He’s known for his trademark facial hair but INXS guitarist Kirk Pengilly doesn’t mind losing his mo for one month a year in the name of a good cause.
It’s a hairy prospect, the transformation to clean shaven, despite the fact Pengilly says his wife thinks it makes him look younger. But it’s worth it, he says, to support Movember.
Alongside tennis star Pat Rafter, Pengilly lost his facial hair at Sydney’s Bondi Beach to mark the start of the November fundraiser.
Movember targets male cancers and mental health and encourages men to talk openly about their problems.
It’s a cause close to Pengilly’s heart.
“Three years ago I was diagnosed with prostate cancer … I had no symptoms so had I not been getting the test done I wouldn’t have known,” he told AAP on Tuesday.
“The whole idea of growing the ‘mo’ is to get men talking and taking responsibility for their health.”
While Pengilly is a facial hair veteran, this Movember is the first time Rafter has embraced the moustache.
It’s also a cause easy for him to support, having seen the toll mental health issues have taken on those around him on and off the tennis circuit.
“That’s probably one of the biggest things – as a man you don’t go to seek help quickly enough,” he told AAP on Tuesday.
“I think a lot of men feel scared, they think it’s a weakness by recognising it. But it’s a strength. I have so much admiration for those guys that do come forward.”
Since beginning in Australia in 2003 Movember has spread to 21 countries and raised more than $850 million.
Australians donated more than $26 million to the cause in 2016 with more than 70,000 participants.
Story Source: News.com.au
Ryan Fritz
Ryan Fritz started The Advocate in 2014 to provide not-for-profits and charities another media platform to tell their worthwhile hard news stories and opinion pieces effortlessly. In 2020, Ryan formed a team of volunteer journalists to help spread even more high-quality stories from the third sector. He also has over 10 years experience as a media and communications professional for not-for-profits and charities and currently works at Redkite, a childhood cancer charity.
