‘Brief Moments’ charity calendar

A new charity calendar is being launched at Charles Street in October.

The calendar has been created to raise money for the work of the Sutton LGBT Forum and will be launched over the weekend of October 24-26 at Charles Street bar.

It will be available to buy online from their website www.lgbtsutton.co.uk from November 1.

Mark Martinez, who produced the calendar, said: “I wanted to raise money for the Sutton LGBT Forum because of the good work it does for the LGBT community in Sutton. When I was young I was lucky to have a supportive and loving upbringing and I attended a gay youth group; I want LGBT people in Sutton to be able to have the same experience.

“A memory that has haunted me for years is that at the age of 18 I took my mum to a gay club. All night a young gay man wouldn’t leave her alone, he held her hand and kept cuddling and kissing her. I later found out that he was selling his body to pay rent and to party so that he never felt alone.

“The Sutton LGBT Forum are working to try and prevent any member of the LGBT community feeling like this… alone.

“The Forum offers advice and support and generally helps create a friendly social atmosphere for LGBT people in Sutton and surrounding areas.

“All of the Forum’s board members are unpaid volunteers and have created this amazing organisation in their own free time. I love the work they do so I wanted to raise so money for them so they can keep creating, supporting and growing.”

The photos for the calendar were shot on Brighton Beach in July by one of  the UK’s leading glamour models, India Reynolds. Iconic drag queen Dave Lynn appears on the cover along with guys of all shapes and sizes local to the Sutton area.

Mark continued: “All the guys are different shapes and sizes as I wanted the calendar to appeal to as wide an audience as possible. They are the guys next door or the ones you stand next to in a bar, just ordinary guys.

“I called in as many favours as possible to make it all happen, from makeup to behind the scenes, and even got a very kind donation of pants from Pants Underwear Store, which were worn for the shoot and which I may auction off during the launch weekend.

“Blood, sweat and a lot of body oil went into the making of the calendar and I would like to thank everyone who has helped in its production.

“We have a behind-the-scenes video which will be played at Charles Street over the launch weekend, so hopefully that will generate more interest and encourage people to buy a copy of the calendar.”

The calendar will be on sale at Charles Street over the launch weekend for £10.

To purchase online, the price is £10 plus postage and packing from November 1, CLICK HERE:

Event: Launch of Brief Moments Charity Calendar

Where: Charles Street Bar, Marine Parade, Brighton

When: Weekend of October 24-26