meeting with the emblematic photographer of the “sexy” calendars of rugby players or firefighters

Photographer from Cannes, Fred Goudon has just released the “sexy” 2025 firefighters calendar. Known for his black and white nude photographs, notably with rugby players for the “Gods of the Stadium”, he has produced many other emblematic calendars linked to sport.

The “sexy” firefighter calendar is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year. The new 2025 edition has just been released, with the program featuring black and white photographs of shirtless firefighters with bulging muscles.

Behind the lens, there is the Cannes photographer Fred Goudon, who has been leading this project with passion for a decade.

A way to “pay tribute to them through my slightly sexy photos“and of” show an approach to their profession“. This year, the copyright of the calendar is donated to the Challenge association Ludovic Martin, a firefighter who died tragically in 2007 during an intervention.

This association makes it possible to organize a sporting event each year in memory of Ludovic Martin through a major raid.

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80 to 100 applications

The firefighters and calendar models come from all over France. “I receive 80 to 100 applications each year“, indicates Fred Goudon. He makes a selection based on several criteria, it's not just the physical, “having a good face and a good body, there is also the good spirit side which brings good humor“.

During the shoot, they don't all know each other, there are affinities that are created and the group becomes autonomous, there is cohesion, it becomes a body. And it's important for the photos that it works and that there is a good group.

The lucky ones selected must first come and practice posing, to be as comfortable with the exercise before the photographer takes the real photos.

At the very first schedule, my colleagues were asking questions and asking me if I was sure of what I was doing. There was never any mockery, on the contrary, little by little, some became curious and posed too.

Clément Grossi, 34 years old, firefighter and model.

on France 3 Nouvelle Aquitaine.

For this 10th edition, a somewhat special cover was designed with regulars and not newcomers, as is usually the case. The photographer specifies: “ I have met some great people over these ten years for this project. I made friends with around ten firefighters. I took a group photo of them, normally it was supposed to go inside the calendar, but we decided to put it as a cover, it speaks for itself…“

Another striking element, in this photographic object, is a photo of Antoine Martin, the brother of firefighter Ludovic.

And also, two photos taken in Cannes, city of birth and dear to the heart of Fred Goudon.

Fred Goudon was also interested in professions other than firefighters. In the past, he has already captured judokas, farmers and caregivers with his camera. It is also a sport in particular which gave another turning point to his career, during his first participation in 2006 in the calendar of Stadium gods.

This moment was very decisive in my career, because it was for me like an Oscar for an actor. My work was labeled.

Fred Goudon, photographer.

The one who fell in love with photography as a teenager, subsequently attended journalism school before leaving for the United States.

There, he was a press photographer before branching out into fashion. He works for brands and modeling agencies. But after getting a taste of making calendars in 2005, he didn't stop. In total, he will work four times with the Stadium gods, before later creating his own rugby and firefighter calendars.

For the future, he still has as much inspiration and wants to resume photography of oval ball athletes and why not create a calendar around police officers, “but it's a little more complicated“, he confides.