Despite the terrible weather on Saturday, more than 100 people turned up to celebrate the life of popular Falmouth motorcyclist Will Charman who died in a tragic accident earlier this year.
22-year-old Will died in a motorbike accident near Swanpool in April this year, sending shockwaves through the community.
On Saturday friends and family gathered at The Gym Project in Falmouth, where Will was a regular, for a special event labelled Will’s Celebration.
Will joined the gym when he was 16, and was also a member of Sequoia gym in Penryn for his calisthenics.
The two gyms partnered to create the event in his name and to raise money and awareness for Will’s chosen charity, Spinal Muscular Atrophy UK, which supports people with the condition that also affects his baby cousin Arthur. All earnings from the event will go towards the charity.
The workshops were run by Sequoia movement and started at 10am, they were all of Will’s favourite exercises (handstands, bars and rings) and around 60-70 people joined in with the workshops.
“They were very brutal but it was such a good laugh and definitely made us feel a lot closer to him,” said Will’s sister Victoria.
Lots of others joined in and by around 1pm, there were around 100 people doing it.
After the workshops, ‘Will’s Corner’ was introduced and a plaque of his chalky handprints was unveiled with his actual hand prints used.
“Gym project co-owner Matt made a lovely speech and I said a few words on behalf of my family just to express how thankful we were for those who made the day so great,” said Victoria “It was emotional and so incredibly touching how much effort The Gym Project and Sequoia movement had put in to this special event.”
By the end of the day they had raised £3,150 (and still rising) for Spinal Muscular Atrophy UK and the family say they are so grateful to everyone who donated. The auction and raffle were also a success with so many “amazing” prizes had been donated.
There was a BBQ and a huge cake stand which everyone really enjoyed.
A barbershop was also set up inside with all earnings going to SMA UK. Some of the outside events had to be cancelled though because of the appalling weather.
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“Overall the event was such a success and even though the weather was unkind, the day was perfect,” said Victoria. “Everyone showed Will and my family so much love and it was made very clear that our wonderful Will was cherished by everyone there and will never be forgotten.”
The event was sponsored and supported by Sainsbury’s, Tesco and a large number of independent businesses in Falmouth and the local area.
Today (Monday, July 24) Will’s brother, Mike, is climbing the Brown Willy Mountain with a lot of Will’s friends and they have put a flag and a welded heart with all of his nicknames engraved in to it as well as some of his ashes to spread.
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