Workers brave leg wax pain

IT was a case of a little pain for major gain as Ethan Shiers and Mat Harmer braved a leg wax on Friday to raise money for the Leukaemia Foundation as part of the World’s Greatest Shave.

Their commitment to the cause also saw them shave their heads – with Mr Harmer saying goodbye to dreadlocks he had grown for 10 years.

The Geographe machinists raised $3130 for their efforts, with support from the business and their colleagues.

Geographe chief executive officer Sam Hyder was proud of their commitment to the charity and said they were braver than he when it came to the leg wax.

“I don’t know that I could do that, I think I could jump out of a plane but I don’t think I would let anyone wax my legs,” he said.

“As a company we jumped at the chance to get behind the guys.

“Mat had been growing his hair for years – because he was making such a big sacrifice, we wanted to make sure we contributed a significant amount.”

The participants were prompted to get involved because they both had friends or family who had been affected by the disease.

“I came across a friend who was doing it (the shave) who went through cancer a while ago and I thought it would be good to do something nice,” Mr Shiers said.

“It was amazing how many people wanted to get on board as soon as you give them an opportunity to donate.”

Mr Shiers said he was enjoying the feel of his “silky smooth legs” but it was to be the “first and last time I ever get anything waxed”.

Mr Harmer said it was an important cause worth the hairy sacrifice.

“A friend of the family lost someone last year and that struck a chord with me, so I was keen as to jump on board,” he said.

“It was ten years worth of dreads so I am still crying on the inside – I might shed a tear now just thinking about it, but it is all good.

“It was an awesome turn out on the day, which I didn’t expect, but it was great to see everyone get behind it.”

An extra $300 was raised on the day as their colleagues entered a competition to guess how much Mr Harmer’s hair would weigh once cut off, with the dreadlocks coming in at an impressive 506 grams.