How cricket legend Dennis Lillee inspired the Movember movement

It's November, when plenty of Aussie men begin prepping their upper lip in the hopes of sporting more than just a light susting of bumfluff.

Girlfriends suffer in silence as their boyfriends size up and compare with mates who's a grower and who's a show-er. But it's all for a good cause.

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But how did Movember start?

The golden years

Brothers Adam and Travis Garone still have fond memories of sitting in front of the tele with their father in their suburban Melbourne home, watching Dennis Lilllee charging in to dispose of another English batsman.

"Seeing Dennis and his wonderful moustache had a big impact on me," says Adam Garone, "It is the moustache by which all others should be judged."

The worst mos ... generate the most conversation, which is what Movember is all about.

Travis Garone

Lillee's 'tash and the confidence with which the paceman wore it, was to have a profound effect on the Garone brothers. Several decades later the pair of them founded the Movember Foundation to raise awareness of men's health.

"Trav and a couple of his mates were having a few beers at the pub on a Sunday afternoon and talking about fashion and how things eventually cycle back, and they wondered why moustaches hadn't," says Garone. "We decided to host a moustache-themed party and so we challenged each other to grow a moustache; we were shocked by the amount of conversation the strange growth on our top lips generated."

Bring back the 'tash

The following year the brothers came up with a plan to leverage the 'tash-attention' to create something good. "We were inspired by the women around us and what they were doing for breast cancer. And so Movember was born as a way to start people talking about the health matters that specifically affect men; on average, we die five years younger than women. It doesn't have to be that way."

This was 2004, long before the ironic hipster facial hair movement. "I like to think we had an impact on that movement, for better or worse," says Garone. "We put the moustache back on the face of fashion, and changed grooming trends, not just in Australia, but internationally."

In 2006 Movember was launched in New Zealand, and the following year it went to the USA, Canada, the UK, Spain and Ireland.

"Canada has totally embraced it. Those guys love growing facial hair," says Garone.

More than just the mo'

Right from the start Movember's charter took a holistic view of men's health. Initially the attention was on prostate cancer (and the charity remains the world's largest donator to prostate cancer research) a disease that tends to affect older men and will kill more than 3,300 Aussie blokes this year alone.

Testicular cancer has also been targeted for funding, recognising the fact that it largely affects younger men, with the average age of diagnosis just 36-years-old.

Over the years, mental health and suicide prevention has also become a major focus of Movember. Suicide is the leading cause of death for Australian men aged 15-44 years, with on average six taking their own life each and every day. "That number is almost double the annual road toll each year and look how much money the government throws at preventing that," Garone says.

In a little more than a decade Movember has raised $770 million and funded more than 1,200 men's health projects. Last year more than 513,000 men and women from around the world raised almost $76 million for men's health.

The rights and wrongs of Movember

Garone says the biggest mistake men make when growing a mo is not growing a mo for Movember.

"Every man looks good with a Movember mo, and remember, the worst looking mos are the ones that generate the most conversation, which is what Movember is all about."

The second biggest mistake is not giving your mo a name before you start. "You're going to have a chat with it every morning when you look in the mirror to encourage it along, so you need to have a name to call it. Mine is the 'Spitfire of Love'."

Garone also recommends having a realistic goal in mind. Don't try and grow a handlebar moustache in 30 days: "they take three times as long as that."

He says to start you Mo-journey by choosing a style, whether it's the Rod Marsh, the Merv Hughes, or the Rob De Castella. "My go-to style is the porn king," he says. "My wife loves it because it's like sleeping with a new person; probably the pool boy."

Fighting the good fight

Once you've picked your style and you've left yourself enough time, Garone says to grow it all out for around 10 days. It's not until then that you're ready to start carving it into the shape you want.

Maintenance is also important. "Very carefully groom and trim it throughout the month, using sharp hairdressing scissors and a little comb, or an electric trimmer. Grooming is the key. Just don't let it grow wild because it will get itchy and annoying."

Despite the money raised for a good cause, not everyone is happy with Garone and Movember.

"A lot of women come up to me and say, 'so you're responsible for that f---ing moustache on my husband!'"

For more information visit Movember online. 

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