Hansen is quick to reveal the naked truth behind his unorthodox move: He needs money if he hopes to be able to compete in the next Olympics in Beijing.
He hopes that posing naked for all but his guns and medals, and then selling the photos, will attract some attention and some funds. The main problem is that the Norwegian shooters' association (Norges Shytterforbund) has no main sponsor, and that means those taking part in international competition need to bear a lot of the expense themselves.
Hansen, for example, took part in the World Cup opening in China in March, made it to the finals and ended in eight place. But it was an expensive presentation. "We had to pay half the tour ourselves, and for me, that amounted to NOK 10,000," he said.
That's a lot of money for the engineering student who lives in Sarpsborg. Hansen doesn't mean to be firing away at Norway's Olympic committee, but he'd hoped his good results would have attracted more funding. He does have a NOK 50,000 grant from the committee, but that only covers his weapons and ammunition.
"We simply can't afford to send out all the shooters who qualify," admits national shooting coach Christian Lilleng. Even when Norway has never had so many good shooters as it does now.
In the meantime, Hansen figures the shooting season will cost him around NOK 150,000, and that uncovering himself may help him cover his expenses.
