registry amongst other research programmes currently in development.
Why should men care about Movember and what it stands for?
It's simple. Movember wants men to live happier, healthier, longer lives. Our fathers, partners, brothers and friends are facing this health crisis and it's not being talked about. We can't afford to stay silent. We need to talk about it. We need to act. We want men to talk when things get tough. Movember aims to get men talking.
What's the essence of this annual campaign?
Globally there is still a stigma around diseases that affect men and often men don't talk about issues they are experiencing and concerns they may have, which impacts on early detection and essentially life expectancy. The Movember Foundation aims to create a world where men don't need to suffer or succumb to diseases which are preventable or manageable if they are detected early enough.
What brought about the idea to have such a campaign, on an annual basis?
In 2003, two friends from Melbourne, Australia (Travis Garone and Luke Slattery) were having a quiet beer when their conversation turned to recurring fashion trends. The moustache, a fixture in past decades, was nowhere to be seen in recent trends. They joked about bringing it back.
The two friends decided to talk their mates into growing a Mo. Inspired by a friend's mother who was fundraising for breast cancer, they decided to make the campaign about men's health and prostate cancer. They designed the rules of Movember (which are still in place today) and agreed to charge ten dollars to grow a Mo. Trav designed the first Movember logo, and they sent around an email titled 'Are you man enough to be my man?'. They found 30 guys willing to take up the challenge.
Today Movember is an annual campaign in 21 countries around the globe to "Change the Face of Men's Health." With the support of their Mo Sistas, Mo Bros start the month with a clean-shaven face and for the rest of November (Movember), groom, and grow their way into the annals of fine moustachery to become walking, talking billboards raising awareness and funds for the often ignored issue of men's health.
Sign up for Movember movember.com and change the face of men's health.