Healthier men, one moustache at a time
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0:01 - 0:03I think the beautiful Malin [Akerman] put it perfectly.
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0:03 - 0:05Every man deserves the opportunity
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0:05 - 0:08to grow a little bit of luxury.
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0:08 - 0:10Ladies and gentlemen, and more importantly,
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0:10 - 0:12Mo Bros and Mo Sistas — (Laughter) —
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0:12 - 0:15for the next 17 minutes, I'm going to share with you
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0:15 - 0:19my Movember journey, and how, through that journey,
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0:19 - 0:22we've redefined charity, we're redefining the way
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0:22 - 0:25prostate cancer researchers are working together
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0:25 - 0:29throughout the world, and I hope, through that process,
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0:29 - 0:32that I inspire you to create something significant
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0:32 - 0:36in your life, something significant that will go on
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0:36 - 0:39and make this world a better place.
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0:39 - 0:42So the most common question I get asked,
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0:42 - 0:44and I'm going to answer it now so I don't have to do it
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0:44 - 0:49over drinks tonight, is how did this come about?
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0:49 - 0:51How did Movember start?
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0:51 - 0:54Well, normally, a charity starts with the cause, and someone
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0:54 - 0:57that is directly affected by a cause.
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0:57 - 1:00They then go on to create an event, and beyond that,
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1:00 - 1:04a foundation to support that.
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1:04 - 1:08Pretty much in every case, that's how a charity starts.
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1:08 - 1:12Not so with Movember. Movember started in a very
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1:12 - 1:15traditional Australian way. It was on a Sunday afternoon.
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1:15 - 1:18I was with my brother and a mate having a few beers,
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1:18 - 1:20and I was watching the world go by,
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1:20 - 1:23had a few more beers, and the conversation turned
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1:23 - 1:27to '70s fashion — (Laughter) —
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1:27 - 1:30and how everything manages to come back into style.
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1:30 - 1:32And a few more beers, I said, "There has to be some stuff
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1:32 - 1:37that hasn't come back." (Laughter)
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1:37 - 1:41Then one more beer and it was, whatever happened to the mustache?
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1:41 - 1:45Why hasn't that made a comeback? (Laughter)
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1:45 - 1:47So then there was a lot more beers, and then the day ended
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1:47 - 1:52with a challenge to bring the mustache back. (Laughter)
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1:52 - 1:54So in Australia, "mo" is slang for mustache,
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1:54 - 1:57so we renamed the month of November "Movember"
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1:57 - 2:00and created some pretty basic rules, which still stand today.
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2:00 - 2:03And they are: start the month clean-shaven,
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2:03 - 2:06rock a mustache -- not a beard, not a goatee, a mustache --
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2:06 - 2:09for the 30 days of November, and then we agreed
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2:09 - 2:12that we would come together at the end of the month,
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2:12 - 2:16have a mustache-themed party, and award a prize
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2:16 - 2:21for the best, and of course, the worst mustache. (Laughter)
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2:21 - 2:22Now trust me, when you're growing a mustache
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2:22 - 2:25back in 2003, and there were 30 of us back then,
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2:25 - 2:29and this was before the ironic hipster mustache movement
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2:29 - 2:34— (Laughter) —
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2:34 - 2:38it created a lot of controversy. (Laughter)
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2:38 - 2:41So my boss wouldn't let me go and see clients.
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2:41 - 2:47My girlfriend at the time, who's no longer my girlfriend — (Laughter) — hated it.
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2:47 - 2:53Parents would shuffle kids away from us. (Laughter)
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2:53 - 2:54But we came together at the end of the month and
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2:54 - 2:57we celebrated our journey, and it was a real journey.
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2:57 - 3:02And we had a lot of fun, and in 2004, I said to the guys,
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3:02 - 3:05"That was so much fun. We need to legitimize this
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3:05 - 3:10so we can get away with it year on year." (Laughter)
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3:10 - 3:14So we started thinking about that, and we were inspired
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3:14 - 3:17by the women around us and all they were doing for breast cancer.
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3:17 - 3:19And we thought, you know what, there's nothing for men's health.
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3:19 - 3:23Why is that? Why can't we combine growing a mustache
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3:23 - 3:25and doing something for men's health?
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3:25 - 3:27And I started to research that topic, and discovered
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3:27 - 3:30prostate cancer is the male equivalent of breast cancer
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3:30 - 3:33in terms of the number of men that die from it and are diagnosed with it.
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3:33 - 3:36But there was nothing for this cause,
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3:36 - 3:40so we married growing a mustache with prostate cancer,
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3:40 - 3:42and then we created our tagline, which is,
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3:42 - 3:44"Changing the face of men's health."
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3:44 - 3:47And that eloquently describes the challenge,
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3:47 - 3:49changing your appearance for the 30 days,
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3:49 - 3:51and also the outcome that we're trying to achieve:
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3:51 - 3:53getting men engaged in their health, having them have
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3:53 - 3:58a better understanding about the health risks that they face.
