Movember 2025: More than just growing a moustache!
What is Movember?
Movember is a month-long campaign throughout November which raises awareness of men's health issues by encouraging men to grow moustaches and raise funds for various health-related projects. This could include mental health, prostate cancer or suicide prevention. The campaign aims to take on the prevailing stigma surrounding men's health issues by encouraging conversation, funding and awareness, early detection and prevention.
In the UK alone, Movember successfully raised £19.2 million during the 2024 campaign. This is more than just growing a moustache, this is a game changer.
A brief history
Movember’s beginning is found in Melbourne, Australia in 2003. A simple conversation between two friends in a bar, and their mutual acknowledgement of the moustaches dying relevance in fashion trends sparked a simple idea: could they bring it back?
After only a year, 480 participants took part and raised £21,184 for 6 men's health projects. Ten years later, the numbers have significantly increased alongside the number of “Mo”’s participating worldwide.
Why should you be aware of Movember?
Within the UK, and indeed Barking and Dagenham, reports show there are several barriers and rising concerns regarding men’s health:
- Poor mental health among young men is steadily increasing due to societal pressures and shifting ideas of masculinity, which leads to unhealthy coping mechanisms such like drugs, alcohol, and gambling.
- Harmful online content promoting toxic masculinity is a growing concern and negatively impacts young men’s mental health.
- Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths among men; cases are expected to double by 2040. Movember is working to reduce inequities, improve care delivery, and address side effects that impact men's physical and mental health in the long run.
- Disparities in health outcomes are clear based on race, location, sexual orientation and socio-economic status. Funding raised throughout Movember goes into research seeking to improve access to care.
Movember in Barking and Dagenham
There are plenty of ways you can take part this next month in the city, but also within Barking and Dagenham. Below are past examples during Movember:
- Dagenham-based funeral firm West and Coe raised over £15,000, generated the 12th-highest amount of any group in the country.
- Barking school staff raised £2,000 by promoting awareness for Movember
- In 2021 Matt Chapman, Barking and Dagenham’s Talking Therapies Exercise Coordinator, completed 60km of exercise. That’s 60km for the 60 men that lost to suicide each hour, every hour across the world
Movember can be right at your doorstep. As men prepare to undertake the growth that follows their biggest shave, be certain that the perfect beard doesn’t matter: what matters is starting conversations that can save lives.
How to get involved
Visit the official Movember 2025 website to find out more on how to raise funds, donate, get health tips and resources, or attend an event.
You can also download the Movember app here to start your Movember journey.
