I have to say I haven’t seen nearly so many moustaches on men this November, compared to the last few years…I wonder whether they need a do a new push for next year to get more men sporting their finest. A few years ago, even all my son’s mates were participating (including my son, but nobody noticed) but that doesn’t seem to be the case this year.
However the Movember Foundation is still going strong as a men’s health charity promoting Men’s wellness and they have currently raised £460 million. Last night I joined a merry throng for a gathering in the Members’ Club at the Olympic Studios to support the work of The Movember Foundation and other men’s health charities and spent the night surrounded by splendid moustachiod men and women (the women were not hirsute I hasten to add).
It was a fun and inspirational evening hosted by UFC Octagon and FA Cup sports presenter Andy Friedlander, featuring talks from rugby legend Josh Lewsey, adventurer Charley Boorman, rock musician Jim Cregan, extreme athlete Luke Tyburski and addiction expert Lou Lebentz, who discussed the key issues facing men today.
Josh Lewsey started off the proceedings by introducing the evening and discussing men’s health in general, followed by a broken-legged Charley Boorman. I chatted with Josh afterwards, because I’d met him at another event and within the conversation I actually pointed out that if I married him I would be called Lucy Lewsey. FFS. How uncool can you get. I’m so embarrassed I haven’t even told my children, they would never let me forget it.
I have taken spectacularly bad photos of the evening…apologies:-
Charley opened the proceedings by saying that “women are great at feeling their own boobies, but men need to get better at feeling their balls”. He openly discussed the fact that it was his wife (and his dog Ziggy…we didn’t ask) who discovered that one of his testicles was not looking right. He went off to the doctor to discover that he had testicular cancer and now only has one ball. He then happily informed the crowded room that the other one was now made of rubber and offered anyone who was willing to pay £100 the opportunity to flick it.
Luke Tyburski talked about his battle with depression when he was a professional footballer and it was remarkably similar to Freddie Flintoff’s story, suffering in silence until he finally went to see his GP and was diagnosed with depression. He subsequently built a tribe around him and is now happy to talk about his issues. “Masculinity” was the reason he didn’t talk initially, but having gained a therapist and the support of his friends and family, he felt able to cope with life. He then used running as a therapy – initially running away from, but now running towards life. He now runs extreme marathons including the Marathon de Sables a 254Km run through the Sahara Desert and he now hopes to inspire people to step out of their comfort zone and achieve great things. Last year he entered the ultimate triathlon, 14 marathons in 7 days.
Then Jim Cregan and his friend Kenny (of the Who and Small Faces) got up on stage to discuss their experiences. Both key players in the music industry it was very moving to hear them talk. They’re both of an age where men don’t discuss anything but football with their friends at the pub, but both of them urged every man in the room to go and get a prostate cancer PSI blood test if they were over 50. A consultant urologist also confirmed that this should be the case. One in eight men get prostate cancer and one man dies every hour. In black American’s this statistic widens to one in four men. GO AND GET CHECKED was their message.
Upstairs in the Music Room was literally man heaven. A bike, a TV, a barber and some beer. What more could they want?
This is definitely a chair for a man….
On hand to advise and help was the trusty team from The Putney Clinic run by Clive and Cherie Lathey, great friends of mine and brilliant at what they do. Clive is an Osteopath and Cherie a yoga teacher. They work with a team of experts to provide physiotherapy, nutritional advice, Pilates, podiatry and more.
Cherie and Fleur:-
EXCELLENT night…good job team Movember.
