‘Tis the season to be hairy.

Key Points:

• Movember encourages Australian men to grow a moustache for the 30 days of November.
• “You don’t need a movie-star moustache to be a hero in the fight for better men’s health.”
• To take part in Movember, simply sign up online, or download the app.

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Today marks the beginning of Movember – and this year the charity is getting cheeky (and comes with a language warning).

For Movember 2024, organisers are encouraging those men who are “follically challenged” to get on board with the moustache movement – no matter what their soup strainer looks like.

The blunt theme – Sh*t Mo’s Save Lives” – encourages everyone to take part, not just those who have been gifted with impressive facial hair.

“If it encourages anyone who’s been too ashamed of their mo’ to give Movember a go – well, that’s a huge win for men’s health,” Movember’s Josh Mann said.

Big issues

Movember, which began in 2003, encourages Australian men to grow a moustache for the 30 days of November.

Participants are sponsored and all funds go to men’s health initiatives and projects.

“Our fathers, partners, brothers and friends are dying too young,” a Movember statement read.

Movember encourages Australian men to grow a moustache for the 30 days of November.

“The funds you raise are taking on some of the biggest issues impacting men’s health.”

Those issues are: men’s mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer, and testicular cancer.

“What struck me immediately about the Movember moustache-growing movement is that it is led not so much by Movember themselves, but by a groundswell of people that care about the future of men’s health,” Mr Mann said.

For everyone

The idea of encouraging every man to grow a moustache is all about inclusivity, according to Movember organisers.

“You don’t need a movie-star moustache to be a hero in the fight for better men’s health,” Hugh Miller, Movember’s global director of brand and content, told Mumbrella.

“Movember has always been for everyone – after all, men’s health doesn’t just affect men, it impacts us all.”

Indeed, the charity’s campaign song and video celebrates all those who take up the challenge to grow a mo’. Check it out below (please note: this video comes with a language warning):

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From a chat to a fundraising giant

Movember began with two Aussie mates, Travis Garone and Luke Slattery, meeting up for a drink in Melbourne in 2003.

They noticed that the moustache had all but disappeared from Australian way-of-life and they wondered, “Could we bring it back?”

They could. That year, they found 30 men who were willing to take up the upper lip challenge.

By the next year, they were doing it for a cause – prostate cancer – and they raised over $50,000 to fight the disease.

Fast forward two decades, and Movember is now a global fundraising juggernaut. Last year it had over 316,000 participants who raised millions.

“I wouldn’t be here today without Movember,” Hit FM host Jimmy Smith, who has struggled with his mental health, said.

“I can’t say enough good things about them and the work they do with mental health and suicide prevention.”

“You don’t need a movie-star moustache to be a hero in the fight for better men’s health.”

Start growing

To take part in Movember, simply sign up online, or download the app. Then create a public profile, set up a fundraising target, and share it “all over the place,” organisers suggest.

On November 1, you should be clean shaven, but let it grow from there.

“The moustache is a powerful symbol that stands for healthier men and a healthier world,” a Movember statement read,

“Let it mesmerise and be spellbound, so you can start life-saving conversations about men’s health.”

For more information visit here.

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Featured image by CanvaPro