Ok, I’ll admit. I got tricked into doing Movember. Way back in 2010, when Rick Ross was banging out hits, I thought that I should try to grow a beard like The Boss. It wasn’t going so well and my girlfriend at the time didn’t have the heart to tell me. “Hey have you heard about this thing called Movember?” After going as Rick Ross for Halloween (obviously), I cut the beard, grew a moustache, and began my Mo journey.
The immediate draw to Movember was the connection I had with my grandfathers. Both had died from prostate cancer, so the thought of doing something for them with my silly moustache was a motivator. Every time someone would ask me about my peculiar facial hair choice, I was able to engage them in conversation about why I was growing it. A year later, as I geared up to grow another moustache, I got a call from a fraternity brother with some shocking news. He had just been diagnosed with testicular cancer...in his early 30s. As he battled and beat the cancer, I used my platform to educate as many people as I could about testicular cancer using Movember’s resources.
Throughout the years I found many inspirations to keep participating in Movember, and this past year was no different. As I have grown with Movember, so has my family. I now have two little boys. I’ve realized that I need to be healthy personally while also bringing awareness to men’s health issues as to set a good example for them. The African-American community is disproportionately affected by health concerns like prostate cancer and testicular cancer and many in that community don’t know about the great things Movember does to combat these illnesses. In 2020, I partnered with my employer, Accenture, to magnify the mission of Movember. I produced a podcast where I sat down with Mark Hedstrom, Country Director of Movember. We had a candid discussion on what Movember is, what it does, how it helps, and then it was published to Accenture’s African-American Employee Resource Group. Broadcasting to this community raised awareness and potentially saved lives. As Rick Ross would say, “How many people you bless, is how you measure success.”