Toby Freeman has launched into a variety of marathons to lift cash for the Robin Most cancers Belief – and his really distinctive apparel has caught the eye of members of the general public alongside the way in which
A person dressed as an enormous pair of testicles is operating a variety of marathons throughout the UK to lift consciousness of the most cancers. Toby Freeman based the Robin Most cancers Belief in tribute of his brother, Robin, who was tragically recognized with late-stage testicular most cancers and handed away on the age of 24 in December 2011.
Now, the 35-year-old from Colchester is devoted to elevating consciousness of the situation and serving to those that discover themselves recognized with it. Talking completely to the Mirror in regards to the basis of the Robin Most cancers Belief, Toby stated: “Going again to 2011, my brother was recognized with a very uncommon type of testicular most cancers.
“And my brother was match, wholesome, lively – did not smoke, barely drank and but he was recognized with late-stage testicular most cancers. Lengthy, lengthy, lengthy story quick, we misplaced Rob 10 months later and we determined that if somebody who was as well being acutely aware and match and lively as Rob could possibly be recognized, that it might occur to anybody.
“So we actually wished to deal with consciousness training and help in order that no different household went via what we did mainly, in order that was the concept for the Robin Most cancers Belief. Clearly with these items, you begin with household and buddies and it is about Rob’s story, and individuals are concerned as a result of they love you they usually need to help that.
“Then because it’s grown over time, extra folks have been touched by the mission, by the story, and it is turn into about everybody else. All of the folks that we have helped, the neighborhood that we have constructed, all of the folks on the market that we have supported.”
In 2025, Toby has made it his mission to participate in a sequence of operating challenges, not solely to lift cash for the belief however to additionally maintain critical conversations with children on the significance of screening for most cancers. And his distinctive costume during which he has been operating has definitely helped him to spark up stated talks.
He added: “I am a runner, I am not a runner on this degree by any means, you already know? I can run and I wished to do some challenges this yr, after which I stated if I am gonna do that I want to guide by instance. I am all the time speaking about elevating consciousness, decreasing embarrassment, saving lives, and I assumed the easiest way to do this is all of our campaigns run via humour, proper?
“We expect the easiest way to interact a younger viewers is to make them chortle. That lowers everybody’s limitations after which we will have these actually vital well being conversations. So I assumed what would I believe could be completely hilarious could be operating round like an enormous ball bag.
“Fortunately my workforce had been on board with this and it is grown into this problem – this 500 kilometre problem. I am making an attempt to do occasions everywhere in the UK, not simply the place I am primarily based. , I’ve performed Brighton. I’ve performed London. I am doing the Hadrian’s Wall problem.
“I am doing an ultramarathon after that in September. I am making an attempt to do races all throughout the UK as a result of that is one thing we have to get out. Completely all over the place. However yeah, the concept simply took place was how can we make this as large and daring and foolish with a very vital message behind it as effectively?
“And that is been a very cool factor seeing folks get that. There’s the preliminary hilarity of, ‘What is that this particular person doing? Oh, I truly get why they’re doing this.’ That is actually vital, and I believe there’s an actual want for guys particularly to have these kinds of conversations.”
By way of reception, Toby added that folks have reacted to seeing the go well with in overwhelmingly optimistic vogue. He stated: “Individuals like it. I used to be fortunate sufficient to run Brighton and London, and never solely the operating neighborhood completely like it as a result of I believe they respect how exhausting it’s operating within the costume, however they get the message as effectively.
“However the crowds have been unbelievable. Individuals simply like it and it is precisely what you stated, it is the shock worth. It’s going from, ‘What am I witnessing proper now?’ to right away understanding the why. As a result of you already know, it is fairly apparent that it is for testicular most cancers as effectively.
“So yeah, you get the cheers on either side of respect for you doing one thing foolish and difficult, but in addition why you are doing it, and it has been acquired so amazingly. The races have all been actually nice. London and Brighton each supported it. Gave me a platform to speak about it.”
Dubbed ‘My Massive Ballsy Problem’, Toby has already accomplished marathons in London and Brighton, and his subsequent problem is operating Hadrian’s Wall – the 73-mile lengthy construction that runs between Newcastle upon Tyne and Bowness-on-Solway – between June 12 and June 15.
Because of his endeavours up to now, Toby has managed to lift £15,845 of his £240,000 goal for his charity, whereas additionally partaking in numerous conversations with members of the general public concerning testicular most cancers. Nevertheless, it is not the primary marketing campaign that Toby has launched which has been just a little on the market.
In 2019, Toby despatched a pair of prosthetic testicles into house by way of a hydrogen balloon in help of Testicular Most cancers Consciousness Month. In 2021, he invited 250 males to test their testicles concurrently by way of a Zoom name in an try to interrupt a world document, and the next yr, he helped show the UK’s largest pair of testicles on I Love MCR’s flagship Manchester billboard.
Talking about his previous endeavours, Toby stated: “Oh, yeah, we have performed a good few issues. First one which involves thoughts is we despatched a pair of balls into house. We known as it house balls, the marketing campaign. That was to launch Testicular Most cancers Consciousness Month. That will need to have been pre-pandemic.
“Looks like a very long time in the past. However yeah, we labored with the corporate to ship a pair of balls into house. There’s lovely photographs of like, the world curvature under with a pair of balls dangling above it. In order that was actually good enjoyable.
“We labored with I Love MCR in Manchester to create the world’s greatest pair of balls on a digital billboard, in order that was actually good enjoyable as effectively. Once more, that was Testicular Most cancers Consciousness Month after which through the pandemic we introduced… it was 250 guys from 25 completely different nations on 5 continents on Zoom to all test their balls on the identical time.
“So it was an unofficial world document as a result of we could not get an official world document for it. However I maintain on to that. I say nobody else has introduced that many individuals collectively to test their balls at one time. In order that was yeah… we have performed a number of issues to be sincere.”
Toby Freeman will run Hadrian’s Wall between June 12 and June 15 as a part of his Massive Ballsy Problem. You could find out extra about his trigger and donate on his Give As You Reside web page right here. You can too discover out extra in regards to the work of the Robin Most cancers Belief right here.
