There are many ways to raise awareness for prostate cancer. John Stephenson chose an interesting path.
On April 30, the 50-year-old martial arts expert and former bare-knuckle fighter from Halifax, West Yorkshire, hauled a two-ton French police car 131 feet down a residential street using a tow rope attached to his penis. While on fire. In front of baffled neighbors. For charity.
Stephenson, a painter and decorator and father of three, has previous form here. He’s pulled a car with his testicles. He’s pulled a car while his head was on fire. Combining the two was, in his words, a logical next step. “I’ve pulled a car with my testicles before, and I’ve pulled a car on fire, so I thought, why not combine them both? But this time do it with my penis,” he told the New York Post.
The man who pulled a car with his penis is explaining why he went with the fiery hat on a hat for his recent stunt … revealing he’s not the first person to use his Johnson to jerk a car.
: Angela Green/SWNS
A Man Pulled a Car With His Penis While on Fire for Prostate Cancer Awareness
It required a few attempts—he’d doused himself in lighter fuel, and the wind wasn’t cooperating—but he got there. “I won’t lie, it did hurt quite a bit,” he said. “But my mind was focused on being on fire, and I just plowed on.” He reported some marks but confirmed everything remained intact. Reassuring.
Stephenson believes he’s the first person in the world to complete this particular combination, which seems very likely. He also raises money for Ruddis Retreat in Huddersfield, an organization that provides vacations to families of children with cancer, and campaigns against school bullying. “People think I’m a bit mad, but I like to set myself challenges,” he said. “There is a serious side to it, too.”
And the serious side is very serious, indeed. Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in American men, excluding skin cancer, and the second-leading cause of male cancer deaths. One in six men will receive a diagnosis in their lifetime. The disease rarely produces warning signs in its early stages, which is exactly why screening is so important. A PSA test can catch problems before symptoms develop, and most men are advised to start routine screening at 50, earlier for Black men and those with a family history.
When caught early, the five-year survival rate is over 99%. If it takes a man pulling a flaming police car with his penis to get people talking about it, so be it.
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