Farmer braves body wax to raise £10,000 for charities

A Warwickshire farmer and livestock haulier has endured a chest and back wax – and sacrificed both eyebrows – to raise more than £10,000 for charity.

David Mawby, who farms beef cattle, sheep and arable land near Rugby alongside his haulage work, took on the challenge in aid of Dementia UK and Myton Hospice.

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The fundraiser was prompted by the death of a close friend named Mai, from cancer last year, who was cared for by Myton Hospice, as well as several friends and relatives losing family members to dementia.

Mr Mawby initially hoped to raise about £2,000 for each charity, but support from the farming community saw the total climb beyond £10,000.

A smiling David Mawby undergoes the first strip © Hannah Mawby

Fundraising included almost £1,000 collected at a local agricultural show, £500 at Thame Sheep Fair and £1,058 from auctioning a donated fat lamb, as well as online donations through the JustGiving page.

His daughters Holly, Harriet and Georgia also made pom-poms to sell, while cakes were sold at the livestock market.

A charity auction, led by Bagshaws auctioneer Meg Elliott, included donations from Pickstock Telford, Packington Free Range Pork, Pickstock Foods and Watergate Farm Turkeys.

Painful challenge

But the centrepiece remained the waxing – with one friend paying £100 for the privilege of removing the first strip.

Mr Mawby had resolved beforehand not to give his friends the satisfaction of hearing him scream. “I gritted my teeth,” he said.

While his chest was not as painful as expected, his back proved another matter.

“My back did hurt. My back was very painful, more painful than I’d expected,” he said.

His suffering did not end there. A further whip round raised £320 for both of his eyebrows to be removed.

Mr Mawby said he had been overwhelmed by the response, particularly after originally expecting to raise only a few thousand pounds.

“Mega, mega, very emotional,” he said.

The immediate soreness has now subsided – although Mr Mawby admitted he has reached the “horrible, prickly, annoying stage” of regrowth.