Maitland’s Benjamin Reynolds and Singleton’s Sophie Plasto are studying veterinary science at James Cook University in Townsville. The pair will appear alongside the rest of their graduating classmates in the Vets Uncovered calendar next year.

Proceeds raised by the calendar will go toward the class’s graduation ball and mental health charity Tie Up The Black Dog, which targets depression in rural Australian communities.

For Mr Reynolds, it’s just a bit of cheeky fun for a cause close to his heart.

“We decided a good way to spread the message was with something atypical, something eye-opening like this,” he said.

“Rural mental health obviously affects vets and their client communities a lot.”

Mr Reynolds said he experienced anxiety last semester and he wasn’t alone.

“A girl in my year wrote a blog that surveyed the whole class and about 25 per cent said they felt their mental health was partially compromised,” he said.

The photos feature the students performing many of their career duties in rural Australia – from shoeing horses to surveying cattleyards – wearing no more than hats and boots.

Mr Reynolds admitted that at first he was nervous about strutting around in the buff with his classmates. But it didn’t take long for everyone to get comfortable, he said.

“There’s a real sense of comraderie now,” he said with a laugh.

“It was really unifying, everyone seems so much closer now.”

After graduation Mr Reynolds hopes to bring his veterinary skills back to the Hunter, but until then you’ll be able to hang a picture of him feeding a roo or standing on the roof of a cattletruck – starkers – on the fridge for a month at a time.