Movember Is Over! What Did We Learn?

It’s finally here – the last day of November. For many, this signals the start of the Christmas period, the new year approaching, or maybe a hard-earned couple of days off, but for four rather hairy guys here at Embryo (myself included), it means it’s time to bid farewell to the scratchy facial hair that they’ve been growing for the past 30 days! With Movember now coming to an end, it seems like the perfect time to recap on our tache-growing escapades; the good, the bad, and the ugly. Read on to find out how we fared this month!

Why Did We Do It?

For those that don’t know, Movember is a month set aside each year that aims to raise awareness for many of the issues that men often overlook, particularly their mental health. By now we’ve all heard the harrowing stat stating that suicide is the biggest killer of men under 40, but the problem remains; far too many young men are losing their battle. With Movember, we, and millions of other men across the globe, look to raise both awareness and donations to help support causes that offer men the help and support that they need. Whether it’s asking friends and family to chip in a tenner, or just asking for a simple share or retweet, every contribution means the world to us and for that, we couldn’t be more grateful. 

What Were We Looking To Achieve?

Besides trying to see who could grow the wildest tache on the team, we wanted to raise awareness amongst our friends, family, and beyond this year. From my personal experience, it’s easy to see how often men’s mental health can go overlooked, which is a huge shame and something that we should all be working towards changing. All too frequently are young men told that they should “man up” when expressing any kind of emotion, but nobody should be asked to keep their emotions to themselves, especially surrounding a subject that has caused so many people so much turmoil.

The goal that we set for ourselves was a very challenging £500, a sum that we thought would be a huge achievement to have raised, as well as giving us a great target to aim for. With the target set, all our team of content writers, SEO experts, and digital PR executives had to do was get those whiskers growing…

How Did We Do?

So, you’re probably wondering how we got on. All in all, we’re really proud of what we’ve achieved in the past month – we’ve grown some fantastic facial hair and raised even more awareness for men’s mental health, prostate cancer, and testicular cancer, so we’re over the moon with Embryo’s Mo Bros. 

In terms of the money raised, our team has been incredible, helping us to hit our £500 target with a couple of days to spare, which is a fantastic feat for all involved, so virtual round of applause all around guys! 

Here are some comments from the guys who took part:

Charlie – Content Executive

“Lockdown 2.0 felt like the perfect time to put down the razor, let nature take its course, and help raise some money for fantastic causes in the process. Movember has done so much to help move the conversation, about men’s mental and physical health, forward over the years and it’s been great to be a small part of it.”

Ronnie – SEO Account Manager

“It was great to have a good reason to get my chin naked!”

Thom – Digital PR Executive

“The scariest thing about it for me was how much I looked like old photos of my dad.” 

Dylan – Content Executive

“This is the first time I’ve shaved my beard in 5 years, but it’s for a good cause so why not! I didn’t realise is that your chin can get so cold without a beard!”

So, a mixed bag of looks for our team, and I’m not too sure any of us will be in a rush to be keeping our new furry friend beyond today, but it’s been great fun and we’ve managed to raise a fantastic amount of money for a wonderful cause, so we’re all chuffed to bits. 

Can You Continue To Help?

Movember may be over, but that doesn’t mean that men’s mental health should be brushed under the carpet again for another year, instead, let’s use this current buzz and awareness to keep the conversation on men’s mental health going into the new year! The past year hasn’t been an easy one – lockdown after lockdown being enforced, businesses closing down left and right, and struggles across the board – but here’s to helping one another out and to a brighter 2021!