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Well, Movember came and went, and it was awesome.

Our City of ReMO team kicked ass. When Don and I talked about Movember at the end of last year, we had a few things in mind:

• Better planning and organization: Plan things in advance, spread the word, and try to make things run smoothly.
• Bigger focus on the actual goal of Movember, and put the fun and good-looks on the second plane.
• Raise a lot of money.
• Reach out to more people in Reno.
• Get local businesses involved.

It’s a big source of pride and accomplishment to be able to say that we can check all of those.

At the end of September, we laid out a list of things that we’d like to do, and we set our minds to make them happen. Before Movember officially started, we had a pretty well outlined calendar of what was going to happen, when and where. This helped us spread the word. This was a much better approach than planning things on the go, since most people make plans far in advance… So this year, we gave them notice, and the plans they made were to attend our events. Fantastic!

Talking about Men’s Health issues was easier than imagined, and it came naturally. When people asked us about Movember, it was the first thing we talked about. (The second thing was about how sexy we looked). I think this was in part because of our “experience” in the subject, and the conscious decision to focus on getting the word out.
Certainly, humor had its part and no talk about the actual reason behind Movember went without crude mentions of balls and assholes.

Our goal for this year was to raise $5000. At first, that seemed like a huge number, considering that last year we’d raised right about $1600. We figured that it was a good goal, a nice round number, and something that would definitely identify us as a “serious” group committed to the cause.
To our surprise and joy, the $5k mark was met before half of the month even passed, and this was before most of us even had decent moustaches to be asking for donations!
The first thought was to call it good and declare “Mission Accomplished!”, but we were just starting to gather steam and MOmentum, so we decided to step it up, and declare a new goal: $10,000. Ballsy move, one could say, but this was after all very much about the balls.
On the day 30, the $10k mark was met with much rejoice. The final number is yet to be computed, because of cash and check donations, but the accomplishment is there, and it’s a wonderful feeling to know that we made it. If $5000 was a lot of money, we raised two lots of money.

Last year, we felt that our efforts in reaching out were successful when Anthony joined our team. We didn’t know him, and he joined because he thought it was a good cause. Our “campaign” had transcended the circle of people that we knew, and I took that to be a very good thing.
This year, that effect snow balled. The members of our team kept growing and growing. I received an email when someone joined the team, and I remember being excited when it showed that we had 25 members in our team. Quickly after that, our total was up to 40 people. And fifty… and a hundred.
Who were these people? Some of the names sounded familiar, but there were many Anthonies. We even got David Bobzien to join. Way cool!

Eclipse Pizza joined us last year in our official team, and we knew we could count on them again for this year. But what we didn’t know was how well other businesses were going to receive the idea of teaming up, and the response was a very positive experience.
KRZQ (100.9 FM) gave us a lot of airtime with ads, and even put us on a show in the middle of the day! One of the owners of The Sierra Tap House, Zach, became very involved and helped us put together some very successful events. Shannon from SOAK Lounge invited us to her business which caters mainly to women, and organized a very creative and fun occasion. The Biggest Little City Club hosted us on a couple of different nights, and made us feel really good. We went to Butcher Boy for lunch, got Rockstar haircuts and had tons of fun bowling with a lot of the ReMO team at Starlite Lanes. The local restaurant Amendment 21 organized the Reno Beer Crawl with proceeds benefiting our cause, and promised to be a big helper next year.
Long story short: local businesses rocked our world. I’ll be making a longer write up about it all on the City of Remo website soon, so I’ll spare the details for that post.

On a personal note, none of this could have happened without Kelly’s support. Despite almost crying after seeing my clean shaven face after many months of sporting a goatee, she encouraged my efforts to make our team a successful one. As if putting up with a prickly upper lip wasn’t enough, she had to tolerate my distracted attention and need to be involved in a lot of things.
That is the job of a “Mo-Sista”, and she did it well without much reward. Rest assured, I’ll be making sure she knows how much I appreciate her.

