Airdronian Willie Williams, who locals may know as Willie Snypes had been pondering the idea of posing for the classic and wildly (spicy perhaps?) popular HotStuff Calendar for 2023 for some time before he agreed to it. Williams said that it was his wife who was very adamant that he should pose for the calendar. 

"As this year's [calendar] approached, my wife talked to me more and more about it. In her eyes, her husband gets to be in a calendar, and she gets her own calendar with an autograph, but for me, it was more of doing it for the cause."

The calendar's history, according to the Calgary Firefighters Burn Treatment Society (CFBTS), goes all the way back to 1987 when it was created as a fundraiser to raise awareness for the Calgary Burn Treatment Centre. Originally, the firefighters who modelled for the calendar were originally selected as part of the Ladies' Night Out event.

"They would do runway work and entice the female audience for their vote. Now the selections are made by volunteers. When there are more than 13 good-looking guys, we increase the number of months in the calendar and add bonus poster pages as an extra for our supporters buying the calendar."

Alas, Williams who is a four-year Calgary firefighter, decided to go ahead and pose for the calendar. Williams who is featured as Mr. August said that the firefighters who do volunteer to pose for the calendar do not get to choose which month they will ultimately represent, though he had no qualms about the month he's representing; in fact, he said it suits him rather well.

"Everyone knows August is usually the hottest month of the year... so [I'm] tooting my horn a little bit there," Williams said laughing.

Williams said that as a career firefighter, he and many other firefighters see the devastating effects that a fire can have on people's lives, whether it's damage to homes or physical injury; it can be a daunting experience. The calendar and the subsequent sales of it, Williams said, go toward research and treatments for those affected by fires.

"If person A was involved in a fire; their whole life is turned upside down and where we come into play is whether they were burnt or there were issues with their living arrangement for family members. We're here to provide a way to give back to that community of burn victims," Williams said. "It's [all about]building and raising awareness to help support innovation to help those people who are affected by a fire."

Although the photos are impressive for a number of reasons, Williams said there is quite a bit of behind-the-scenes work that goes into the smouldering portraits.

"When it came to the fire in my background, there was a whole process of getting a fire truck out there just in case the fire got out of control. There had to be enough wood for the fire, then they had to make sure they had the right accelerant so that the fire could grow a certain way without getting out of control," he said. "So, there's a lot that went into the process ad then to have a beautiful day on top of that no wind, no rain, no snow. It was phenomenal."

aAirdronian Willie Williams (center), who is also known as Willie Snypes has been featured in the HOTSTUFF calendar, which aims to raise awareness and funds for the Calgary Burn Treatment Centre. (Photo by Walker Photography)

Williams said he didn't experience camera shyness in the least bit during the photo shoot, although he credits that to his many years of being an athlete, which coincidently led him to the firefighting service. 

"I've always been an athlete and when it came to planning a career, I've always wanted to be physically active. I could never see myself sitting behind a desk. I didn't always want to be a firefighter. It wasn't until I was playing with the Calgary Dino football program; After every practice, we'd have a few firefighters from the fire department that would come and talk to the team," he said. "As I listened to them, more and more, I just thought, hey, that'd be an awesome career."

Williams' enthusiasm was tested though, as he would apply three separate times over the years before he was accepted into the ranks of Calgary's firefighters. Regardless of whether his days are filled with dynamic calls with high-octane adrenaline, Williams wakes up every day with one constant: a smile on his face.

"The way I describe my day is it's like an action movie. I start my day out by rolling out of bed with a smile on my face because once you do that, nobody else can screw that day up for you, except you. When I wake up with a smile, it's like the beginning credits of a movie getting started. You don't know what the day or the movie is going to entail until you get deeper into the movie," he said. "And then at the end of the shift, that's the ending credits to the movie, so, now that movie is done."

He added that even though he has a passion for his career and all that firefighting entails, he is acutely aware that his best day on the job may very well be someone's worst day, especially if that someone is pitted against a fire. 

The CFBTC is the primary burn treatment referral centre for burn patients in southern Alberta, southeastern British Columbia, southwestern Saskatchewan and northern Montana.

One can order a HOTSTUFF calendar here. Donations to the CFBTS  are accepted here as well. 

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