Last Friday saw more than 3 000 men of all shapes, sizes and ages take to the streets of Johannesburg in the sixth Hollard Daredevil Run, all geared up and ready to run cancer out of town in nothing but purple Speedos.
The purpose of the Daredevil Run was to raise awareness around cancers affecting men, as well as to raise funds that will go towards cancer screening and awareness programmes in disadvantaged communities around South Africa.
"I don’t think I expected it to be as much fun as it was ... chaos but so much fun. The atmosphere on the day was incredible as men just streamed into Zoo Lake in Speedos, ready and raring to go," said Flow PR's Shaun Demmer. "The start of the run was electric as the guys were telling each other their stories, their motivation for doing the run and their devotion to creating awareness about cancers that affect men.
"We definitely succeeded in painting Jozi purple last Friday, and had an awesome time doing so!"
The head of independent insurers at Hollard, Justin Naylor, who also donned a purple Speedo in the name of cancer awareness, said, "It’s been a great success once again. And it’s really about having balls – having the balls to be in a Speedo and having the balls to run cancer out of town."
It really does take balls to run through peak-hour traffic wearing nothing but a Speedo – and we take our hats off to the thousands of men who had them!
Apart from the Flowstars participating in the run, we were extensively involved behind the scenes: we built the new-look Daredevil Run website and we were responsible for generating publicity around the event. And, we're tickled to report, #DaredevilRun trended at number one on Twitter during the event!
Flowstar Gianluca Tucci, who also took part in the run, said, "Another Daredevil under the belt, my fifth, and my emotions, gratitude and passion for this event keep escalating! To run for such a great cause, no matter the attire, and do it for all those who have fought, lost and are fighting, brings nothing but the most heightened honour. To all the Daredevils out there, keep up the passion!"
