I wanted to write a story about it would be like to be a model approached to appear on one of the many shows you see on UMD. This is the start of a small series I'm hoping to write and is purely fictional and not based off any particular site, but influenced by several that I've enjoyed watching.

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For being a part-time model, I am always surprised at how much interest I received on the casting page. I'm one of the hundreds of young men on the site, so being approached for any job is a compliment.

Too often, the requests are unrealistic. Sometimes, the location of the job was too far away that the payment wouldn't cover my travel costs; other times, the requests were too out there for me. However, this email, from a producer called Steve, was one of the most interesting I've ever had.

"Hi Hudson,

I'm approaching you to appear on our website, 'Gunk the Hunk'. On the show, young, attractive men play games in the hope of not being gunked. It could be in a gunge tank, it could be in a pool and you'll find out what games you'll play when you arrive.

You're just the type of person we want on the show! We're after hot, fun guys who aren't afraid to show off their silly side and get a bit messy.

I've put a link to the website below. Take a look around and I'd love to have a chat with you about it.

Steve"

I looked at the website and saw previews of guys getting gunged and messy whilst playing some games. Some were straightforward quizzes, but others seemed more physical. Because this wasn't what I usually was sent, I became intrigued.

After some messaging back and forth between Steve and me, we negotiated a deal where I would come and appear on the show. We discussed what my boundaries were, what was likely to come up, and how the shows would be released. The filming date was set for four weeks.

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It was a Saturday morning when I got the train to Steve's house. Thankfully, the journey only took just over an hour, so I was knocking on his door at about 10:30am. Meeting the producer or photographer for work was always the bit that made me the most nervous. At this point, they knew a lot about me: what I looked like, what I'm comfortable with. I knew very little about Steve other than we'd filming the show in his basement (he later explained that it was better for lighting as no natural light could get in).

A man in his late-thirties opened the door and I was welcomed in with a friendly smile. He took me into the kitchen and made me a cup of tea.

"So is today the first time you'll be getting messy, Hudson?"

"To be honest, I've used whipped cream before with my ex, and it was quite fun. But I think this is going to be on a whole new level."

Steve laughed. "Yes, I don't think you'll have ever had as many showers in one day."

We talked and he reassured me that I was largely in control of the shoot. He took into account what my boundaries were in terms of clothing (nothing nude, but happy to go to swimwear) and what I would be happy to be covered in.

After finishing our drinks, he led me out of the kitchen and into the corridor. I didn't notice when I walked in, but the hallway was covered in sheeting.

"It's easier to clean up if I put this down now" Steve explained, with confusion written on my face. He pointed out the bathroom which was opposite the door to the basement and invited me to drop off my things in there. I saw a pile of clothes wrapped in bags in the corner. "That'll be what you're wearing today" Steve pointed out. "Each bag has a number and that's the order in which we will shoot today."

We then walked down the stairs into the basement. I didn't know what to expect but I was greeted by the sight of buckets of gunge, stashed away in the corner. To my left was some tins and packets of food (and I remember seeing the baked beans and thinking "oh no, why did I agree to that"), and ahead of me was the gunge tank. It was similar to what I remembered being on TV when I was little, with the three sides of the tank being made of Perspex whilst the front was open. The stool inside was looking pristine, but I wondered how long for.

There was also an inflatable paddling pool to the side with another stool. Steve said that he'll move that later into the middle of the basement for the shooting.

"Can't you give me a clue what game that will be? I saw on the website that some lads were getting pied or something."

"No clues until we're ready to film" Steve chuckled. "Talking of which, are you ready to get ready?"

"I think so! I want to see what's going to happen."

I headed up the stairs to the bathroom and opened clothes package #1. Inside was a loose-fitting baby blue t-shirt and some skinny jeans. I had seen that, occasionally, some of the lads seemingly got gunged in normal clothes, but as I hadn't been asked to bring anything, I assumed this would not be the same for me. Being wrong like this would set the tone for the rest of the day.

I was back downstairs in very little time. Steve noted the outfit, told me I was looking good, and then invited me to sit in the gunge tank. "Oh no, here we go!" I said as I walked over.

I noticed that underneath the gunge tank was a box into which the gunge would fall into. "That's just for me to collect the gunge and throw it away later, you don't need to worry about it," Steve said with a smirk on his face, which told me not to believe him.

Steve adjusted the camera sat upon the tripod and brightened and dimmed some of the lights. I was used to this part of the job, and I sat patiently waiting for him to give me my first set of instructions.

