Putting the Mo in Movember.

The month of November is upon us and being a guy, I felt it was customary for me to write a few things about being a man, growing a 'stache and becoming aware of our health. The month of November is significant for us men because it is a time when some of us voluntarily decide to become manly all of sudden by sporting moustaches of different shapes and sizes. The mo might look ugly on your face, alternatively it might even make you more desirable in the eyes of the opposite sex but the thought behind it is bigger than that. So, since it's week 1, I decided to write a few words about 'Movember' and what it really is. 

Movember started as an idea between friends in 2003 in Australia to raise awareness about men's health especially about testicular and prostate cancer by growing  moustaches during the entire month of November. What started as 30-men volunteering to grow mos on their faces turned into a global phenomenon of more than 3 million people registering till date to be Mo Bros and Mo Sistas, as they are called. That's right, women have equally taken part in raising awareness about men's health. 

Get creative!

It's quite surprising to see that when there were no Facebook and Twitter hashtags in the early 2000s, all it took men was to grow 'staches on their faces to stir up a conversation about sensitive issues like testicular and prostate cancer. Now that's what I call manly and primal! That's the beauty of this month; you take on a fun challenge of growing a 'stache and it immediately acts as a conversation starter in different places. You go to a party and someone compliments that handle bar 'stache you are rocking and you can kick off the conversation by saying how you're doing it for a good cause and spread your wisdom about men's health to other men who don't know. 

Being a Mo Bro in 2011.

Being a Mo Bro in 2013.

Both these types of cancer are very common among men and as alarming and life threatening as it might sound, both these cancers are preventable if detected in the early stages. Here are a couple of websites you can visit to get some background information: 

http://movember.com/

http://www.cancer.org/index

http://www.pcf.org/

I'm sure all of you can Google about Movember, however, I have only tried to do my part to aware people of their health and what awareness can do to stay healthy. So, the only advice would be is to gather knowledge on men's health and have a medical check up if anything worries you.

Movember believes that the face of changing men's health is up to you. You can even register and sign up in the Movember website and have people from all around the world donate money for the cause. If anyone's interested, you can check out my Mo profile at mobro.co/mushfique.m So, get involved, get creative, grow a mo and share your knowledge. And as always, here's a heavy a mix by Inspector Dubplate called the Moustache Mixtape to get you all in the mood to grow one this month. 

Cheers!