We came, we soared, we showed our conkers…
That’s right, thanks to Chillisauce – and your all important support – Great Britain was proudly represented at the Naked Sledding World Championships for the first time in history.
After months and months of searching all over the country for the perfect contenders - you voted for firefighter Holly Garshong and British solider Thomas Chrusciel, to bare all and battle for slope supremacy in nothing nut their birthday suits.
The highlights
About the competition
Forget Sochi, these are the winter races that really count
Taking place in the lively spa town of Braunlage, this infamous race takes place in mid-February, where huge crowds turn out to admire the unique sporting spectacle of men and women careering down the snowy tracks wearing nothing but a helmet and their pants. And after the bare-chested racing action concludes, there are high octane after-parties that make your usual après-ski seem like a vicar’s tea party.
Where does the race take place?
Germany has something of a reputation for hosting competitions that border on the bizarre, and so it’s only fitting that our Deutsche brethren are once again rolling out the welcome mat for this celebration of the human form in all its glory.
Braunlage, a spa town and health resort
Braunlage is best known as a spa and health resort town nestled in the rugged Harz mountains in Northern Germany, and it’s certainly a town that knows how to let its hair down too.
Who goes?
As you can imagine, this is not a race for the shy and retiring. While the field itself is a relatively small one – expect 30 competitors in total – the crowds are far from small. More than 25,000 gathered slope-side in 2012. Racers gather from various countries, with more than 5,000 applying for the honour of representing their nation. The selection policy almost always seems to be slightly skewed towards those who look good naked, which as a spectator you will no doubt be relieved to hear!
How it works?
The winner is the naked speed junkie who crosses the finish line first, with the male and female champions both receiving a tasty €1,000 prize. Heck, it’s enough to even buy themselves some clothes.
Our campaign to find the British Team
So, we Brits have a stiff upper lip do we? Well, we’ll see about that
Here at Chillisauce we’ve always been fans of incredible experiences and unique events that salute the wilder side of life. When we first wrote about the competition on our blog back in 2012, we vowed to never stand back and watch another naked sled race zip by without British representation. As soon as we heard that it was back, we asked for applicants to become part of Great Britain’s inaugural naked sledding team.
The race to find Team GB was on
And so, when we found out that the event was returning, we jumped at the chance to assemble the first ever UK team. Our patriotic call to arms was greeted with a raucous response and, after sifting through more than 500 applications from would-be heroes keen to show off their naked ambition, we found the perfect contenders.
Who you voted to represent Great Britain
Two brave soldIers (well, one)
After counting the votes, the brave pair that were chosen to tackle the course over in Germany were Sunderland’s flame-haired firefighter Holly Garshong and 21-year-old blue eyed British soldier Thomas Chrusciel.
Holly Garshong
Born to do this
Just as Brooklyn Beckham is almost guaranteed to become top-flight footballer, so too Holly Garshong was born to represent team Great Britain at the Naked Sledding Championships. Aside from actually enjoying sledding and feeling at home as the traverses the snow covered slopes, she has also been raised by an avid family of nudists who love nothing more than baring all in the company of others.
Nudist by nature
“We used to go on nudist holidays and it was just normal to me, growing up,” said Holly. “We started when I was about six and I just got brought up that way. Everyone was naked and people weren’t looking at each other like that – it was just normal.” Given this, our outgoing fitness instructor from Barnes in Sunderland is ideally placed to lead from the front.
Holly, 29, believes firmly in the ‘work hard, play hard’ mantra, she enjoys keeping fit at the Wear-fit boot-camp and playing with her band Four Star Hero. Ironically she was at a ski resort in France when she heard that she had made the final ten, along with her husband of less than a year. “They just laughed and my husband said I just like to shock people, but I think it will be brilliant to represent your country.”
Occupation: Firefighter
Lives: Sunderland
Age: 29
Eye Colour: Blue
Height: 5 ft 3″
Weight: 56 Kg
Competing seems to be in Holly’s blood, with the desire to represent her country stronger than the lure of the 1,000 Euro prize for the winners of the event. With a competitive edge as striking as her bright red hair, she hopes that her experience as a qualified fitness instructor and appreciation of the naked form will give her an edge on her international rivals. As a unique and unconventional woman, it seems fitting that Holly should also represent Great Britain’s inaugural naked sledding team.
As Holly herself said, “I’m not bothered about being cold, as long as I get a cup of tea at the end of it." With a philosophy like that and the thirst for life that this thrill-seeking, Northeastern lass brings to the championships, the challenge of sledding naked in sub-zero temperatures in the pursuit of national glory will hold no fears for feisty Holly.
Thomas Chrusciel
For Queen and country!
When it comes to patriotism, putting your life on the line for Queen and country is about as impressive as it gets. This is why the idea of stripping off his clothes and sledding down the ski slopes of Germany holds no fear for 21 year old Thomas Chrusciel, who is a serving soldier of the British Army. Physically fit, motivated and just the right amount of crazy, he loves nothing more than risking it all while representing our beautiful and proud nation.
He'll do it for Britain
From East Sussex, Tom has a passion anything exciting and his favourite past-times include skiing, surfing and extreme bike riding. While he usually prefers to attempt these being at least partially clothed, the thrill of naked sledding was simply too much to ignore. He's a former Tough Mudder contestant, although has no idea where he placed. “I could not tell you where I came,” he said, “but I made sure that I beat the Americans". Nothing sums up this determined competitor more.
The question that remains is whether Thomas, as a soldier in the British Army, has a distinct advantage over his international rivals? The short answer may well be yes, as his day job involves intense physical activity and adventurous training as a matter of course. Currently based in Germany, he is also no stranger to foreign climates has the full backing of the entire British Army, which is quite a force to be reckoned with.
