Tached campaigner takes to 4th plinth
A stubbly sound engineer from Scarborough will be taking his place on Trafalgar Square’s 4th plinth at 10pm on Monday in support of the Everyman Male Cancer campaign ‘TacheBack.’
Ben Vickers, 37, is one of the 2,400 people to be selected to take part in the One and Other project devised by sculptor Anthony Gormley. He will be using his hour of fame to support TacheBack; a campaign that encourages men to grow a sponsored ‘tache throughout September to raise money for vital research into testicular and prostate cancer.
Armed with a giant moustache, father of one Ben will be ‘Dad-dancing’ his way around the plinth while raising awareness of testicular cancer. As well as informing passers by about facts and statistics linked to this disease, Ben will also try to encourage men in Trafalgar Square to take part in a ‘group testicle check,’ in a bid to further educate men on the importance of regularly checking themselves.
‘TacheBack is a fun way of shedding light on a very serious subject,’ said Ben, ‘so I felt that I would use my time on the plinth in a similar way. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity and I wanted to use it to both educate and entertain. So men, if you’re in Trafalgar Square at 10pm, feel free to pop over and put your hands down your trousers for an important cause.’
TacheBack is now in its seventh year and is the original, ‘home-grown’ ‘tache-growing extravaganza. All money raised goes directly to scientists at the Everyman Centre who are working tirelessly to find treatments for prostate and testicular cancers. These diseases affect more than 36,000 British men every year and claim 10,000 lives.
TacheBack spokesperson Sarah Healy said: ‘It’s brilliant that Ben has chosen to dedicate his moment of fame to TacheBack. The image of seeing a crowd of men standing in Trafalgar Square checking themselves is not something you see everyday but we hope it will help raise awareness and highlight the need for men to stop neglecting their health.’
TacheBack’s official grooming partner, Remington, is on hand throughout September to ensure participants keep their ‘taches suitably preened with style guides and grooming tips on the TacheBack website.
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Media contact:
Jon Street on 020 7153 5542 or email jonathan.street @icr.ac.uk
Notes to Editor
• Everyman is a campaign run by The Institute of Cancer Research, to raise awareness and fund research into testicular and prostate cancer at The Everyman Centre – Europe’s first and only centre dedicated to male cancer research.
• The Institute of Cancer Research is Europe’s leading cancer research centre with expert scientists working on cutting edge research. It was founded in 1909 to carry out research into the causes of cancer and to develop new strategies for its prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care. Website is at www.icr.ac.uk
• Prostate cancer has overtaken lung cancer to become the most common cancer in men affecting almost 35,000 men every year in the UK. One man dies of prostate cancer in the UK every hour.
• Testicular cancer is the most common form of cancer in men aged between 15 and 44, with about 2,000 cases a year in the UK. Incidence is increasing dramatically – by almost four-fold in the past 50 years, but thanks to advances made at Everyman, testicular cancer is 99 per cent curable if caught early, and with treatment the overall cure rate is 95 per cent.
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