On the last day of October, hundreds of thousands of men across the world will give themselves a full clean shave. It will be the last time their upper lip will see the sharp edge of a razor until December. As their handlebars, Dalis and Fu Manchus start to take shape, they will be making more than just a fashion statement, theyÂ’ll be changing the face of menÂ’s health.
That is the basic idea behind the Movember Foundation (get it?), a charity that encourages men to find sponsorship to grow a moustache for a month to raise awareness and funds for menÂ’s health issues, such as prostate and testicular cancer. Last year 450,000 men raised over 400 million kroner worldwide.
The foundation has come a long way since its humble beginnings in Melbourne, Australia. A group of men gathered in a pub and lamented the loss of the moustache in popular fashion. So it was decided they would bring the moustache back for the month of November. Thirty men compared their moustaches at the end of the first Movember in 2003.
The following year 450 men took part, raising over 300,000 kroner to keep the initiative running. But the key organisers thought there were others who could better benefit from the money, and they ended up giving the money to the Australian Prostate Cancer Charity. It turned out that it was the largest single donation they had ever received.
Movember has been increasing in popularity ever since and has so far raised over 800 million kroner worldwide. The money has been put towards a range of causes, though the main focus is tackling prostate cancer – the third most common cancer among Danish men, with a survival rate of only 30 percent after five years. So far, the funds have contributed to the discovery of 25 different types of prostate cancer and the mapping of its genome, while in the UK specialist nurses are now on call 24 hours a day to help men cope with their diagnosis.
According to the Bill McIntyre from the Movember Foundation, the campaignÂ’s success is all due to some upper lip fuzz.
“The rules are you have to completely shave then just grow the moustache, which means you have to be dedicated,” McIntyre told The Copenhagen Post. “It’s a tricky first ten days. But whenever you go to a meeting or meet your friends, you’re forced to explain what you’re doing. So by doing all this explaining, the awareness quickly spreads.”
“Growing a mustache is a joy and I think the reason the campaign is so appealing is because you can sit on your sofa and just let it grow. But be warned, there is some pain involved as the itchiness factor sets in after the first week. That’s a pretty serious issue.”
Denmark will officially get in on the ‘80s facial hair action this month as Movember launches a dedicated fundraising website for the country.
“We’ve had loads of passionate emails from ‘Mo Bros’ on the ground who want the campaign to come to Denmark,” Mcintyre said. “It’s all rather exciting to us.”
To sponsor any (or all) of them, please head to http://dk.movember.com and search for TheCopenhagenPostKevin, TheCopenhagenPostBen, TheCopenhagenPostPeter and/or TheCopenhagenPostDima. If youÂ’re thinking of participating, simply head to www.movember.com and sign up.
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