Occupation: Solider
Lives: Eastbourne
Age: 21
Eye Colour: Brown
Height: 6 ft 2″
Weight: 80 Kg
As a patriotic, physically capable and well-travelled contestant, Thomas will get on his sled with a tremendous amount of self-confidence. If he can survive the threat of frostbite and tune into his competitive instinct, he may well achieve his dream of representing his country and achieving national glory!
What happened?
Not the smoothest of starts…
It’s fair to say the competition itself hadn’t got off to the smoothest of starts. A lack of snow at the original location of Braunlage led to a last-minute venue change, with a hastily constructed course being set up at Magdebug-Cochstedt airport. An impressive 89 tonnes of snow were brought in to cover the 70m-long ramp, while mass crowds of 10,000 still turned out in force to show their support – and party into the night.
Sabotage or fashionably late?
As for our brave British competitors, they arrived fashionably late, having shared a party bus with the Dutch team, but when the driver took them to the wrong airport it meant a mad dash to the start line with only 10 minutes to spare.
Holly knocked out by national hero Melanie Müller
In a tough first round draw Holly fronted up to reigning champion and German porn star Melanie Müller – and the daunting prospect proved a little too much as our Mackem lass was knocked out by the home crowd favourite. Not that there’s any shame in that, especially after seeing off such fierce competition just to win the right to compete in front of thousands. The female contest was eventually won by a care worker named Anika Lengfeld from the German city of Burg.
“Certainly something to tell the grandchildren”
“It’s been an unforgettable experience and I’m so thankful to all those who voted for me to represent my country,” she said. “It won’t be my last involvement in Naked Sledding and I’m already looking forward to helping recruit the next British team. I’ve met some real characters and made some great friends along the way and the organisation of the Great British Team by the guys at Chillisauce was absolutely awesome.”
Tom narrowly loses to the “muscular butcher”
Soldier boy Tom did his country proud too, racing into the second round before losing out to eventual male category winner Maurice Berg, the slightly sinisterly nicknamed “muscular butcher”.
“It was a mad experience”
“I’m so glad I got the chance to do it and it was an honour to represent Great Britain. I’m flattered that the public wanted to see me naked and I reckon the world definitely needs more events like this.”
Who they beat from these shores
After receiving 500 applications, Chillisauce chose 10 very different applicants and you voted for who you wanted to represent Great Britain.
Our finalists:
Vicki Fairman
Head-strong Vicki is a competitive and confident full-time Mum from West Sussex.
She is not averse to stripping down and getting naked, and thinks she’d be pretty darned good at sledding. She can also down a pint quickly and belly dance, which would be sure to make her a smash-hit at the after-tournament party.
Occupation: Full-time Mum
Age: 28
Lives: West Sussex
Dave Algar
Dave has previously sledged in the Alps and the Canadian Rockies.
A former Tough Mudder competitor and aspiring RAF cadet, Dave thinks he has the body to make women (and a few men) swoon. His job involves the day-to-day running of Carterton Leisure Centre.
Occupation: Leisure Centre Duty Manager
Age: 23
Lives: Oxfordshire
Hazel X
Aside from her mysterious name and incredibly fun-sounding job, our Hazel also learned to ski black runs when she was just six years old.
The web cam model even practices as a qualified rock-climbing instructor, meaning that hitting the slopes naked will enable her to utilise her most prominent skills. Hazel’s job involves getting paid to strip from the comfort of her bedroom.
Occupation: Web Cam Model and Rock Climbing Instructor
Age: 22
Lives: London
Brendan Freer
A young contender with no previous experience of sledding, Brendan promises to bring a unique style to the event.
In his element when naked, he also believes his furry posterior will give him and advantage over his rivals. His victory celebration would also include the classic ‘turning his eyelids inside-out’ trick, which remains as fresh today as it has ever done!
Occupation: Unemployed
Age: 25
Lives: London
Francis Thomas
A lacrosse expert with magnificent calves (his words not ours), Francis categorizes himself as ‘being heavy and fast on a sled.’
He may also be the only Oxford student in history with the ability to carry a pint on his head, which makes him OK in our books. We would also like to see how his definition of ‘enthusiastic dancing’ plays out on a live stage.
Occupation: Student at Oxford University
Age: 19
Lives: London
Kirsty Bunning
Kirsty is an aspiring nudist who also competed in the 2012 World Naked Bike Ride, she is taking a break from drunken streaking to represent Great Britain.
Kirsty believes that her entire life has been leading to this tournament. Her job involves hosting a touring rock ‘n ‘roll party that travels across the UK. As for the after-show party, is anyone up for a game of naked frisbee?
Occupation: Event Planner
Age: 24
Lives: Brighton
Ricc Webb
Fully equipped with a heat retaining beard and an ability to blow actual flames, if nothing else he will be able to keep the others warm after the event.
With a job title of ‘Mischief Maker’, it stands to reason that Ricc should be pretty wild outside of the office too. Look out for his tactic of hurling balls of snow and fire at the other racers!
Occupation: ‘Mischief Maker’ and Marketer for Nokia
Age: 29
Lives: London
Thank you to everybody that applied to fly down the slopes for the glory of Great Britain
Thousands of you witnessed history being made
Not only did thousands of you tune in to watch the contest live on our blog, we also organised for hundreds of groups, mostly on hen and stag dos, to join us in Braunlage for the weekend. As you can imagine, everybody had the best time - so thanks to everyone for joining us. If you are looking for unforgettable weekend ideas, check out our website.
