Luke Slattery, co-founder of Movember

August 18th 2009

Movember is an entrepreneurial movement that raises money to for prostate cancer and male depression through its participants (Mo Bros and Mo Sistas), by bringing back the ‘Mo’ to generate awareness of two life-threatening diseases which are almost taboo to talk about among most Australian males due to cultural stigma.

Since its inception as a formal charity in 2004 Movember has raised over $60 million globally, significantly increased awareness of prostate cancer and depression in the community, and is continuously working to change the attitude men have about their health. Movember’s mission is each year to develop and deliver an exciting and creative Movember campaign that will forever change the way men think about, discuss and treat their own health issues.

The first Movember was in 2003, and the event first raised funds in 2004 when 262 registered Mo Bros raised just over $55,000. News of Movember spread, and the following year saw 9315 Mo Bros Australia-wide raise an impressive $1.2M. In 2006 Movember exceeded all expectations and by the end of the month, $6.63M had been raised by Mo Bros and Mo Sistas. 2006 was also the year that Movember gained international recognition as a fun way to raise money for a serious cause.

Movember’s original founders, Luke Slattery, Travis Garone, Adam Garone and Justin Coghlan were asked to coordinate additional campaigns in the UK, USA, Canada, Spain and New Zealand, and in 2007 a phenomenal 130,000 Mo Bros and Mo Sistas participated worldwide. In Australia alone there were over 96,000 participants – more than double the previous year.

Luke writes: “Just when we thought it couldn’t get much bigger 2008 rolled along and we had over 124,000 participants in Australia and 170,000 globally.”

In terms of awareness, a recent survey showed that over 70% of Movember participants have become more aware of men’s health issues and have discussed those issues with family members, friends or colleagues. This kind of communication is important for promoting early detection of prostate cancer and breaking down the stigma attached to depression.

Movember has proved that looking at challenges from a different perspective can achieve results never dreamed of.

Registrations for 2009 will open in September 2009 – visit http://au.movember.com/ or call for registration assistance call 1300 GROW MO (1300 4769 66).

About the Author

Mike Boyd has been a serial entrepreneur and change maker for over a decade. He has founded, run, developed and mentored over a dozen businesses ranging in value from 0-$30M, in varying industries including entertainment, technology, professional services, e-commerce, education & not-for-profit. As an entrepreneur, Mike has a passion for business innovation, agile strategies, communication effectiveness and sales behaviour. Starting his entrepreneurial career at age 11 selling lost golf balls, he didn’t look back, going on to (co)found no less than 7 businesses before the age of 25. Sought after as a coach, consultant & seminar leader, Mike has worked with senior executives and teams at some of Australia’s largest organisations in the public, private and education sectors, and is known for providing engaging and thought provoking presentations that get to the heart of communication and leadership issues. Mike is currently the Director of Ambition in Action Education, the Director of The Hive Brisbane, the Founder of Cupstart Online Coffee, Co-Founder of Seventh Bloom, a frequent Business Speaker and sits on the board for a number of not-for-profit organisations. Keep up with Mike on Twitter @MikeBoyd