Born and bred in Wanganui, New Zealand James still lives there with his beautiful wife Shana and three wonderful children Caitlin, Adam, and Tyler.   James' son Tyler was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 4, back in 2007 and it was an incredibly emotional time that affected their family and friends.   James said "Shana and I couldn't see the future, we just didn't know who, what, or where our baby was going to be in life. What is a normal life? School? Friends? For every question answered it just created another dozen new questions, and it didn't get any easier!". James has Asperger's Syndrome, which is a High Functioning form of Autism so Shana has two men in her life living with Autism.   June 2008, James decided to do something to help raise awareness and get support for the mums dealing with such events in life. Sexy Backs was born, and it has evolved constantly as they work to best meet the needs they look to support.   On the 22nd of June 2008 Shana posed for the very first Sexy Backs photo!Born and bred in Wanganui, New Zealand James still lives there with his beautiful wife Shana and three wonderful children Caitlin, Adam, and Tyler.   James' son Tyler was diagnosed with Autism at the age of 4, back in 2007 and it was an incredibly emotional time that affected their family and friends.   James said "Shana and I couldn't see the future, we just didn't know who, what, or where our baby was going to be in life. What is a normal life? School? Friends? For every question answered it just created another dozen new questions, and it didn't get any easier!". James has Asperger's Syndrome, which is a High Functioning form of Autism so Shana has two men in her life living with Autism.   June 2008, James decided to do something to help raise awareness and get support for the mums dealing with such events in life. Sexy Backs was born, and it has evolved constantly as they work to best meet the needs they look to support.   On the 22nd of June 2008 Shana posed for the very first Sexy Backs photo!In the first 3 months, the Sexy Backs website and myspace page had over 10,000 page views, and they still receive a steady stream of emails and phone calls in support for the project.

An emerging talent in the world of photography James had the opportunity and ability to create art that could be used for something good and dear to him, so he created Sexy Backs. Wanting to do what he can to support Tyler and his best mate and wife Shana, James said that he wants Sexy Backs to bring attention to, and generate discussion about Autistic Spectrum Disorders such as Autism and Asperger's. People on the Autistic Spectrum are all individuals, and as James was once told "Once you have met one person with Autism, you have met one person with Autism!" James said "Its all about awareness, inspiring those who see our images, or read the text, to learn more about Autism and support those kids who need the resources for a brighter future!"

SEXY BACKS?

The concept for "Sexy Backs" is to produce simple Black & White portraits, showing naked backs, something we all have, something that is cheeky, fun, and where sex, age, race, and autism is irrelevant. James wants people to turn their back FOR Autism, not away from it!

OUR GOALS!

Our primary goals for Sexy Backs are to:
€¢ raise awareness of Autism Spectrum Disorders
€¢ fundraise to assist schools with hiring Teacher Aides to support children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
€¢ fundraise to purchase Classroom Resources to assist children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
€¢ develop a knowledge network to help parents, educators, and Doctors learn about Autism Spectrum Disorders
€¢ have fun! Enjoy life!

And we are going to achieve this by:
€¢ photographing as many people as we can for the Sexy Backs project to help raise awareness
€¢ photographing celebrities to raise awareness, and enhance a media presence for promotions supporting ASD's
€¢ auctioning prints and licensing images of high profile personalities
€¢ developing a presence sponsors will support
€¢ establishing a database of supporters who will sponsor individual children with immediate needs

We also want to support fundraising events such as Hairy Backs, Sexy Backs Balls, etc.. It is also intended that products such as a range of Sexy Backs t-shirts, Calendars, and other novelty products will be made available to help raise funds to achieve our goals.

For more information please visit SexyBacks.org or email info@sexybacks.org

Visit our video on YouTube

30/10/08