Even more personal, and somewhat geeky: I was more or less “the” photographer of the things we did. I won’t be asking for money to take pictures anytime soon, but I’m pretty happy with the moments I captured in still images. Most of the pictures ended up on Facebook, if you’d like to see for yourself.
For the Stache-Bash (aka end of Movember party), I got to play with some fancy photo gear I borrowed from Mo-Bro Kyle Walker. The pictures from this event look specially good thanks to the lighting equipment and the improvised photo booth that I put together. It kind of made me want to have a flash and fancy umbrella to be able to do it more.
At any rate, I took pictures of my moustache growth on a semi-frequent basis, so if you’re ready to see how it all went, check it out right here:

Finally, I’d like to say thank you on a personal level to those who donated to Movember and “sponsored” my moustache. Thank you Kelly, Joan, Elinor, Kathy, Zach, Willie and Roger. My prostate and testicles appreciate it!

Today, Don and I went to one of our local radio stations in Reno (which also happens to be one of my favorites), KRZQ FM. They invited us over so that we could talk a little bit more about MOvember, and it ended up being more than just a little.

Don and I were there for more than just a little bit. We were on air for almost 24 minutes!
At first it was awkward knowing that my voice was being broadcast over the air, but after a bit I got over it, and it was just plain fun.

Did you miss it? Are you sad about it? Don’t be anymore, because you can listen to it below.

For the 3rd year in a row (see 2007 and 2008), I’m going to do this:

1. On the 1st of November MOvember, I will shave all facial hair.
2. During the rest of the month, I will only allow hair to grow above the lip. Well, maybe just a tiny bit under the lip, but not on the chin.
3. I will be asking for donations to “sponsor” my ridiculous appearance.
4. Make a difference, and raise awareness and funds for men’s health issues, such as prostate cancer.

Just like previous years, this is all happening in the Biggest Little City, the City of ReMO. My friend Don and I have been talking about this year’s Movember for a long time, and it looks like our efforts are paying off.
As of this writing, it’s not even MOvember 1st yet, but we have 56 members, and over $500 raised to benefit the Movember Foundation‘s partners: The Prostate Cancer Foundation, and the Lance Armstrong Foundation (aka LIVESTRONG).
Our goal before this whole year started was to put Reno in the map by raising over $5000, but at this rate our hopes are shooting at double that figure.

Why am I doing this? It’s not about being irresistibly sexy anymore. I’m getting older, and 1 out of 6 men suffer from prostate cancer. This scares me, and I want to do something about it. Sure, I can eat right, exercise, and keep rodents away from my behind… but that would only go as far as making sure I’m one of the 5 guys out of the 6 that doesn’t get the cancers.
In other words, I do this so that the chances of a guy suffering from cancer hopefully diminish, and soon.

There’s certainly a fun factor to all of this, and that’s why we’ve planned lots of events with the City of ReMO that will keep people entertained. They are also secretly designed to have non-participants wonder why a group of 20+ men with moustaches are hanging out, with the ultimate goal of getting them involved by either raising awareness or funds -or even better, both.

A noble goal, with many pleasant side effects… all for the price of a shave, and looking like an ’80s porn star for a month.

Do you want to help? Awesome! Here’s what you can do:

• Join MOvember. If you’re a guy, grow a Moustache. If you’re a lady, you can register anyway, and raise funds in honor of your favorite man.
  In Reno, the option is obvious. Register with the City of Remo: http://us.movember.com/register/799.
• Make a donation (which is totally tax deductible, by the way). A dollar, ten, or a hundred, it all makes a difference, and gets us that much closer to a cure or a better treatment. You can donate with a credit card or paypal: http://us.movember.com/mospace/1753

If you’re interested, stay tuned to the City of ReMo’s feeds on Twitter and Facebook. I will post my daily shots on Flickr, and at the end of the month, I’ll share a sideshow for your enjoyment.

I’ve been thinking about MOvember 2009 a lot lately.

The other day, I had an idea that some might consider grand.

On October 4th is the Run for the Cure, a 5k running race. I’ve done this a couple of times, because my work sets up a booth and tells people about what a great job we do with mammograms (which we do, by the way).
I’ve shown up, ran the thing and then hung out at the booth for a bit.

