Chichester students strip down to their speedos for Bognor sea plunge in aid of Movember

A group of students took an icy plunge into the sea at Bognor Regis beach on Saturday to raise awareness of male suicide.
Taking the plunge on Bognor beachTaking the plunge on Bognor beach
Taking the plunge on Bognor beach

Edward Hounsell, the University of Chichester’s Movember ambassador, preceded the dip with a 26km run through Chichester and Bognor Regis wearing only his speedos – to represent the 26 per cent survival rate for prostate cancer if not detected early.

The 24-year-old said he attracted ‘a lot of toots’ from cars along the main road.

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“The weather started hailing at one point,” he said. “It was just a case of mind over matter.”

Taking the plunge on Bognor beachTaking the plunge on Bognor beach
Taking the plunge on Bognor beach

By the time he reached the other students at Bognor beach, he said: “I was absolutely knackered, I just wanted to get it over and done with.”

Around 20 students braved the ‘massive waves’ for a minute – to reflect the fact that every 60 seconds a man around the world takes his life.

Edward’s efforts raised £743, while the university as a whole raised £21,596 for the Movember Foundation, the leading charity changing the face of men’s health.

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In total, 329 people and 23 sports/society teams at the university took part in Movember activities.

After the swimAfter the swim
After the swim

Edward said: “It’s fantastic, I’m absolutely overwhelmed.

“It was very emotional seeing how much people can give, especially during such a tough time.”

It has been a particularly difficult year for Edward, who was involved in a terrible fire a few months ago and has had to drop out of his master’s course.

He said it was good to both support the charity and ‘do it for my own mental health really’.

After the swimAfter the swim
After the swim

During November, Edward also completed:

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– a 75km cycle, because 75 per cent of all suicides in the UK are male

– 360 burpees, because 360 men in the UK die by suicide each month

– 4,300 crunches, to represent each man who took his life in the last year

– 2,034 push ups, because suicide is the leading cause of death for men aged 20-34 in the UK.