Every November, a band of perfectly ordinary men take on the brave task of Movember: growing a mustache for charity in a bid to raise awareness about men’s health – prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health issues such as depression.
Like breast cancer awareness, it’s a global movement. But where did Movember begin?
It started in Melbourne, Australia 10 years ago, when a group of friends decided to revive an old fashioned trend – the mustache.
30 guys took part just to see what would happen, and when they realized how much fun it was, they started raising money the next year, starting by raising awareness for prostate cancer. In 2004, the event grew to 450 participants and together they raised a whopping $43,000 !
But that figure pales into comparison when taking into account what it had grown into by 2012. By this time, Movember had become a fully-fledged annual event, taking part in 21 countries.
Why should I do it?
1 in 4 people in the will experience some kind of mental health problem in the course of a year Suicide is the single most common cause of death in men under 35.
In Canada, 1 in 8 men will get prostate cancer at some stage in their lives.
More than 4,000 men will die of the prostate cancer this year in Canada, with over 21,600 men diagnosed with prostate cancer in 2016.
You are 2.5 times more likely to develop prostate cancer if your father or brother has had it
Occurrences of prostate cancer in men are comparable to the rates of breast cancer in women.
Fast facts on testicular cancer. An estimated 1,100 Canadian men will be diagnosed with testicular cancer in 2016. An estimated 40 will die from the disease. Get checked !!
Movember is about real men growing real mustaches and talking about real issues. The mustache is a ribbon for men’s health
Movember’s vision is to have an everlasting impact on the face of men’s health.
Mo Bros sporting upper lip hair effectively become walking talking billboards for the 30 days of Movember raising funds and much needed awareness around the often ignored issues of men’s health.
Mo Bros start the month clean shaven, then grow and groom their mustache all month long.
Get involved, find out more information here.