they were endangering their health.

So he enlisted his friends to fundraise for skin cancer research by posing nearly naked for the SKIN Calendar.

‘After noticing more and more people on Instagram posting photos of their tan or sunburn, I realised how complacent we have become to the dangers of sun damage,’ Mr Deg told Daily Mail Australia.

‘Growing up, we were always taught to be careful; “slip, slop, slap,” “no hat, no play.” However, as adults there seems to be so much pressure to have a tan in order to look good.’

But he said the reality is that in Australia, skin cancers make up around 80 per cent of newly diagnosed cancers every year. And if left undiagnosed, skin cancer can be fatal.

‘This makes the rate of skin cancer occurrence in Australia one of the highest in the world – one in five Australians will develop some form of skin cancer in their lifetime – yet it is one of the most preventable types of cancer,’ he added.

‘In 2015, my partner’s mum, Liz, passed away after a brave battle with melanoma. Her strength and determination was inspirational, but no one should have to go through what Liz did.’

Mr Deg said funding for skin cancer is crucial, but raising awareness about the dangers of tanning is even more so.

‘As there is no cure for melanoma, funding skin cancer research is vitally important,’ he said.

‘But even more urgent is the need for a social change. Tans are dangerous, and you don’t need them to be healthy and look sexy.’

So Mr Deg enlisted some friends of his to model for the SKIN Calendar to show ‘that it is possible to be sexy in the skin you’re in.’

They headed to Obelisk Beach in Sydney and his parent’s property in south east Victoria where Mr Deg took some rather risque shots of his pals – all for a good cause.

‘The calendar models are friends of mine, who aren’t obsessed with tanning, that are leading the change in embracing your natural skin tone,’ he said.

‘Fortunately, they did not take much convincing to pose nude for the calendar, but I think that’s because they understood the importance of the cause.

‘And to clarify, none of the models are completely nude, they are actually wearing SPF 50+ sunscreen!’

He added: ‘The majority of the shots were taken in July and October – and it was very cold!

‘I make an appearance in the calendar – I couldn’t expect anyone else to agree to it if I wasn’t prepared to put myself through it as well.’

Mr Deg added that 100 per cent of the profit from calendar sales will go to funding skin cancer research in Australia.

‘The more money we raise the better, but I believe spreading the message is equally as important,’ he added.

The calendars are still available for purchase from the SKIN Calendar website.

Source: Daily Mail