Men across the city, some for the first time, will be participating in the Movember movement this month.
Trevis Franklin, 27, decided to join the rest of his ‘Mo Bros’ this November with a clean shave to raise awareness for men’s health issues before growing out his facial hair.
Movember is an annual tradition that sees men throughout the month of November sporting moustaches to raise money and inspire conversations about men’s health issues, particularly prostate and testicular cancers.
“I know there are a lot of people that haven’t started growing their moustache or never have, so what I’m going to do is try to be at the front line convincing people this is for a good cause,” Franklin said.
“Let’s all get together and experience it together.”
Those participating for the first time should expect to run into some challenges during their month long journey.
“The first couple of weeks are the toughest, it is hard,” said Tyler Small, manager of community engagement for Movember Canada.
“When it starts to come in it’s itchy, you don’t like it, you look kind of weird, but it’s a really cool way to have a conversation about serious health issues or even a conversation to get to know somebody better or to feel connected.”
The Movember Foundation started with 30 people who thought they had a funny idea. Today more than five million people have participated since 2003, raising over $675 million worldwide.
This year the Foundation added a new way to participate with the 30-day MOVE challenge, which encourages men to get physically active every day throughout November. Visit movember.com to find out more.
Other ways to get involved include making a donation and downloading the Run Mo Run game, available for free on both the App Store and Google Play store.