The naked truth about prostate cancer

Brave Stockland Halcyon Greens' homeowners bare almost-all to raise $6,000 to fight the disease. When these nine brave men agreed to go ‘The Full Monty’ to help raise awareness and funds for prostate cancer, little did they know Australia would watch on.

The fundraiser, held at Stockland’s Halcyon Greens in Pimpama, captured national public attention, appearing on television in Queensland and New South Wales and running in newspapers around the country.

The inspiration came from 1997 film The Full Monty which featured a group of unemployed mine workers from the northern England town of Sheffield who decide to strip to make some extra cash and was a huge box office hit.

While Greens’ dancers kept their speedos on, they did raise more than $6,000 at the event to fight prostate cancer. According to Cancer Council Australia, one in seven Australian men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer by the age of 85.

Event organiser Richard Hayes said the idea came to him after hearing of five men in the community undergoing treatment for the disease.

“I’m celebrating 29 years since having a liver transplant and I’m Chairman of the Queensland branch of Transplant Australia so I’ve been raising funds and awareness for lots of different things over the years,” he said. “I mentioned it to the neighbours and they all said, ‘no way!’”

“A conversation with Darrell Kleidon over Friday night drinks at the Recreation Club set the plan into motion. Darrell is in Stage 1 and I mentioned it to him and he said, ‘leave it with me’.” Soon there was a group brave enough to get involved with choreographer Lola Talbot volunteering to teach them a routine.

“For the first few rehearsals, they were like Brown’s cows,” Richard laughed. “They all wanted to change something and they’d spend 15 minutes talking about it, but they really nailed it in the end.”

Richard said the group planned to do more fundraisers down the track, hinting at a Village People tribute night. “Lola said she’s already got a costume for us as her husband is a firefighter; although there wasn’t a fireman in the Village People,” he laughed.

Richard and wife Anne moved to Greens almost a year ago from their home in Brisbane’s Camp Hill, after looking at countless ‘rightsizing’ options. “We looked all over the place from the Sunshine Coast to Toowoomba but we found the location of Greens and what it offered was perfect for us,” he said.

“A lot of people we know say we live in a retirement village and I get really frustrated and tell them it’s like a 5-star resort,” he said. “And when I tell them what we’ve got here, then they get it.”

Richard said the community spirit and sense of connection Stockland Halcyon offered was a bonus on top of all of the facilities and amenities. “Even for single men and women in their 50s and older, it’s a great place to be as there are so many things to do.”

“It’s great to just go to the Rec Club on a Friday night for a few drinks and a chat. You don’t get that in a townhouse or a unit complex.”