24,264
Music Therapy sessions fully funded
Since 2013 the Heavy Metal Truants have been breaking a sweat to raise funds for childrens’ charities in the name of heavy metal.
Open to all, HMT has seen metal fans, bands, and industry types banding together to help raise over £1.3 million both through charitable activities throughout the year like the Monster Rock Auction and our Heavy Metal Curries, but primarily through our traditional, now legendary annual 175-mile cycle from London to the hallowed heavy metal ground of Castle Donington and Download festival.
Since 2013, Heavy Metal Truants (HMT) has been a force to be reckoned with in the world of charity, uniting metalheads, bands, and industry icons to raise over £1.3 million for children’s charities. From Monster Rock Auctions to sizzling Heavy Metal Curries, our fundraising groove never stops.
Our iconic annual 150-mile cycle ride from London to the sacred heavy metal realm of Castle Donington and Download festival in June is our ultimate pilgrimage!
Even a pandemic couldn’t silence our roar or keep us off our bikes. In 2020, when Download Festival had to hit the brakes, we didn’t miss a beat. We went virtual, welcoming walkers, runners, and epic stretch targets for cyclists worldwide. The spirit caught fire, and it became our biggest event ever. In 2021, we broke the £1 million milestone. In 2022 we added £160k to our total, 2023 brought in another £151k, and last year added £167K bringing our overall fundraising total to a staggering £1,526,500! Now – we’re revving up for HMTXIII!
Our chosen charities, champions for children and young people, need our support more than ever. That’s why we’re rallying metal-heads worldwide to join us in the name of heavy metal once again!
Every year has a theme and choosing the theme for our 13th year needed very little consideration. Get ready for HMTXIII: Ride Day the 13th! Our reasons? What could be more scary than 25 hairy metallers cycling to Download. Will they survive? The only way to find out would be to join us…
Our Impact
Thanks to our participants and fundraisers The Truants Foundation has raised enough money for our charity partners to make a measurable impact in the lives of young people.
54
Music Therapists certified
364,000
Childrens’ calls for help answered by specialists and volunteers
48 days
fully funded
147,000
Young Person’s Guide to Cancer pamphlets delivered
62,000
Connections with Youth Support Coordinators for young people with cancer
82,000
antibiotics dosed to combat Pneumonia
33,400
face masks for medical staff in high risk areas
HMT History
It’s said that mighty oaks grow from small acorns. It should also be said that’s especially true of acorns that have been soaked in beer. It feels like yesterday. Back in 2012, Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood invited me on one of his now infamous charity cycle rides, the Truants.
This particular one was through the foothills of the Atlas Mountains out in Morocco in some truly blistering heat. It was hard, but it was also genuinely one of the best, most fulfilling experiences of my life. It had been years since I’d cycled – life and the demands of work had got in the way and I doubted whether I could finish. But like a lot of people out there for the first time I surprised myself, and my face ached from all the grinning. What I didn’t know was that it was about to get a million times better. It was early evening in Marrakech, and the heat was just about bearable for the first time. Rod cracks over a beer, turns to me, and says…
“How are you planning on getting up to Donington this year?”
That moment saw the birth of the Heavy Metal Truants, and to say it’s been a remarkable journey is an understatement.
Just like our mascot our little cycle ride has evolved rather significantly since then. The first seven rides saw dozens upon dozens of cyclists come together to raise money for three fantastic charities that do truly immense work to improve the lives of children and young people: Nordoff Robbins, Teenage Cancer Trust, and Childline.
In 2020 our next evolution would come as the world went into lockdown. We could have backed down but that’s not how we operate. Instead, we launched our first-ever virtual challenge, added running & walking challenges, and a fourth worthy cause to join our charity beneficiaries — Save The Children. We didn’t just smash our target – the worldwide response was tremendous, and 2020 became our biggest year ever. Proof positive of just how powerful this music and the community around it can be.
Add in countless friends and family who’ve supported us, the great and good of the music industry who’ve ceaselessly backed us, and you haven’t just got a powerful fundraising proposition, but an organisation that’s the very essence of what heavy metal is all about. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a fan, an agent, a manager, a promoter, a publicist, a record label, a media type or an artist: hills and sweat are a great equaliser, and the only thing that matters is that you get out there.
We raise money in other ways, too. Some years, we hold the Monster Rock Auction: a charity memorabilia auction featuring some truly unique and wonderful items donated by countless bands and industry. When possible, we also hold Heavy Metal Curry nights with some truly stellar guests of honour, and always we explore new horizons for this marvellous group of people. The only thing that hasn’t changed is the incredible generosity of the people who’ve supported our cause, and as we commence the tenth year of this journey I can honestly say that a million pounds later we’re really just beginning.
I hope you’ll join us.
Stay metal.
– Alexander Milas
Meet The Crew
Heavy Metal Truants is about community – here are just a few of the legends who’ve joined us over the years