Movember

How Did This Become a Thing?

 

It started, like most bold moves, with a dare over beers. Back in 2003, Travis Garone and Luke Slattery were kicking back a few in a Melbourne bar when their conversation turned to the cyclical nature of fashion trends. They questioned where the mustache had gone and joked about bringing it back. They challenged each other to see who could grow the better 'stache. Travis's brother Adam got in on the action and they each convinced a few friends to grow one as well. Ground rules were set: start clean shaven and then grow a "mo"—Australian slang for mustache—for the 30 days of November. "This was before the ironic hipster mustache movement, so it created a lot of controversy," says Adam Garone of those early Movember mustaches. "My girlfriend at the time really hated it and my boss wouldn't let me go see clients." But the rebellious freedom was so satisfying that the guys looked for a reason to do it again. Inspired by the way women had joined forces to fight breast cancer, they decided to dedicate their hirsute adventure to furthering men's health initiatives. "I started to research that topic," says Garone. "And discovered prostate cancer is the male equivalent of breast cancer in terms of the number of men that die from it and are diagnosed with it." Just over a decade later, Movember is now a global phenomenon with men young and old proudly sporting mustaches and documenting every hair's growth, all the while raising awareness and money for a worthy cause. But is this annual whisker orgy really benefiting men's health? How did it grow so large so fast? We dug into the data ...

 

2003

It begins with three guys ...

 

Who invite
27
of their Australian friends
to participate.

No money is raised, but the seeds of a movement are planted.

30

Participants

 

$0

Raised

 
 
 

2004

In year two ...

 

450
join them, collecting donations for the Prostate Cancer Foundation.

480

Participants Thus Far

 

$40,851

Raised Thus Far

 
 
 

2005

Year three ...

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

It grows by nearly 2,000%.

9,795

Participants Thus Far

 

$921,044

Raised Thus Far

 
 
 

2006

Year four ...

 
 
 
 
 
 
 

New Zealand joins in.

65,924

Participants Thus Far

 

$8,259,453

Raised Thus Far

 
 
 

2007

Year five ...

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

It goes international.

200,095

Participants Thus Far

 

$27,149,041

Raised Thus Far

 
 

In the next six years ...

2008

 

2009

 

2010

 

2011

 

2012

 

2013

 

It spreads across five continents ...

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

4,027,688

Total Participants

 

It raises huge sums of money ...

2008

 

$19m

2009

 

$40m

2010

 

$70m

2011

 

$129m

2012

 

$147m

2013

 

$125m

$559,000,000

Total Raised

 

It forever changes men's health ...

Donations are directed to programs around the world overseen by Movember, the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Livestrong Foundation in the areas of education, survivorship and research.

As a direct result of Movember's fundraising, University of Michigan scientists make a significant research breakthrough, sequencing the genome of prostate cancer.

The U of M scientists identify more than 25 different types of gene fusions that occur in prostate cancer.

The world's first prostate cancer genome map is completed through Movember funding. A greater understanding of how the cancer works leads to more personalized treatment.

Movember is ranked in the top 100 best NGOs in the world by the Global Journal for helping men affected by prostate cancer, testicular cancer and mental health problems.

The Movember Foundation launches the world's largest single investment in prostate cancer programs
($36 million) in order to bring together 300 of the smartest people in the field from five countries for a cancer-fighting dream team.

And gets people talking ...

A participant detailed his experience of raising awareness within his circle:

1

Movember
participant

11

Facebook
updates

16

emails sent

10

Tweets

36

face-to-face
conversations

Celebrities
get involved:

 

European footballers and celebrity participants from Ashton Kutcher and Nick Offerman to Tom Hanks and Aaron Rodgers help spread the word via TV segments, social media and viral YouTube clips.

The ripples spread:

99%

Percentage of participants that report talking to someone about their health while they were growing their Movember mustache.

62%

Percentage of participants who went to see a medical professional to improve their health.

50%

Percentage of participants who told someone that they should take action to improve their health.

 

Like any attention-grabbing phenomenon, Movember's rapid growth has attracted its share of naysayers. Some argue that it's a lazy way to raise money for charity. After all, if you're going to do something sponsored for charity, shouldn't it be for something impressive, like running a marathon and not something you literally do in your sleep? Others worry that the spectacle has meant most men participate just for the fun, without any understanding of the charities involved. But the reality is that the relative ease of growing facial hair combined with the way the campaign has embraced humor and technology has successfully drawn attention to diseases that were woefully under publicized before Movember began in 2003. The more than half a billion dollars raised in just ten years? It's not only helped those affected by the ailments, but it enabled world-class doctors to work together resulting in scientific breakthroughs that have vastly improved cancer treatments. What's more, because these mustaches are such conversation starters, a dialogue has begun as men all over the world feel free to talk about health issues that previous generations have been too proud or afraid to acknowledge. And that might be the most important legacy of this once silly bar bet.

Donate to Movember ›
 
Share:
Save: