Six cyclists grin and bare it in mankinis to help raise thousands for Milton Keynes hospice

The men, who wore nothing but Borat-style mankinis, were part of an initiative by the Energie Fitness gym to join in the Willen Hospice virtual Cycle Europe Challenge.

Energie's effort raise a staggering £7,500 for the hospice.

Gym owner and Mankini Six member Rob said: “This was the fourth big charity event that we have run through lockdown, and it's the second with Willen Hospice.

"After the success of our virtual relay race that raised £14,000, we knew we had to pull out all the stops to make this event stand out and catch peoples’ eye."

He said the idea came during a zoom social event, which was combined with a winetasting night,

"Our members starting pledging money if I cycled with blue hair. As the evening went on the pledges got bigger and so too did the lengths that they insisted I go to. So to make it fair, I said I would do the cycle wearing nothing but a mankini and blue hair if I was joined by some other members. And so the Mankini Six was formed!"

Claire from energie said: “At this time of lock down and in particular social distancing, charities like Willen Hospice and the others that we support are badly affected because the usual fund raising events have had to all be cancelled and don’t look likely to go ahead any time soon. So we have had to get imaginative in the way that we help fund raise.

"This stunt was only one small part of the weekend of cycling for Willen that took place. We had groups of families, friends, and solo riders setting off from all over Milton Keynes and the UK. in support of the charity.”

“One pair of novice bike riders, Emma Marcel and Sam Styles, members from our gym who had never really ridden their bikes in years before lock down, raised a huge amount of money when they put in just over 100km on Sunday afternoon.

“As always, we see our gym as being a part of our local community and, despite having to continue with our closure as other businesses begin to open, we remain committed to working hard to provide a service to our members- through small group PT sessions face to face with our trainers at our outdoor fitness space and with on line classes, seminars and socials. Doing our bit for our local charities is a key part to giving back to Milton Keynes at a time when people continue to find it tough, stressful and worrying.”

Find out more about energie's online classes and small group PT sessions by emailing [email protected] or calling 01908 410760.