A “shy” Sunshine Coast firey has set the annual Australian Firefighters Calendar alight after being a surprise, last-minute inclusion.
Ricky Smith’s appearance in all six versions of the 2022 calendar, plus the cover of the classic edition, is unprecedented.
It was the first time Ricky, who lives at Maroochydore but is based at the Arana Hills fire station, had done a photo shoot.
The 32-year-old was a last-minute selection after his then girlfriend sent in an application on his behalf, without telling him.
Calendar boss Dave Rogers was ready to start shooting when his partner Sherrin Hollioake noticed Ricky’s photo and suggested he call him.
Ricky thought Dave was calling to sell him a calendar.
“I didn’t know where he was calling from. ‘I’m right, thanks. I don’t want any’,” Ricky said.
“He talked me into it. It’s for a great cause. You have a bit of fun and you meet plenty of great people out of it.”
Ricky asked for a couple of shift swaps and quietly slipped down to the Gold Coast for five days for the photo shoot.
“I didn’t tell anyone at work. I was trying to keep it a secret as long as possible. I think I might have said I was going away,” he said.
The sort of person who can come across as shy upon first meeting, Ricky relaxed into the photo shoot as it progressed.
“I was a bit out my comfort zone, a bit nervous, for sure. The cameraman was really good and really helped and made me feel at ease … it’s a bit of fun,” he said.
Twenty-five firefighters are chosen for the calendar photo shoot every year but not all of them make the cut when the calendars are printed.
Ricky, a former lifeguard who surfs, runs and goes to the gym, turned out to be a natural in front of the camera.
Dave and Sherrin put him in every edition – classic, summer, cats, dogs, horses and mixed animals – and chose him for a cover.
“I tell the guys to be ‘happy if you make two’,” Dave said.
“To have a guy who makes all six is amazing. That just doesn’t happen.
“When you look at the quality of the firefighters coming through, the guys all look amazing, but the camera has got to love you.
“You look at somebody and think they’re going to be great but the camera doesn’t like them. The camera loves him.”
Ricky kept quiet about the calendar for as long as he could but word spread faster than he thought when he posted on social media to help with promotion.
“I had to put something up on Instagram and it came out. When I got to work, they’d plastered everywhere with the photo,” he said.
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He had intended to give his mum, Dawn, a calendar for Christmas but will have to think of another gift now.
“I was going to make it a surprise for her but that was it. She ended up finding out. I couldn’t keep the secret long enough.”
Ricky’s photo has already appeared in a calendar spread in Who magazine and could be seen by millions of people worldwide.
The Australian Firefighters Calendar is sold in 99 countries, has publicity in international glossy magazines, features in social media posts which have reached millions and is the biggest-selling calendar in the United States. Videos from the shoots have even been shown on television in the Moscow underground.
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Ricky is keeping his feet firmly on the ground but has not ruled out getting in front of the camera in the future.
“It’s a bit different for me, I guess. I try not to think too much of it,” he said.
“If they said they wanted me in it next year, I’d probably do it. It’s for a good cause and is a bit of fun.”
The calendar is available at www.australianfirefighterscalendar. The calendar has raised more than $3 million for various charities over the years and has supported RACQ Lifeflight, Healing Hooves and the Currumbin and Byron Bay wildlife hospitals this year, among others.
