It was the idea of sober Instagrammer Michael Singh (aka @sober_singhy) and his fellow sober friend, Michael Sargood (aka @happywithoutthehooch) who promotes alcohol-free events and news through his website.
Michael Singh said: “I’ve been raising money for charity by taking donations for digital portraits for a while now and I was talking to my friend Michael about how we might step it up a gear. And that’s when we came up with the idea of a Calendar Girls-style calendar featuring regular non-drinkers being a bit raunchy.”
The two sober Michaels announced their idea on a livestream broadcast on Instagram and invited volunteers to come forward to model for the calendar. To their surprise, 10 other sober-living models came forward to offer their services within a few hours.
“That’s when we realised this was serious,” said Singh. “Until then, I wasn’t really expecting anything to come of it. But I was bowled over by people’s enthusiasm and willingness to support it.”
Michael Sargood, who gave up drinking in February last year after his drinking escalated during the second lockdown, said:
“The ridiculous thing is that this is the sort of thing I would only ever have contemplated drunk before. There’s a real stigma that non-drinkers are boring, but I’m having a much better time now as a non-drinker than I ever did propping up a bar and falling over.
I used to say no to anything that I didn’t like the sound of or drink my way through it. Now, when someone suggests a ridiculous idea, I just say yes and give it my best shot. I care a lot less about how others perceive me and that’s very liberating as well as a lot of fun!”
Dave Wilson (@soberdave), an Alcohol Change UK ambassador, is also involved and is representing the month of January. He said:
“As a former drinker and an ambassador for Alcohol Change UK, I was thrilled to be able to lend my support to this calendar. Getting my kit off in public isn't something I do much now I'm knocking on a bit and sober, but I see first-hand the difference this amazing charity makes to people's lives and so I had to get involved.
There is still such a stigma around not drinking and an assumption that sobriety is boring. But this calendar - and the huge laugh we've all had putting it together - is proof positive that you really don't need a drink to have a good time.”
With an initial print-run of 300, the calendar aims to raise at least £3,000 for the charity, though there may be extra print runs if there is the demand.
Thank you to Michael, Michael, Dave and the other fantastic models for their support and bringing the fun to FUNdraising!
