{"id":1522,"date":"2021-10-21T09:46:00","date_gmt":"2021-10-21T07:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.heroes-world.de\/mission-pink\/"},"modified":"2021-12-23T09:07:07","modified_gmt":"2021-12-23T08:07:07","slug":"mission-pink","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.heroes-world.de\/en\/blog\/2021\/10\/21\/mission-pink\/","title":{"rendered":"Mission Pink"},"content":{"rendered":"

Vendelin wears pink and talks about breasts. Caught your attention? That<\/span>\u2019<\/span>s exactly his goal. The \u2018pink firefighter\u2019 talks openly about breast cancer to shed light on the issue and promote prevention work. First a lone wolf, he\u2019s no longer alone on his mission.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

Trousers, jacket, helmet \u2013 all a shining, bright pink. Amidst the crowd of beige, black and red uniforms, this man really stands out. His name: Vendelin Cliques, 41 years old, fire officer from Versailles.\u00a0He has just arrived following\u00a0a\u00a0seven-and-a-half-hour journey, which he took in order to take part in this year\u2019s\u00a0FireFit\u00a0European Championships.\u00a0\u201cI\u2019m not aiming for the winner\u2019s podium or gold medals. I came to Hanover to stand out.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>Vendelin has been training for two years to meet the challenge of the\u00a0FireFit\u00a0obstacle course. It entails first conquering a\u00a0twelve-metre-high\u00a0tower in full firefighter\u2019s gear \u2013\u00a0while\u00a0carrying\u00a0a\u00a020-kilogram\u00a0hose pack \u2013 then acing an obstacle course, which includes a human rescue\u00a0operation featuring\u00a0a\u00a090-kilogram\u00a0dummy. It\u2019s a relentless course, where every participant rapidly reaches their\u00a0individual\u00a0limits. The best in the sport\u00a0manage\u00a0it in under one-and-a-half minutes. Vendelin isn\u2019t one of the top athletes, but he tries to\u00a0give\u00a0his best each time.\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s why I see a lot of parallels\u00a0with\u00a0the fight against cancer,\u201d\u00a0he explains.\u00a0\u201cThe conditions are difficult, but you can\u2019t give up. It doesn\u2019t matter how much time it takes you. Keep going until you reach your goal!\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

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The disease that can affect anyone<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

\u201cA friend\u00a0of mine\u00a0had both her breasts removed at the age of 30,\u201d\u00a0says the 41-year-old. Having part of her body removed in order to live \u2013 it\u2019s a decision that affected him\u00a0deeply.\u00a0\u201cHer courage inspired me as I was training hard for the\u00a0FireFit\u00a0challenge at the time.\u201d\u00a0So why not compete in pink? The contrast that he creates isn\u2019t just about colour: Vendelin wants to increase awareness of the disease among his male colleagues. Statistically speaking, breast cancer affects\u00a0one in eight\u00a0women.\u00a0\u201cWe all have a mother, sister or daughter. We all want them to live. That\u2019s why it\u2019s important\u00a0we\u00a0keep their health in mind.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Vendelin first slipped into his pink uniform over one-and-a-half years ago. Gradually, his colleagues found out \u2013 initially, they smirked at it.\u00a0\u201cBut when I told them about the statistics, many opened up.\u201d\u00a0The majority of\u00a0his colleagues have been affected by deaths in their circle of family or friends.\u00a0\u201cThat\u2019s why we have to speak about it \u2013 about the fact that through self-prevention and early detection, we increase the chance of recovery,\u201d\u00a0says Vendelin,\u00a0\u201cand not just during the breast cancer awareness month\u00a0of\u00a0October, but throughout the whole year!\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

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Thanks to British Firefighter Challenge<\/a> for the pictures!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

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Fighting the battle together<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n

At the competition in Hanover, one thing was already clear to the firefighter: my team should grow! The plan: French, British and German teams\u00a0with 10\u00a0campaigners\u00a0each. Four months later, he established\u00a0the\u00a0international groups\u00a0together with Pete Wakefield and Martin Schulz. Finding more allies should be easy for the trio:\u00a0\u201cAll we do is wear our pink uniforms and talk about breast cancer. It\u2019s unbelievable how deeply we can inspire people through this,\u201d\u00a0states Vendelin.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For the British firefighter, Pete, it was no different. He had invited the pink firefighter to be a guest on his podcast. With the words\u00a0\u201cI want to be part of your team,\u201d\u00a0expressed during the interview itself, Pete became a pink firefighter. The two\u00a0met\u00a0again at this year\u2019s British Firefighter Challenge in October. And although the point of the individual race is to race against each other, they\u2019ll run together. Pete, who\u2019s\u00a0actually much\u00a0quicker,\u00a0runs at\u00a0Vendelin\u2019s pace and ceaselessly motivates him.\u00a0\u201cHe\u2019s like a coach who exudes an unbelievable amount of positive energy. I\u2019m happy to have him on board.\u201d\u00a0How long the race takes them is completely irrelevant \u2013 for Vendelin, the support of his allies\u00a0is much more meaningful.\u00a0\u201cIt\u2019s important that\u00a0we\u00a0men raise our voices. But it\u2019s also important that we have women on our team. That\u2019s exactly what we\u2019re looking for\u00a0at the moment,\u201d\u00a0says Vendelin, explaining his\u00a0future plans.\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re not looking for the strongest runners, but rather those with the strongest hearts.\u201d<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In the meantime, Vendelin has been receiving questions from many different parts of the world. He wants to reach as many people as possible with his message.\u00a0\u201cNext year, I\u2019d like to fly to the USA and take part in a stair climb challenge there.\u201d\u00a0His colleague Pete also has lofty goals for this year: to break the truck pull world record. As a pink firefighter, of course.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

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Vendelin wears pink and talks about breasts. Caught your attention? That\u2019s exactly his goal. The \u2018pink firefighter\u2019 talks openly about breast cancer to shed light on the issue and promote prevention work. 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