VIDEO: Horsham dad shortlisted for ‘Britain’s Best Groomed Man’ competition

A Horsham dad could get the title of ‘Britain’s Best Groomed Man’ after being whittled down from thousands of applicants to make the top 30.

Gary Ogden, a 45-year-old long haul crew manager for Virgin Atlantic, now hopes to win the competition which was launched to encourage men to self-check for cancer during their daily grooming routine.

“I didn’t realise how big the competition was when I applied but now I know it’s quite huge and I want to appeal to people to vote!” explained Gary, who lives in Alley Groves, Cowfold.

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“Even though I’m originally from Manchester, I’ve lived here for 16 years and Horsham is home for me. To win would be good for West Sussex and especially for the publicity of men’s health.”

A survey was run by the organisers of the competition, men’s cancer charity ‘Orchid’ and premium male grooming brand ‘The Bluebeards Revenge’, which revealed that whilst men are spending more time in the bathroom and the ‘grooming gender gap’ is narrowing, they are still failing to self-check for cancer unlike their female counterparts who benefit from major health campaigns.

Rebecca Porta, Chief Executive of Orchid, said: “Our research shows that three quarters of UK men recognise that a lump in the testes could be a sign of testicular cancer - but 25% still never check their testes.

“Checking testes takes less than five minutes and is a vital first step in the battle against testicular cancer. If caught early enough there is a 98% chance of survival.”

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They are looking to use this national competition as way of not only promoting good shaving, but also to encourage men to self-check for cancer.

Nick Gibbens, spokesperson for the grooming brand, said: “Our search is finally complete, and it’s now over to you, the Great British public, to crown Britain’s best groomed man.

“But it’s not going to be an easy task, as each finalist has the sharp dress sense of Daniel Craig, the stylish locks of David Beckham, the masculine skin tone of Gerard Butler, the chiselled jawline of Jason Statham, and the overall manliness of Ray Winstone.”

The winner of the online public vote will secure a once in a lifetime one-year modelling contract to become the face of The Bluebeards Revenge.

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“It would be so fantastic to win,” added 6ft3 Gary who has a 19-year-old daughter.

“It’s really weird to try and sell yourself but actually if you want to win you’ve got to do it. I’m the second oldest in the competition and it’s really made me push to do this before I get far too old.”

In the past Gary has won various competitions including a one off modelling contract for a sports clothing range, a grooming competition at the age of 20 with Virgin Atlantic- where he has worked for 25 years- and currently features in the grooming catalogue for the whole of the Virgin company.

“There’s a photo of me for this competition on Heathrow Airport’s general news page and I’ve even tweeted Richard Branson to see if he could back me on it so we’ll see what happens,” added Gary.

Curtis Lyon, aged 23, is also from Horsham and in the running for Britain’s Best Groomed Man.

To vote visit www.bluebeards-revenge.co.uk/bgvote/.

The deadline for voting is Friday March 8th 2013.