Movember madness

The moustache. In some countries the mo is a symbol of manhood. For many women, the mo is just downright hideous. Every November since 2006, thousands of men throughout New Zealand have grown a moustache, all in the name of two of the biggest health issues facing men. Self-confessed "mo-bro" Regan Horrell previews Movember.

At primary school I won a competition for "Best Painted Rock". Other than that, I'd never won anything significant in my life ... until Movember.

The Great Ginga Moustache Grow-off tortured my Otago Daily Times colleagues for a month, as A4-sized coloured photo printouts taped to a wall charted the weekly progress. At the end, a 9cm-high $2 Shop gold trophy rested on my computer, proudly declaring: "Ugliest Mo' 2007".

One of my bosses suggested my "traffic cop" moustache suited me. My workmates disagreed.

Year after year I have grown a moustache during November.

The annual charity event, Movember is fun but raises vital funds for and awareness of two of the biggest health issues facing men - prostate cancer and mental illness.

Last year 13,143 men registered as a mo-bro (a man who grows a moustache for Movember) and collectively raised $1.4 million. This year, 21 countries across five continents will take part in Movember.

Mo-bros become walking and talking billboards for the cause.

I suffered a short bout of depression and want guys to know help is available.

This year's high-profile mo-bros include All Black Brodie Retallick, surfing champion Maz Quinn, extreme fisherman Matt Watson and TV presenter Brendan Pongia.

One Movember a Dunedin firm finished second nationally after raising about $10,000.

Their leader told me one "fair-haired guy" could only grow four individual strands of hair above his upper lip. Yet, he still raised $200 - $50 per hair!After about five years, I decided to end the workplace Movember torment. That was until a birthday present, a book on how to grow a moustache, with pictures, tutorials and even five-star degree of difficulty rating - fitting in an Olympic year - reignited the Movember passion.

I have learned that bigger is not necessarily better. A Singaporean friend told me men grew moustaches as a symbol of manhood. When I grew a large "rainbow moustache" one Movember he reckoned I looked fierce and told me to trim it.

Funny how a moustache can create such an illusion. I am a man of medium build, standing just 5ft 5in (1.651m), with a Caucasian "Southland tan".

Thanks to the new book, this year I'm going for a classy image. I'll even have to restyle my hair in keeping with the new-look moustache.

My fascination with the mo goes back to a childhood dream.

My favourite character on the American TV sitcom, Happy Days, was red-haired Richie Cunningham. In the programme's final season, he had transformed from a baby-faced teenager to a man sporting ... the mo.

I was inspired. I was baby-faced too. By sixth form, or year 12 in today's school terms, I wondered if my dream would ever come true. I still wasn't shaving.

Then, one day, I sat in the front row of my senior soccer team, arms folded with manly gusto and my chin tilted slightly upwards with a proud, staunch stare. Finally. Finally, I had the mo.

Growing a moustache can command respect.

In the late 1800s, the Otago police commissioner decreed that it was compulsory for all constables to wear a moustache.

Many of my colleagues often sigh at the prospect of "it's not that time of year again already, is it?".

For some women, the end of November can not come soon enough. In an email call for donations one Movember, a female workmate swivelled around on her chair and snapped: "I'll happily give you some money to shave that ghastly thing off," as she tossed some coins my way. "Men with facial hair are awful".

Don't worry, guys. Opposition is a small price to pay. Even one of New Zealand's most recognisable mo-bros, Sir Richard Hadlee, has laid down the mo-bro challenge this year.

The former cricketing great reveals he grew his moustache as a team challenge on a tour to India and Pakistan in 1976. I was only two, then. Hadlee says the mo "stuck with me all my life and probably will do for the rest of my life". He adds: "I offer a challenge to all you men in the month of November to see if you can beat this little baby," grasping at his groomed 'stache.

New Zealand was the second country to embrace Movember and now it is a global charity event.

So, register at www.movember.com from next Thursday. It will be a case of on your marks, get set ... grow!

Tips
Drinks and foods to approach with caution when sporting a mo:
• cappuccino
• a glass of milk
• a meat pie when eaten from your hand
• tacos

Did you mo?
• On average, a man with a moustache touches it 760 times in a 24-hour day.
• There are between 10,000 and 20,000 hairs on a man's face.
• Police in a district in India's Madhya Pradesh state are paid to grow moustaches because bosses believe it makes them command more respect.
• Groucho Marx for many years wore a fake moustache of greasepaint on stage and film, then grew a real one later in life.
• The first artefact that shows a moustache dates back to 300BC and depicts a horseman with a thick black moustache.
• The world's longest moustache is a 4.29m monster belonging to Ram Singh Chauhan, of India, who regularly massages it with mustard and coconut oil to keep it healthy.
• A one-month-old moustache is capable of holding about 30ml of liquid or about 10% of a glass of beer before leaking its contents down the face of the owner.

The Styleshaver enables men to express their individual style through trimming, styling and shaving their facial hair, using one device.

Philips' Styleshaver comes with a full-size trimmer and precision trimmer on one side and a shaver on the other. The full-size trimmer has length settings varying from 0.5mm to 10mm, enabling men to get the exact facial hair length they want. The precision trimmer delivers a close cut and the neck holding the trimmer is designed to provide excellent visibility. The trimmer can be flipped upside down for a dual-foil shaver that can be used to create straight lines around any style, or achieve a clean shave, even after three days of beard growth.

The Otago Daily Times has one Styleshaver ($249.95) to give away. To enter the draw, write your name, address and daytime phone number on the back of an envelope and send it to Styleshaver, ODT Editorial Features, Response Bag 500010, Dunedin, or email playtime@odt.co.nz with Styleshaver in the subject line, to arrive before Thursday.