"Okay Hudson, so the most important thing for me to say is if and when you start to get gunged, stay under the stream and embrace it." I nodded. "So the first bit we're going to film today is called The Gunk Hunk Quiz. I'm going to put a minute on the clock and you need to get ten questions right. Every incorrect answer will result in a forfeit, and not reaching ten correct answers will result in a gunging. I will stop the quiz if you reach ten."

After checking I understood the rules, Steve started the filming.

"Hi, I'm Hudson, I'm a part-time model from London and I'm here today to take part in Gunk the Hunk."

Steve, from behind the camera, explained the rules once again for the benefit of the audience.

"Hudson, you're specialist subject given to you today is London."

I suddenly felt more confident I know my city quite well.

"One minute on the clockand off we go. True or False, 'Poets Corner' can be found in Hyde Park?"

Wow, I thought. I was expecting something a bit easier than that to start with. I had no idea. "True" I guessed.

"False. Question 2, how many London Boroughs are there?"

I gasped. I had no idea. "12," I said, in a voice that completely lacked confidence.

"Incorrect, it's 32. Question 3, where did the Great Fire of London start?"

I racked my brain to being back at school and learning about this. I was sure we went on a school trip that talked about this. "Pudding Lane?"

"Correct." I cheered but noticed that 20 seconds had already gone off the clock. "Question 4, what colour are traditional London taxis?"

"Black," I said instantly. I was now on a roll, and I got my next three questions correct on sports stadiums, the River Thames, and The Shard being the tallest building in London.

"Question 8, how many lines does the current Underground system have?"

I paused for a second. I use the tube nearly every day, so I should be able to work it out. I was so desperate to get the answer correct that I even used my fingers to work out how many I could count.

"Is it 10?"

"No, it's 11," Steve said with a smile on his face. Not only had I got it wrong, but it ate a large amount of the time I had left. Now, less than ten seconds were on the clock. "Question 9, what is London's theatre district generally known as?"

"The West End." I had seven seconds left.

"Question 10, which area plays host to a world-famous carnival?"

"Notting Hill." Four seconds left.

"Correct." Steve smiled once again. "Question 11, in which year was the London Underground first founded?"

The smug look on Steve's face told me he knew there was no way I was avoiding a gunging now. I laughed, and then I smiled too. At this point, a klaxon went off. It was the end of the game.

Suddenly, Steve put on a voice much more like that of a pretentious gameshow host. "Hudson, you only achieved to get seven correct answers, which means it's now time to GUNK THE HUNK!"

Suddenly, I heard a trap door open above me. Foolishly, I looked up and was hit in the face by a torrent of gunge. I closed my eyes and felt the gunge cascade over my broad shoulders, down my chest, and into my lap. I could feel my jeans get slimier and slimier as the gunge fell.

As it eased, I wiped my eyes and opened them. I looked down at myself and saw orange gunge coating my body. I looked ahead at Steve, who was smiling. He had got the shot he wanted.

"You good Hudson? Feeling ok?"

"Yeah, that was pretty fun actually! I wasn't expecting there to be so much."

"Well, it's not over yet. In case you forgot, you got three answers incorrect. I'll be kind and not give you the fourth forfeit for the last question which you didn't answer. But three incorrect answers is going to mean three custard pies into your face."

Whilst getting battered by a torrent of orange gunge, I had completely forgotten that I would be getting subjected to another forfeit. I'd guessed it could be something to do with pies as I had seen similar content on the website before, but when Steve brought the three pies out, they were much bigger and cream was much fluffier than I thought they'd be.

I slightly leaned forward as Steve requested and he rammed the first pie into the face. This was much colder than the gunge in the tank, and I let out a tiny squeal of shock as he pulled the paper plate away.

"One down, two more to go" he taunted.

He then shoved the next one into my face, and custard and cream went everywhere. In short succession, the final pie came. I cleaned my eyes and saw that my chest was covered in cream with streaks of custard going down my gunge-soaked t-shirt.

After another minute, Steve stopped the filming and took some photos on his phone, explaining that this would be used as teaser material.

I started to try and get as much of the gunge off me as possible, depositing it into the bottom of the tank.

"When you're ready, head back up the stairs, grab a shower and pop on clothes set #2. I should have set up the next game by then."

I slowly and carefully made my way back up the stairs to the bathroom. I enjoyed my first gunging, perhaps more than I thought I would, but I had no idea what lay ahead in the next four games. All I knew is, the clothes package for the next game weighed a lot less than the first one.