It Will Be A Long Movember : 7 Questions with Movember Founder Adam Garone and A Mo-Growing Challenge

I always find it heart-stirring to see the enormous outpouring for Breast Cancer in the month  of October - The Run for a Cure,  the Breast Cancer walk and a number of other well-supported and omni-present, Pink Ribboned events provide a testament to the importance of the cause and selfless altruism of its supporters.

Comparatively speaking, very little gets spoken about Prostate Cancer and  the male counterpart affliction...until perhaps now.  Trust an Aussie to get a male (and supporting female) army behind a cure for prostate cancer through a  word of mouth social phenomenon called Movember. Kudos to fellow blogger Ed Lee for getting this great word of mouth cause on my radar.

First the heart-wrenching stats, 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, 22,300 Canadian men in 2007 and regrettably 4,300 Canadian men died at the hands of this disease in 2007. I had the good fortune to speak with Movember co-founder and North American Director Adam Garone last week about his global effort to change these numbers:

Sean Moffitt, Agent Wildfire :  I've always wondered about the real breakthrough rallying points for breast cancer and comparatively little grassroots exposure for prostate cancer,  how did your effort Movember get its start and why has it caught "lightning in a bottle"?

Adam Garone, Movember :   Well, you may be surprised but it started in an apartment building in Melbourne one Sunday afternoon, some friends were over and beer was involved - our conversation revolved around things that belonged in 70's fashion that hadn't made a comeback yet. The consensus was :  the moustache and macrame. Ignoring the latter, we believed bringing back the mousatche or as we call it in Austalia "the mo'" was a noble purpose and one we could get behind for charity. Thus, way back in 2003, Movember was born with 30 Mo Bros (hair growing men) and their female supporters Mo Sistas.

Moffitt: What really caught my attention was this cause has become quite viral. From 30 people in your first year, it grew to 450 the next, 9,000 in 2005 and 56,000 last year - that's a multiple of 7 times growth each year, any perspective on Movember's runaway growth?.

Garone: Certainly geographic expansion has helped.  From our Melbourne roots, we grew to a country-wide phenomenon, we got New Zealand involved last year and this year - it becomes a global movement, with the US, Canada, Great Britain and Spain jumping onboard. I think the appeal is straightforwardly male - it's a simple concept, it engages men in a very visible way and it has a cheeky, rebellious side to it that allows men to express themselves. We've also been very careful to keep it grassroots and have never advertised the cause in conventional channels.

Moffitt: Speaking as a blonde male who has never been able to grow a suitable moustache never mind beard, isn't this exclusionary?

Garone: We have had men use mascara to fluff up their mo. If you check out the website as well, we have prizes for a whole bunch of different categories (Best mo, Best Playboy mo, Team Mo Bro, Best mo in Character) and for you potentially, the Lame Mo. Despite all the male fun, there is an interesting angle to this - 95% of the men who enter themselves as Mo Bros have never before been an active sponsor or volunteer of a charity in the past. Hopefully, we're creating a generation of givers.

Moffitt: That is impressive, any profile of men that fit the sweetspot for getting behind this cause?

Garone: Strangely the investment community have really rallied behind this and become our largest donors. It just shows that inside every one of us, no matter how straight arrow or rebellious, we have  an inner moustache that wants to grow out. A number of CEOs, from companies like Quiksilver and DC Shoes, have also signed on board. The Prostate Cancer associations and  sponsors (Gillette, Playboy, Quiksilver, Moosehead, Wahl, Roxy, Dose, Lab Series, DC Shoes and Golftown)  have really helped to get the word out. 

Moffitt: Tell me about the Mo Sistas, are these women capable of growing moustaches?

Garone: It would be interesting if they could. No, the Mo Sistas are boosters of the Movember cause. Short of growing a moustache, they do a lot the same work that our men do. They become team captains and not surpisingly they're very effective ambassadors in recruiting men to join the cause. They're also very competitive and have been among some of our biggest fundraisers.

Moffitt: Beyond the nobility of the cause, I'm really impressed with the visibility of this approach. You've become the equivalent of the Pink Ribbon for men?

Garone: Our blue moustache has become a bit of an emblem. You may have seen it in town on a number of outdoor boards, stickered over some of our radio partner transit shelters. Justin Timberlake with a little blue moustache.  Just as important is the human interaction, participants routinely tell me they're stopped 3-4 times a day and get asked to explain why they're growing a moustache. People find it really cool and bond over growing 70s-styled handlebars, lamb chops and soul patches in support of a cause.  As we like to say, we're changing the face of men's health.

Moffitt: In the few minutes we have left, tell me what's happening specifically in Canada?

Garone: Yeah, we have targeted 10,000 Canadian participants in our first year here, each earning $100 - that's $1 million. This is similar to the level of support to our first year experience in New Zealand  which has a much smaller country population. You can donate and sign up at Movember.com under your country target and join as teams or individuals. When you support your designated Mo Bro, you can donate online or your sponsored Bro can accept money and log your address. Funds raised will go to the Canadian Prostate Cancer Research Foundation of Canada and any donations over $20 get a receipt. Gala Parties will be held in 3 cities in Edmonton (23rd), Toronto (25th) and Vancouver (27th). For offices and other towns and cities, grassroots organizers can order a kit and host their own party.

Moffitt: Adam, this has been great, hopefully Canada will really get behind this and hide their razors and  furnish their wallets in November.

Garone: Thanks for this opportunity.

Epilogue: After being challenged by PR gatekeeper and part-time surfer dude Parker Mason to become part of the blonde Mo Bro club, I've officially registered as a Mo Bro for November. Here is my sponsor sheet - Sean Moffitt - Mo Bro 81559 , appreciate any of your support. Given a number of speaking gigs this month, this should be very publicly embarassing...anything for a good cause.

Get yourself onboard the Movember train too and let the spirit of Tom Selleck, Burt Reynolds, Gabe Kaplan, Freddie Mercury, Geraldo, Borat, and Dali live on. Mitch, David, Joseph, Marc, Sebastien, Jordan,  Keith, Collin, Colin, Michael and Doug - will you join Parker's, Ed's and my follicly-challenged Rat Pack?