Movember - Changing the face of men's health

Movember is an annual, month-long celebration of the moustache, highlighting men’s health issues, specifically prostate cancer and depression in men.

Mo Bros, supported by their Mo Sistas, start Movember (November 1st) clean shaven and then have the remainder of the month to grow and groom their moustache. During Movember, each Mo Bro effectively becomes a walking billboard for men’s health and, via their Mo, raises essential funds and awareness for Movember’s men’s health partners – The Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia and beyondblue – the national depression initiative. At the end of Movember, a series of Gala Partés are held to thank Mo Bros and Sistas for their support and fund raising efforts.
The idea for Movember came about in 2003 when a few mates were having a beer in a small bar in Fitzroy, Melbourne. Inspired by the women’s health movement, it was recognized that men were lacking a way to engage and actively involve themselves in their own health. During a conversation about fashion and past trends, the idea came up to bring the moustache back for one month, and in doing so, have some fun, raise a small amount of money and hopefully encourage men to talk about their health with each other.
Since this time, Movember has continued to grow each year, both in terms of participation numbers and funds raised. In its first year, 30 Mo Bros took part in Movember and last year, in Australia alone, 125,000 Mo Bro & Sistas got on board, raising more than $8million for each of Movember’s men’s health partners.
Today, in its sixth consecutive year, Movember takes place around the world. Motivated by what was happening in Australia, a further five countries now embrace the Mo each November - New Zealand, US, Canada, UK and Ireland are all helping Movember to achieve its ultimate goal – to change the face of men’s health globally.
To date, Movember has raised AUS$60 million globally for the fight against prostate cancer and depression in men. And, more importantly, as a direct result, male awareness of health issues has improved with Movember helping to spread health messages directly to millions of Mo Bros & Sistas around the world.
Going forward, Movember will continue to work towards helping to change established habits and attitudes and make men aware of the risks they face, thereby increasing early detection, diagnosis and effective treatment.