Now, here’s my idea for this year:

• Citizens of MOvember sign up under a City of ReMO team.
• We don’t have to run, just participate. Lots of people walk the whole event, and chat with people. Say hello to getting people to sponsor your Mo! (We should have things to hand out, flyers or cards)
• We wear  a tshirt with our awesome logo.
• We rock out with a lovely hair ribbon, aka Moustache.

I mean, we have time to get ready for this event! First of all, there’s enough time to train to at least be able to jog the whole thing (check out the couch to 5k program!). More importantly, it’s plenty of time to develop some respectable whiskers. Hair growth can happen in any shape, and doesn’t have to be a Mo. It would only become a Mo on race day.

For example, I’d keep my goatee until the day of the event. Easy to do, no body laughs at me. On the morning of October 4th, before putting my socks and shoes on, I shave to leave the Mo.
With my fancy tshirt, I show up to the event with a nice brown ribbon on my lip, where I meet my Mo-bros and we accomplish many goals:

1. We support women in their fight against breast cancer. Because we care.
2. We spread the word about our own cause, because we want people to care about us.
3. We get some exercise, fresh air and -hopefully- compliments about our lovely moustaches.
4. We get to know more Mo-bros.

Wouldn’t that be awesome? I do believe so.

Check out the brand new site for Reno’s Movember team: http://cityofremo.com/ . Isn’t it pretty?
Big props to @indigothirdeye and @elswkid, they did most of the work.

And speaking of Twitter, we also have a ReMo, NV account: @RemoNV! While Cory and Don spent time on making the website look pretty, I was busy clicking “Follow” on over 500 twitter accounts. If I missed you, make sure to follow us to get the latest news on ReMo!

Everyone knows that October is Cancer Awareness Month. More specifically, Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Pink is everywhere, and there are a handful of events every weekend to raise awareness and funds. I even did the Race for the Cure, despite of my personal lack of breasts or the risk of having cancer in them.

What does this have to do with November? Well, November is all about gentlemen. And as gentlemen, “women first” is a motto that was followed even on occasions such as Cancer Awareness Months.
If you’re picking up what I’m putting down, November is the month to be aware of men’s health risks… specially those of Cancerous nature. And since women’s Cancer month is iconized by Breasts, men’s month is represented by Mustaches.

But wait a minute. Have I been saying November? I meant to say MOvember!
This is no joke, my friends!
Last year, a few friends and I grew Mo’s for fun, and it was a joke of sorts. (you can see my post here, and pictures here).
However, during this Movember (the month formerly known as November) I’m growing a Moustache again. That’s right! I’m bringing the Mo back because I’m passionate about tackling men’s health issues and being proactive in the fight against prostate cancer. And while hairs slowly (very slowly) grown above my lip, I hope to be able to raise some donations for the Prostate Cancer Foundation, which will use the funds for high-impact research to find better treatments and a cure for prostate cancer.
Wanna help? Here’s how!

1. Click here and donate online using your credit card or PayPal account. Please notice that this is a site run by someone that is not me, and it’s 100% secure and trustworthy.
2. Play it old school and write a check payable to the ‘Prostate Cancer Foundation’, referencing my Registration Number 1428001 and mailing it to:
   Prostate Cancer Foundation
   Attn: Movember
   1250 Fourth St
   Santa Monica, CA, 90401
3. Join the Remo team! We are planning an event for the last day of MOvember, where we’ll have contests and lots of fun. We even have a site up, and are working on spreading the word: http://cityofremo.com.

“But Nico, you can’t be serious. How would growing a MO help cure prostate cancer?” Allow me to spark a bit of belief in you, by making you click on this link.

Gentlemen, if you like your prostate, grow a Mo. Ladies, if you like your gentlemen, encourage him to grow a Mo!

If my argument is not good enough, maybe you didn’t know that…

• Prostate cancer is the most common non-skin cancer in the US with one in six American men developing the disease and more than 28,000 men dying of the disease every year.
• African American men and those with a family history of prostate cancer are twice as likely to develop the disease and should have regular annual testing starting at 45. All other men should commence testing at 50.
• Prostate cancer is 90% curable if detected and treated early.