Men are not very good at having these conversations about our health ... So if you start off by poking a little humour, having a little fun, eventually that conversation leads to ‘by the way, have you had yourself checked?’ —Pete Bombaci, Movember Canada MOVEMBER — WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?
Mark Moroz, a 33-yearold firefighter from Regina, is normally clean-shaven. This is his fourth year as a Mo Bro and his second year as the leader of the Regina Professional Firefighters Association’s team, which last year raised around $13,000.
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Jon Unger lives in Warman, just north of Saskatoon. The 31-yearold site safety officer for Magna Electric is normally clean-shaven. This is his first year doing Movember.
WHY IS MOVEMBER IMPORTANT? Chad McCallum — It’s important for me because it affects a large number of men. I think everyone probably knows someone that has been affected by prostate cancer or are at least very well aware of it. Pete Bombaci — The moustache is our conduit to great conversations. Men are not very good at having these conversations about our health. You can try and tell a guy straight-up, ‘Go get yourself checked,’ but he may not listen so fondly. So if you start off by poking a little humour, having a little fun, eventually that conversation leads to ‘by the way, have you had yourself checked?’ Mental health is a serious issue out there and no different than prostate cancer, we need men to talk about it first before we can address it and the moustache is (a) great means to get those conversations started. Landen Young Gessell — I think it’s a great idea for young men, because if you start young and embrace the cause, then you’ll hopefully be a bit more ready for (prostate cancer) down the road if it happens. If we start young and go into it with a good sense of humour, I mean growing facial hair for a good cause, how cool is that? Rebecca von Goetz — In a somewhat fun and lighthearted way, men are starting to have con-
Ryan McDonald, a 35-year-old network technician at SaskTel in Regina, has been growing a Movember moustache for seven years, but this is his second year fundraising. He usually rocks a 5 o’clock shadow and doesn’t like beards.
Chad McCallum has been captain of the iQmetrix Movember team for five years. The 29-year-old from Regina maintains a 5 o’clock shadow. Last year his iQmetrix team raised over $8,500.
versations about the disease. Prostate cancer years ago was not really on people’s radar. This campaign has helped increase awareness of it. People know about it now. Young men who never would have known about this before — because it’s sort of considered an old man’s disease — now know about prostate cancer. At age 40, men really need to have a discussion with their doctor about prostate cancer. So at their annual physical, they should ask about a PSA test. We’re not saying it’s for everybody, but certainly they should discuss it with their doctor and see if it’s for them. Scott Ziegler — I’ve had the exam done a couple of times and it’s really not that bad. A friend of mine’s a doctor; I was thinking of having an examination party at my house and getting all the guys together but nobody thought that was a good idea. Mark Moroz — Some of our members are prostate cancer survivors or have the ability to maybe have to face it in their lifetime. I think the stat is 1 in 6 for Canadian men but that stat’s closer to 1 in 4 for Canadian firefighters. That’s almost one guy per truck that might have to face it in their lifetime, so on a personal level that makes sense for us. It’s also a lot of fun. Who doesn’t like to grow moustaches? It sort of fits with the job itself; firefighting is very serious business but when there’s downtime we like to have fun together.
Scott Ziegler is a 34-year-old real-estate agent from Saskatoon. He cultivates a 5 o’clock shadow from time to time but otherwise keeps a clean face. This is his first year doing Movember as part of the Synergy Strength Crossfit gym team.
Landen Young Gessell, the 23-year-old drivetime host on 92.9 The Bull in Saskatoon, is in his fifth year of No Shave November. Though it’s not actually part of Movember, Gessell helps raise awareness of men’s health issues throughout the month.
HOW DID YOU GET INTO MOVEMBER? Jon Unger — It started as me and some friends originally growing moustaches for Movember without actually doing any fundraising, but this year I’m changing the pace. We’re actually going to do our work site with Magna Electric, our site competing against the Saskatoon office, so hopefully we win. Ryan McDonald — I had friends in Korea that were doing it, so we’d all do it just for fun and send each other pictures. (I figured) I’m gonna do it anyway, might as well make some money for someone. I don’t know anyone with prostate cancer, but cancer is in my family; my mom’s had breast cancer. Landen Young Gessell — In high school I could barely grow a decent pair of sideburns so I embraced it to see what kind of hair my face could produce and it just turned out to be a lot of fun. The first year was dismal at best and on the final day I decided that I had to do better so I used mascara to darken it and I went to class and I got some pretty good laughs. Pete Bombaci — My whole engagement with this campaign started after my run-in with a prostate cancer survivor who explained to me the importance of early detection. He had just been through the process of surgery and came
Rebecca von Goetz is in her fourth year as executive vicepresident of Prostate Cancer Canada, the main beneficiary of Movember.
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Pete Bombaci has been national director of Movember Canada for two years. This is his fifth year as a Mo Bro. He was previously volunteer chair of the Toronto Movember committee.
out the other side, and as he said to me, ‘I’m going to live because of the procedure that I just went through.’ Hearing the importance of getting checked early, being aware of your health and knowing that things can be done when you are diagnosed was a powerful message for me to go out and see how I could get involved and how I could make a difference.
DESCRIBE YOUR ’STACHE. Mark Moroz — The first year I figured if you’re going to grow a moustache it should probably be really bold, it’s gotta be a pushbroom, just a classic straight across, ’70s dad ’stache or whatever you want to call it. That was my first year, and the next year I kind of went more of the handlebar style and then last year kind of the same pushbroom with more of the drag past the lip. This year there’s a theme for Movember globally, it’s Movember and Sons (Mo and Sons), and I’ve encouraged my own dad to grow a moustache. He hasn’t had one since the early ’80s … I’m really looking forward to matching menacing handlebar moustache pictures close to Christmas. Jon Unger — Creepy. … She comes in strong. I just think it doesn’t suit me. Continued on Page 6