BEIJING (AP) 鈥� The athletes of the U.S. men鈥檚 bobsled program needed to quickly raise $70,000. They brainstormed ways to come up with that kind of cash. And one idea, something that had been considered a few times over the years, seemed to make the most sense.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very silly,鈥� bobsledder and photographer Jimmy Reed warned.
He wasn鈥檛 wrong.
They went to work on a calendar featuring 12 months of U.S. men鈥檚 bobsledders in various provocative poses, hamming it up in front of Reed鈥檚 camera to benefit the team. They went on sale a few months ago.
鈥淲e鈥檇 been talking about this for a long time,鈥� U.S. bobsledder Carlo Valdes said. 鈥淚t just never happened. Until now. Jimmy made it happen and everybody bought in. And nobody will be disappointed.鈥�
The project was done with USA Bobsled and Skeleton鈥檚 knowledge, but without any formal involvement from the national governing body. Reed also ensured that no photo showed anything that might cause a copyright issue, such as the Olympic rings or a sponsor's logo.
Put simply, USABS knows its athletes often need more financial help than the federation is able to provide.
鈥淏obsled is an expensive sport,鈥� USA Bobsled and Skeleton CEO Aron McGuire said. 鈥淎s one of the only countries that doesn鈥檛 receive government funding, our sponsors and donors are critically important to us to provide support to USA athletes. While our goal is to fully fund the national team, we recognize that we aren鈥檛 there yet.鈥�
Valdes is one of 13 bobsledders 鈥� many of whom made the team that will represent the U.S. men鈥檚 program at the Beijing Games 鈥� who posed for the calendar.
One of his shots: a play on the iconic Burt Reynolds pose for the centerfold of the April 1972 issue of Cosmopolitan. But with a key difference: Reynolds was nude for his photo; Valdes wasn鈥檛. Valdes posed with a bobsled helmet; no bearskin rug for him, either.
鈥淰ery tasteful,鈥� Valdes said.
Reed was the mastermind of the plan, along with other fundraising efforts. A GoFundMe that he started more than covered the hoped-for $70,000 total to fund the second U.S. men鈥檚 bobsled this season; that drive was halted after $96,000 was raised in just a few days. But the calendar plan moved forward anyway, since there鈥檚 always going to be a need for more money, whether it was this season or next.
鈥淚鈥檝e been interested in photography, like my entire life,鈥� Reed said. 鈥淢y dad had cameras. And I remember always being very interested in National Geographic as a kid and I would do school projects on photography. But it really wasn鈥檛 until four years ago that I bought my first camera. I had some leftover prize money from the 2016-17 season, so I bought my first camera and kind of dove in headfirst.鈥�
His teammates didn't need much convincing. They trusted his process, and he tried to keep the reshoots to a minimum. They've sold a few hundred calendars, and it has a following on the World Cup circuit 鈥� even being used as a prize this season.
The brakemen on the bobsled tour often come up with various off-track competitions and one day, the challenge was long jumping. U.S. women's push athlete Sylvia Hoffman entered the contest and wound up placing first.
鈥淎nd I won the calendar," she said.
For the record, Mr. February 鈥� the Olympic month 鈥� happens to be Josh Williamson, who qualified for the games for the first time.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a pretty funny thing that just kind of came out of nowhere and we had a lot of fun with it," Williamson said. 鈥淚t kept our minds relaxed and it was stress-free, which was a good thing. It was one of the coolest things I鈥檝e been part of."
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Tim Reynolds, The Associated Press
