BEATING off stiff competition from the masses, they are officially 13 of the hottest blokes in the Lothians – and semi-finalists in the inaugural Forth One Cover Guy modelling competition.
There’s 29-year-old Barry McGuigan, Christopher Anderson, 20-year-old footballer Craig O’Reilly, dance teacher Francis McDonald, Gordon Baillie, 19-year-old student Greg Marr, city centre bar manager Johnny Porter, 21-year-old trainee PE teacher Jord
an Webster, 21-year-old Paul Ross, Marty Waddell, Philip Keirnan, 26, 22-year-old footballer Sean Murdoch and 20-year-old student Robert Simpson who are battling it out for votes to make it through to the live finals, which are being held next Thursday at Ocean Terminal. And, as far as the boys are concerned, it’s time to let battle commence.
“I’m looking forward to the experience of it all,” says Barry. “I’ve done a bit of modelling before and it was a good experience. It’s also a good way to make money. I’ve been trying to keep it on the low from my mates, actually, so I’ll probably be up for a bit of ribbing. But my girlfriend Hazel is really happy.”
East Fife footballer Craig, Greg and Gordon are similarly up for the challenge, while Francis had no idea he was even in the running. He says: “I only knew when I got the call to have my picture taken. It turns out my fiancee Yvette put me forward for it. I phoned her and asked her if there was something she wanted to tell me and she burst out laughing.
“I’m really up for it now and if I won it would be a great way to make money, which I’d put towards our wedding. I’m doing it for Yvette, I suppose.”
Christopher’s girlfriend Kayleigh entered him into the competition. “At first I didn’t believe it but now I’m quite pleased. The lads have taken the mick but they’ll be voting for me.”
Johnny has modelled before. In fact, he had a shoot in More Magazine in 2006. “They found me through my MySpace page and asked me to model. Since then I’ve done some catwalk shows for charity events and Fife College. I’m really up for it and it would be amazing to take it from a hobby to potentially a career.”
Robert’s girlfriend Sammy put him forward for the competition and, after the initial shock, he is ready for the catwalk walk-off.
So, too, is Jordan, although he admits he’s up for a lot of ribbing from his mates. “They all think it’s a bit of a laugh and will probably be my fan club on the night,” he laughs. “It’s all a good experience.”
For Paul, securing a modelling contract would be a dream come true. But he has competition in the form of Marty who has modelled before for a photography company and has his friends voting for him.
And then there’s rising football star Sean, who’s just signed to Hamilton and is confident about making it through to the final five.
Choosing the five male finalists who will battle it out at Ocean Terminal is up to you. Simply visit
www.forthone.com and vote for your favourite Lothian hottie.
The full article contains 569 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
