Johannesburg - To the Malawian customs officials, it was all a little too cheeky.
There presenting himself at passport control at Lilongwe airport, in Malawi was a man dressed only in a tight Speedo, sporting the South African flag and a pair of flops.
In a country known for its strict dress codes, it caused a stir.
Joburger Greig Bannatyne had hoped he could talk his way through passport control and be allowed to board his plane, but it was here where his luck ran out.
Bannatyne was told he had to put on clothes. But even though he didn’t get on the plane, it was a victory. He had won a R32000 bet for charity.
Staff and passengers were left shaking their heads in laughter as Bannatyne had made his way through the airport.
A staff member at the check-in counter even joked that he needed an aisle seat so that everyone on the plane could see him.
Bannatyne’s R32000 dare happened a day after he completed a 25 kilometre charity swim across Lake Malawi.
The idea came about, according to Jean Craven, the founder of Madswimmer, the charity that organised the swim, over a couple of beers.
Fellow swimmers and support staff chipped in, and it was agreed Bannatyne would travel back to South Africa only dressed in his Speedo.
“He is the kind of guy who would be up for that kind of challenge,” said Craven.
Bannatyne took the four-hour bus trip to the airport in his Speedo, his only other accessory a pair of goggles on his head.
The swimmer’s stint had a mixed reaction on Twitter and several African media outlets. Some accused him of being high on drugs and rude while others praised his “work” for charity. Bannatyne’s teammates said he was sober at the time.
But this might not be the last of South Africans flashing itsy bitsy Speedos in foreign airports.
“Some have suggested that after a successful swim we should travel home in Speedos as a team,” said Craven.