Asia's "Mo Bros" _ from Bangkok to the Movember Foundation campaign headquarters in Melbourne _ aren't letting the hipster handlebars and full-on horseshoes of hirsute poster boys stop them from participating in a worldwide charity campaign for men's health.
MO-TIVATED: The poster for Movember Asia, above, and Instagrams from Hyde & Seek, right.
"Not everyone can be Tom Selleck," says Greg Rafferty, the manager of Movember's Asia campaign, of the moustachioed men of November, dubbed Mo Bros by the foundation.
"Guys who have red hair or blond hair sometimes struggle to grow a mo, too. Every Movember moustache is raising awareness for men's health. Whatever moustache you grow, we just want you to be confident and know it's going to make a change in the world."
The Movember campaign is aimed at raising money to fight prostate and testicular cancer, and raising awareness of men's health issues in general. Inspired by the symbol of the pink ribbon for breast cancer, moustachioed men become walking billboards, visual reminders throughout the month that cancer can be conquered.
"When we first went over to Hong Kong and Singapore two years ago to put the foundations down for the campaign, just about every meeting I went to people said Asian men can't grow moustaches. But I was glad to get through our first campaign because we found out that wasn't true," says Mr Rafferty.
"We had a lot of guys who grew moustaches and I was really glad to dispel that myth."
While Movember is yet to launch an official campaign in Thailand, Aaron Carr in Koh Samui has for the first time launched his very own Movember Thailand. It began on Facebook, with about 100 likes.
"I've always done Movember when I was around in London and Australia and I noticed Thailand didn't have it. I had the idea of doing it in Koh Samui and Koh Phangan. This is the first for Movember Thailand. I reckon we're going to raise maybe about 100,000 baht plus," he tells Brunch.
The marketing and events manager at Koh Samui's Dreamers Beach Club, Mr Carr has teamed up with Harp bar on Koh Phangnan for a slew of Movember-themed events starting on Friday night. While Harp bar will have a raffle and charity buckets to collect proceeds, Dreamers is set to hold a charity auction and Thailand's first Mr Movember event. Gents have posted photos of their best moustachioed mugs on Facebook and the man with the most likes by the time of the event will be announced the winner.
A veteran Movember participant, Mr Carr keeps his face clean the rest of the year.
"The moustache is okay for the first week, but then it gets itchy. The third week it's the best _ by then your girlfriend's used to it," he laughs.
And the girlfriends, dubbed Mo Sistas, are an integral part of the campaign.
"Women have been a big inspiration to the Movember campaign. We find that they're really good in helping get guys registered and getting them to take part in the campaign," Movember's Rafferty says. "Women generally say 'it's me' who makes the doctor's appointment for my husband or my uncle."
This year, Hong Kong and Singapore are the official partners of the Asia campaign. Each has a local partner for the campaign _ in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Cancer Fund and in Singapore, the Singapore Cancer Society.
Money raised by Movember participants in Hong Kong and Singapore goes directly to these partners.
But anyone from any country can participate in the campaign _ with proceeds going to Movember's Global Action Plan (GAP).
Working alongside a team of leading prostate cancer experts from around the world, the GAP was put in place to fund prostate cancer research. The GAP initiative began in 2006.
Mr Rafferty says that this year in Asia, there has been increased interest from Mo Bros in Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia who are raising money for the GAP.
And in Thailand especially, Mr Rafferty says, there's good potential for it to become an official Movember country, joining Hong Kong and Singapore.
Michael Sanderson, a 30-year-old professional based in Bangkok, has always been "moustache curious" and took it on himself to grow some facial fuzz to get a conversation going.
"No one's supporting my efforts financially _ even my girlfriend's laughing at me _ but I thought I'd give it a go to start talking about the issues and see what it looks like," Mr Sanderson says.
"The results have been mixed. The conversations have been good, when I go out with my mates we're talking about men's health issues for maybe the first time ever. But the moustache is terrible _ I look like Ned Flanders."
Mr Sanderson, who last shaved above the lip on Oct 31, says he had wanted to try a goatee in his youth and had been curious since he first donned a fake moustache as a pantomime villain in a youth theatre production.
He was pleased to see, via Facebook, friends in Australia were taking up the cause.
"One of my mates has been updating his Mo Space and in the last update his mo was looking particularly wispy, but I'm going to donate some money," he says.
"I think all the events that raise awareness for breast cancer or ovarian cancer are fantastic, but I sometimes fear men's health gets forgotten. It's something we don't tend to talk about, or think about. At least now we're talking about it, even if they're laughing at me."
In Asia, in particular, Movember's Mr Rafferty says the campaign finds there is sometimes a wider reticence when it comes to issues of men's health.
"The guys in Asia don't engage in their health as well as they should. Guys don't really like to admit they're feeling sick. Movember's all about changing those attitudes and encouraging guys to take responsibility for their health."
But on the flipside, the campaign finds the strong community ties in the region are a boon for men's health.
Nonthiwat Prabhananda, the founder of Bangkok's Hyde & Seek gastro bar, grew a moustache for Movember _ but like Mr Sanderson, didn't see the need to sign up on the official website for the GAP.
"It was important to me to be one of the first people in Bangkok to do this," he says. "It's a charity campaign and I want to build awareness."
And on his November moustache, says Mr Nonthiwat: "This time there is a good reason to have it. The previous times I had one, I was probably just too lazy to shave. But this time there's a good reason. It feels good to have the moustache and put effort into the campaign."
The global Movember campaign operates in 21 countries worldwide and the campaigns have so far collectively made nearly 32 million baht for men's health.
"Men's health is not a Western concept _ it's a global issue," says Mr Rafferty. "Once we explain that, people are keen to get on board."
A stiff drink through the old soup strainer
About one man in every six will be diagnosed with prostate cancer during his lifetime. At the Hyde & Seek gastro bar, staff are raising awareness this month with a colourful cocktail menu _ rife with clever puns such as the Japanese homage "Do Itashi Mashte" _ and moustache props for hipsters ready to Instagram their night. Brunch talks to one of the restaurant's partners, Fawn Mahitthanan, who feels confident that Bangkokians will continue to make significant strides towards charity causes _ with a little bit of quirk.
What inspired the Movember cocktail menu?
What we find very interesting is that inspiration can provide such a versatility of flavour profiles. We work with what inspires us. The thing about charity is that it is not about making money _ it is about giving back and making someone else's life a little bit better while we still have fun creating the, simply put, good times for people in Bangkok and beyond.
How are you incorporating Movember into social media?
Instagram has gained a big increase in popularity and exposure over the past few years. Our goal is to use it to generate social reach and expand awareness of the charity we are working on. It may not seem like much, but we look to create a ripple effect in town that is not only near and dear to us, but also serves the culture of giving.
Has your Movember campaign been successful?
Yes. We have been getting great support through the collective participation of our clients who have proven that men's health is an issue we are all concerned about _ and one which we will continue highlighting in order to bring about change. And for that we would like to thank each and everyone of our Mo Bros and Mo Sistas.
Is there still a chance to take part in your Movember campaign?
You still have time to "make it" by growing your own facial hair or "fake it" by using fun props. Hyde & Seek will donate 50 baht to the National Cancer Institute for each photo with #shavethedate, #hydeandseek or @hydeandseekgastro hashtags. And, a shout out to those who have never grown a moustache before _ you can start now.
