It’s that time of year again. Movember is upon us. Which means men all over the Eastside (and world) will be putting away their razors – and growing killer mustaches – as a way to spark conversation about men’s health.
Since its beginnings in Melbourne, Australia, in 2004, Movember has grown to become a global movement inspiring more than 1.9 million Mo Bros and Mo Sistas to participate. The goal? Mo Bros give themselves a clean shave on Oct. 31 and commit to growing a mustache for the 30 days of Movember. In doing so, they become walking and talking billboards, raising awareness of, and fund’s toward, men’s health – specifically prostate and testicular cancer initiatives.
Bellevue resident Michael Ridgeway has been participating in Movember for the last three years.
“The affliction of prostate cancer is a very taboo topic among men,” Ridgeway said. “It’s not something that men talk about because testing is uncomfortable.”
While Ridgeway has not had any immediate family members diagnosed with prostate or testicular cancer, he has experience with friends and coworkers being affected. He sees Movember as a fun opportunity to open dialogue.
In 2011, more than 854,000 Mo Bros and Mo Sistas around the world got on board, raising $126.3 million.
Last year, Ridgeway’s team used the “Fight For Our Intern” slogan as a rallying point during competition, after their 22-year-old intern had to leave Steelhead Partners when he was diagnosed with testicular cancer. Ridgeway said that served as huge motivation for the team last year.
The team -which included coworkers who work with him at Steelhead – raised $50,000, positioning themselves as number one in country for teams under 10 people.
“We did that on the back of some very, very generous people, and it’s hard to go back year after year and expect that type of performance,” Ridgeway said. “It’s going to be very difficult for us to repeat that this year.”
While Ridgeway says they have yet to develop a rallying point for this year, it will likely expand on the idea of promoting healthy lifestyles – something they’ve been taking very seriously at work in recent months.
“We’re trying to broaden the theme of health and wellness and taking care of each other,” he said.
Although the growing of Mo’s is limited to the guys, female participants (Mo Sistas) play a vital role in Movember’s success by supporting and encouraging the men in their life to get involved – and raising money themselves. Women can also participate by wearing a party mustache – or by attending or putting on events such as Gala Partés, Mo Parties or Mo Runs.
“A lot of women have stories to tell – fathers, brothers who have dealt with it,” Ridgeway says. “I think, for some people, it’s therapeutic.”
As far as Ridgeway’s facial hair goes, it’s going to be an interesting month.
“My mustache will actually morph through the month of November from a handlebar thing to kind of a Tom Selleck, Magnum P-I thing toward the end.”
The funds raised in the US support prostate cancer and testicular cancer initiatives. The funds raised are directed to programs run directly by Movember and its men’s health partners, the Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG Foundation.
Together, the three channels work to ensure Movember funds are supporting a broad range of innovative, world-class programs in line with the organization’s goals in the areas of awareness and education, survivorship and research.
Formal campaigns operate in Australia, New Zealand, the US, Canada, the UK, South Africa, Ireland, Finland, the Netherlands, Spain, Denmark, Norway, Belgium and the Czech Republic. Movember is also aware of Mo Bros and Mo Sistas supporting the campaign across the globe, from Russia to Dubai, Hong Kong to Antarctica, Rio de Janeiro to Mumbai, and everywhere in between.
As the website states, it’s important to support those taking part in the festivities.
“Don’t forget to always smile at a Mo Bro and complement his Mo. That helps them grow.”
And that’s a fact.
For more information, go to the Movember website.
