Meet Mr. August of the MSPCA Firefighter Calendar

Antone McCatty. / Photo courtesy of Sean McNulty Photography

Who among us doesn’t have that one person who’s impossible to shop for around the holiday season? Thankfully, the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals might be able to help. They’re releasing a 12-month calendar with Boston’s finest firefighters posing with a range of cute adoptable animals. The calendars cost $20, and $5 from every sale will benefit the MSPCA. Still not convinced this is for you? We talked to Mr. August himself, Antone McCatty, about his modeling experience, which required a pretty involved tryout.

How do the people in your life feel about your place in the calendar?

They all love it. My family, they enjoy it. My friends, they just laugh at me. But they know it’s for a great cause, and they always support me. They’ll definitely buy the calendar. All my buddies will rag on me at the firehouse.

Do you have a significant other, and how does she feel about the situation?

She doesn’t mind. It bothers her sometimes, a little bit. But then she gets to say, “Look, my guy’s in the calendar.”

When you show up, is there a range of animals to pick from or did they just hand you a cat?

They handed me a cat. I guess a few of us were shooting that day and they had different animals that were coming, so they weren’t really sure what they were going to bring. I asked for a piglet, but they couldn’t get one of those.

Did you have time to get to know the cat before the modeling experience?

I had maybe about 15 minutes, but it was a kitten, so the thing was wild. It was a little hyper. We shot in Faneuil Hall, so with all the people around, it was running around. We couldn’t get it to calm down. Every bird it saw, it was trying to jump up and grab it. It scratched me up and everything.

Did people notice what you were doing?

They did. It was kind of awkward. People were stopping and taking their own pictures. People were eating lunch and kind of [saying], “What’s going on?” I was definitely nervous shooting in front of all those people.

When did you shoot it?

We shot, I want to say, in mid-June, like in the middle of the day on a Wednesday.

Hopefully fewer tourists on a work day, but you never know with summer vacation.

Yeah, it was a lot of tourists. Everyone wanted to come and pet the cat. People were taking pictures of the cat more than they were taking pictures of me. People were like, “Wow, kitten in Faneuil Hall!” So everyone was coming out and petting it.

What’s your regular workout regimen, and did you change anything when you found out you were going to be taking this picture?

No, I didn’t change anything. When I’m not firefighting, I’m also a CrossFit coach at CrossFit Subdued in Randolph, but pretty much I work out five to six days a week. So I didn’t really change anything.

Having done it once, would you do it again?

I don’t know! I would definitely do the photo shoot and take the picture again. The whole tryout thing? I’m not sure. It was a little scary up there because we had to have a routine. We had to have two minutes and that was one of the hardest things I’ve had to do in my life.

You had to come up with two minutes of walking around and posing?

Yeah, like the music’s playing, and you’re dancing. I was passing out some glow sticks and stuff. One guy had dry ice and a big routine. Another guy stopped the music and sang a cappella. You don’t realize how long two minutes is until you’re on stage.

Anything else we should know about the experience?

It was a great opportunity. I enjoyed doing it. I hope once these calendars come out, people will go out and buy them. It’s all for a great cause, that’s the only reason I did it. To raise money for the hospital and get these animals a home.

$20, available while supplies last, massfirecalendar.org.