Goatees, soul patches and handlebars of every styling were on display Friday at the Rock and Roll Hotel for a Movember Official Gala Parté, marking the end of a month-long mustache-growing celebration.
Movember, more commonly known as the month of November, is the 30-day period during which men from 14 countries, not just grow but artistically sculpt their mustaches to raise money and awareness for prostate cancer and other men’s issues.
The party celebrated the men and women worldwide who collectively helped raise over $103 million for health organizations like The Prostate Cancer Foundation and LIVESTRONG.
“We’re trying to remove the stigmas that men have associated with going to the doctor or not being manly their entire life. They’ve been taught since they were young boys to, ‘Oh just rub some dirt on it.’ But no, if something inside you hurts, you need to take care of yourself. It doesn’t have to be in November, but all men need to get checked up, and the mustache is a reminder to go to the doctor,” Jack Choate, Movember director of development in the U.S, said.
In addition to a live DJ and plenty of booze, each party featured a series of competitions, from “Best Mo in Character” to “The Lame Mo,” an encouragement award for those like Adam Begart, 28, who aren’t so hair-inclined.
“I struggle. I actually had to Just for Men it twice,” Begart admitted.
At the gala, especially impressive Mo Bros and Mo Sistas were nominated by official Movember judges as they entered the parté, based on the recognizability of their costumes and the superb grooming status of their ‘staches. Winners are decided by the loudness of audience cheers during a fashion-show-turned-dance-off later in the night.
With its wild parties and mustache competitions, Movember aims to change the staggering statistics.
Sporting mustaches akin to those of Tom Selleck, Hulk Hogan and Dr. Phil, the Mo Bros, alongside their supportive Mo Sistas, joined together in celebrating a now eight-year-old movement.
“Four friends in Melbourne, Australia wanted to bring the mustache back for a themed costume party. Over the course of eight years, that private party has turned into the number one campaign for prostate cancer,” Choate said, explaining the event’s inception.
Staying true to its roots, Movember hosts 12 costume parties throughout the U.S. during the first weekend of December.
Dressed in his brother’s old college band uniform, team member Steve Beggs, 36, was this year’s “Man of Movember.”
“I’m a survivor myself. I was young when it happened so I was able to survive it. A lot of guys don’t,” Beggs said.
One in six men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime, making it the second most common cancer in men. One in 36 will die from the disease, according to the American Cancer Institute. Because 24 percent of men are less likely to go to the doctor compared to women, more and more cases go undiagnosed, leading to higher fatality rates.
“What we’re really trying to do is create a men’s health movement. Trying to get men to talk about their health and not be afraid of it,” Choate said.
Sporting a horseshoe mustache that stylistically completes a full oval under his chin, Howard Krasilovsky, 31, is a three-year Movember veteran.
“It’s a fantastic excuse to grow a mustache for a month. That’s how I got started, but since then I’ve really got drawn into the cause,” Krasilovsky said.
Krasilovsy’s friend, Zach Carter, 28 added, “We’re teachers and the students love it.”
Bringing prostate cancer awareness into their high school classrooms in a “fun, comedic way,” as Carter puts it, is exactly Movember’s aim.
Since Movember began in 2003, the global movement has raised over $174 million, and over 1.1 million participants have registered as Mo Bros and Mo Sistas.
