BARNEY Montgomery is a Wellington doctor who enjoys stripping down to his Superman undies, or “supies”, in odd places around the world.
It’s something that he and a group of mates have always done during their travels for a bit of a laugh.
But when one of the cheeky crew met tetraplegic Ashley Thompson, who fell onto his neck in 2000, the men decided to take the undie business a bit more seriously.
“[Thompson] was trying to raise enough money to get stem cell treatment,” says Montgomery. “We saw the connection between our Superman undies and Christopher Reeve (the actor who played Superman before becoming quadriplegic), so we’ve made a calendar with our photos to help him raise money.”
In the calendar you can see images of Montgomery stripped down at Oktoberfest, in front of the London Eye, and the Eiffel Tower. “There’s even one of a back flip skiing,” he laughs.
He says the majority of friends and family think the calendar is a great idea and “a bit of a laugh”. As for Montgomery’s fiancé, who’s also a doctor and took some of the photos…
“She’s a bit embarrassed by some of them. Well, most of them.”
The cost to produce the calendars has been covered by MedRecruit, because one of the men, Sam Hazledine, is the managing director.
“Whether you believe in stem cell transplantation or not I think it’s an area that warrants investigation,” says Hazledine. “The awesome thing about Ash is that although life has dealt him a really tough blow, he’s not letting that keep him down.”
Thompson has already raised the US$70,000 to undergo his first stem cell treatment, and has regained some movement in his right foot.
He needs a further US$100,000 to complete the five more treatments that could see him walking.
One hundred percent of the proceeds of the calendars, which cost $15 each, will go to the Rise Up Ashley Thompson Trust.
People can order by calling 0800 MEDRECRUIT or by going to www.medrecruit.com.