Brenton ‘loves his nuts’ as he hits road

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If you’ve spotted a bearded man running in the streets of Gqeberha in nothing but his speedo recently and thought that he is completely nuts, then you were not far off.

The words on his speedo read “I love my nuts” — and Brenton Schnetler is proud of the fact.

The 47-year-old Gqeberha father took to the streets this month, Testicular Cancer Awareness Month, to raise funds and awareness. 

As part of his campaign in support of the Love Your Nuts Foundation, Schnetler has committed himself to run 210km before the end of the month.

In addition to increasing awareness of the disease, he aims to raise R21,000.

It costs the Love Your Nuts Foundation R21 to educate a child about cancer.

Reaching his target means that 1,000 children will be educated. 

Having completed the Two Oceans Marathon 19 times, Schnetler first learnt about the foundation when he saw its stand at one of the race expos. 

He qualified for the Two Oceans in 2020, but the marathon was cancelled due to the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

So he jumped at the opportunity to participate when the foundation hosted a 21km virtual run. 

“I became very aware of how important it is to educate young people and to share this very important information that nobody was really talking about. 

“I also realised that I have never sat down and educated my own son,” Schnetler said. 

Testicular cancer is one of the most common cancers among 15 to 40-year-olds males. 

So far, Schnetler is well on track to reaching his goal of completing 210km by month-end. 

During the past five years, he has run about 90km a month on average.  

“I have split the 210km up into 7km per day,” he said.

“Sometimes I do more and other times I do less.”

Running the 7.6km from his home in Newton Park to work has helped pile on the kilometres.

When asked whether running in his speedo had caught the attention of his fellow residents, Schnetler said it had raised a few eyebrows.

“I am sure that some people probably look at me and ask themselves whether they have just passed a crazy person. 

“Others hoot, point, or wave when they drive past me.

“As long as it helps raise awareness I don’t mind looking a little silly.” 

By Friday, Schnetler had raised almost R5,000.

He hopes to reach his R21,000 target in the next dew days. 

“I want to thank everyone who has donated to this worthy cause.

“Every cent helps,” he said.

According to information shared by the Love Your Nuts Foundation, the risk of a man developing testicular cancer is about 1 in 250.  

It accounts for 1% of all cancers in men.  

Prominent symptoms include pain, swelling and lumps in the testicles and groin areas. 

The survival rate is higher for men diagnosed with early-stage testicular cancer.

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