More than a dozen of Gainesville’s hottest hunks will be auctioned off tonight to raise money for one local gym’s charitable mission.
The Ark School of Fitness in East Gainesville will be hosting its first Ark’s Angels Man Pageant from 10 p.m. to midnight at the gym located at 22 NE 11th St. The pageant aims to raise money for the gym’s mission of constructing strength and flexibility fitness parks in town.
The audience can get acquainted with each contestant before bidding, said pageant coordinator Jen Ambrose. Winners will then go out on a date with their man.
Michael Espinosa, a head coach and owner of The Ark, said the audience should expect to have an entertaining night and also learn about key points revolving around the gym community through skits in-between contestants.
Espinosa said he’s also participating.
“I think I’m going to be slightly humiliated,” he said. “I know I’m going to have a lot of fun.”
Caleb Whitfield, a head coach at CrossFit Gainesville and pageant contestant, said he volunteered for the entertainment and educational value.
“Being able to tap into the large network of people I have at my own gym to come over and support me is only going to help raise more money,” Whitfield said.
Whitfield said he believes the money being raised is going toward a good cause.
“We’re going to entertain with some skits that are going to deliver a heart-warming message,” he said. “Then we’re going to show off our manly goods in skimpy swimwear.”
[A version of this story ran on page 4 on 1/31/2014 under the headline "Fitness hunks to be auctioned off"]
