A Bermudian dad who is a front-runner in an international competition helping a charity is calling on his fellow countrymen to help him win.

Shaquille Young entered the Legendary Dad Bod contest run by American magazine Men’s Journal, which not only celebrates fathers with a fantastic physique, but also those who play an important role in the lives of their children.

The competition raises money for the B+ Foundation, a charity dedicated to providing financial and emotional support to families of children with cancer.

If Mr Young wins the competition, based on a daily online voting system, he stands to win $25,000 as well as a two-page editorial and photoshoot in Men’s Journal.

Mr Young, 28, who was born and raised in Pembroke and now lives in Canada with his wife and three young children, said: “I think I’m a pretty good dad and I wanted to see what other people thought. I also like to keep in good shape and have my exercise equipment at work.

“I first entered the competition a month ago – I put myself out there and now I’m in the quarter-finals.

“The competition supports a charity for children affected by paediatric cancer – a child suffering with cancer is devastating – so I wanted to support that and get the word out. Of course, it would be great to win some money on the side and to be featured in an editorial.”

Mr Young said that although he lived in Canada, he tried to return to Bermuda to visit family as often as possible. His father is the late Keith Young, a former election candidate for Pembroke East Central.

He believes he is the only Bermudian in the competition, which is dominated by Americans.

He urged his fellow Bermudians to come out and vote for him.

“Support me as best as you can – give me a daily vote and push me to the finals,” he said. “Use that Bermudian drive to get me into first place.

“People can go online each day and vote for me and they can also pay to support the charity, where every donation is another point for me. So far I have collected $5,000.”

Mr Young hopes his participation will help teach his children positive life lessons.

He said: “I want to show my children that with enough support you can do anything you need; you can get people behind you pushing you forward. If you are a good person there will be good people around you – it takes you places and makes you a well-rounded person.

“This is the first time doing something like this crazy, I usually just go to work, go home and look after my children.”

He added: “If I win, I’d like to save the money for a down payment on a house, put some money aside for my children’s future and possibly take a trip home to Bermuda.”

The final date of the competition is November 11.

To vote, donate and find out more about the competition, visit https://legendarydadbod.com/2021/shaquille-young