By Cynthia Vukets
Nick Iannitti is putting his face and his fashion sense on the line for men’s health.
He is growing a moustache during the month of November to support the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation of Canada.
“Mo bro” Iannitti calls a moustache “the single most decisive facial statement a man can make.”
He admits moustaches are not fashionable, especially for men his age. Iannitti, 27, works in communications for Katimavik, a national youth volunteer program. He worries what people will think of his moustache, especially in a professional setting. But he says he’s confident he’ll win people over.
Iannitti usually wears a full, trimmed beard. “I decided this was the best look for me,” he says. “I was never a big fan of my own face fully shaven.”
But he shaved his face clean on Nov. 1 to kick off “Movember.” Iannitti is participating in a month-long campaign to raise money and awareness for the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation of Canada. He will be collecting pledges throughout the month and spreading the word about the risks of prostate cancer.
This is Movember’s first year in Canada. The campaign began in Australia in 2003.
Australian slang for moustache is “mo” hence the transformation of November to “Movember.” Halfway through November this year, Australian men had already raised $2 million.
“Guys register at Movember.com with a clean-shaven face,” says Sharon Bala, the marketing and communications manager for the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation of Canada.
“Then they grow their mo’s, they trim them and groom them. And they talk about prostate cancer for a month.”
The website includes blogs written by “mo bros,” men participating in the campaign. There is also a secure site for people to make donations.
All proceeds will go to the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation of Canada. Bala says the campaign’s goal is to raise awareness in men aged 22-45. She says this demographic is often reluctant to talk about prostate cancer.
Iannitti says men don’t talk enough about any health issues. “Men really don’t take enough care of themselves,” he says. “They ignore problems, or they think they’ll just walk it off.”
Living with a moustache was difficult at first, he says. Even his girlfriend was not convinced. “She was like, ‘oh man, let’s get that beard back’,” he jokes. “But what I hear is: your girlfriend will hate you and then she’ll love you.”
Iannitti is currently wearing a moustache and soul patch – a small triangle of hair just below his lower lip. But he says he may change his style depending on how well the hair grows in.
“My joining is blond,” he says of the hair that grows between his upper lip and chin. So he may decide to add some Just for Men brown dye to beef up the quality of his look.
Nina Saab, the owner of Saab Salon and Spa on Bank Street, says she hates moustaches. “They age a man!” she says. “They are dated and . . . make a man look angry.”
Plus, she adds, the aftershave men have to use is hard on women’s sensitive skin.
Kisses from a man with a moustache just aren’t as pleasant as those from a clean-shaven gentleman.
“The corporate world is now dictating what’s appropriate in terms of looks,” Saab says. And in the business world, clean-cut is the only way to go.
Iannitti disagrees: “I think the moustache commands respect.”
He says he’s looking forward to conducting business meetings with his new “mo.”
He adds the moustache makes him feel more mature. He even went out and bought some new clothes so he could live up to his facial hair. He now wears a plaid peaked cap with a scarf and greatcoat when he goes out.
“I think there’s something powerful about deciding to wear facial hair.” He says he may go back to a moustache permanently, when he’s older.
Iannitti says the campaign is a great way to get guys involved in the fight against prostate cancer because it’s fun and interesting. “Guys like their jokes,” he says.
The chance to adopt what he calls a “cheesy, campy” look will appeal to young men who aren’t afraid to poke fun at themselves.
Bala says the rates of prostate cancer in men are similar to those for women’s breast cancer. Women do so much to raise money for breast cancer and promote awareness, she says, and she would like to see men start to match that.
Movember is a good start, she says. “Guys donate their faces. It’s like a big, hairy ribbon on your face.”
Iannitti says his main goal for the month is to get men talking. Before participating in this campaign, he hadn’t been to the doctor in several years and he’d never had a prostate exam. But now he says he’s planning to go for a full checkup. He says he hopes his campaign encourages other young men to do the same.
Iannitti calls a beard “the laziest type of facial hair,” because it doesn’t require daily grooming.
Now that he is forced to look in the mirror and shave or groom every day, he is more aware of his hygiene and health.
He says the campaign is working at a grassroots level, because each participant gives more thought to his own health throughout the month. “One by one, each man is more aware of their own health,” he says.
Prostate cancer will affect one in eight Canadian men, according to the Prostate Cancer Research Foundation. The disease is 95 per cent treatable if detected early, says Bala. Some of the money raised throughout “Movember” will go in part to raising the quality of prostate cancer treatments, says Iannitti.
Current treatments can have debilitating side effects such as incontinence and impotence.
He says the threat of these and other side effects may prevent some men from seeking proper exams and care.
At the end of the month, mo bros will gather in Vancouver, Edmonton and Toronto for gala parties to celebrate their moustaches and the funds they have raised. Each man will dress up to the style of his moustache and walk down the runway to compete for “Man of Movember.”
Iannitti is thinking of going as d’Artagnan from The Three Musketeers. He still has time to groom and consult Movember.com’s “Mo Style Guide,” so he may change his mind.
His advice to any wanna-be “mo bros” out there? Stop shaving.
“Hair growth energy spreads to the places it’s needed most,” he says.
If you give facial hair time and space, “it’ll pop up thicker, quicker, and better.” Soon you too could be sporting your very own “mo.” Who knows? Maybe they will come back into style.