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3:58 - 4:00So with that model, I then
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4:00 - 4:03cold-called the CEO of the Prostate Cancer Foundation.
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4:03 - 4:06I said to him, "I've got the most amazing idea
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4:06 - 4:09that's going to transform your organization." (Laughter)
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4:09 - 4:11And I didn't want to share with him the idea over the phone,
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4:11 - 4:13so I convinced him to meet with me for coffee in Melbourne
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4:13 - 4:15in 2004.
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4:15 - 4:18And we sat down, and I shared with him my vision
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4:18 - 4:21of getting men growing mustaches across Australia,
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4:21 - 4:24raising awareness for this cause,
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4:24 - 4:26and funds for his organization. And I needed a partnership
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4:26 - 4:29to legitimately do that.
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4:29 - 4:31And I said, "We're going to come together at the end,
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4:31 - 4:33we're going to have a mustache-themed party, we're going to have DJs,
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4:33 - 4:37we're going to celebrate life, and we're going to change the face of men's health."
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4:37 - 4:40And he just looked at me and laughed, and he said,
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4:40 - 4:44he said, "Adam, that's a really novel idea,
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4:44 - 4:46but we're an ultraconservative organization.
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4:46 - 4:51We can't have anything to do with you." (Laughter)
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4:51 - 4:55So I paid for coffee that day — (Laughter) —
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4:55 - 4:58and his parting comment as we shook hands was,
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4:58 - 5:01"Listen, if you happen to raise any money out of this,
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5:01 - 5:05we'll gladly take it." (Laughter)
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5:05 - 5:09So my lesson that year was persistence.
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5:09 - 5:14And we persisted, and we got 450 guys
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5:14 - 5:19growing mustaches, and together we raised 54,000 dollars,
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5:19 - 5:22and we donated every cent of that to the Prostate Cancer Foundation of Australia,
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5:22 - 5:25and that represented at the time the single biggest donation
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5:25 - 5:27they'd ever received.
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5:27 - 5:32So from that day forward, my life has become about a mustache.
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5:32 - 5:35Every day -- this morning, I wake up and go, my life
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5:35 - 5:39is about a mustache. (Laughter)
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5:39 - 5:44Essentially, I'm a mustache farmer. (Laughter)
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5:44 - 5:47And my season is November. (Applause)
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5:47 - 5:50(Applause)
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5:50 - 5:54So in 2005, the campaign got more momentum,
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5:54 - 5:56was more successful in Australia and then New Zealand,
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5:56 - 6:01and then in 2006 we came to a pivotal point.
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6:01 - 6:05It was consuming so much of our time after hours
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6:05 - 6:08on weekends that we thought, we either need
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6:08 - 6:11to close this down or figure a way to fund Movember
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6:11 - 6:14so that I could quit my job and go and spend more time
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6:14 - 6:18in the organization and take it to the next level.
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6:18 - 6:21It's really interesting when you try and figure a way
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6:21 - 6:23to fund a fundraising organization
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6:23 - 6:25built off growing mustaches. (Laughter)
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6:25 - 6:28Let me tell you that there's not too many people interested
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6:28 - 6:32in investing in that, not even the Prostate Cancer Foundation,
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6:32 - 6:35who we'd raised about 1.2 million dollars for at that stage.
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6:35 - 6:39So again we persisted, and Foster's Brewing came to the party
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6:39 - 6:42and gave us our first ever sponsorship,
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6:42 - 6:47and that was enough for me to quit my job, I did consulting on the side.
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6:47 - 6:52And leading into Movember 2006,
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6:52 - 6:54we'd run through all the money from Foster's,
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6:54 - 6:58we'd run through all the money I had, and essentially
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6:58 - 7:01we had no money left, and we'd convinced all our suppliers --
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7:01 - 7:03creative agencies, web development agencies,
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7:03 - 7:07hosting companies, whatnot -- to delay their billing until December.
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7:07 - 7:10So we'd racked up at this stage about 600,000 dollars
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7:10 - 7:15worth of debt. So if Movember 2006 didn't happen,
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7:15 - 7:18the four founders, well, we would've been broke,
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7:18 - 7:20we would've been homeless, sitting on the street
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7:20 - 7:22with mustaches. (Laughter)
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7:22 - 7:24But we thought, you know what, if that's the worst thing
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7:24 - 7:27that happens, so what?
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7:27 - 7:28We're going to have a lot of fun doing it, and it taught us
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7:28 - 7:33the importance of taking risks and really smart risks.
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7:33 - 7:37Then in early 2007, a really interesting thing happened.
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7:37 - 7:41We had Mo Bros from Canada, from the U.S.,
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7:41 - 7:44and from the U.K. emailing us and calling us and saying,
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7:44 - 7:46hey, there's nothing for prostate cancer.
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7:46 - 7:49Bring this campaign to these countries.
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7:49 - 7:52So we thought, why not? Let's do it.
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7:52 - 7:55So I cold-called the CEO of Prostate Cancer Canada,
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7:55 - 7:58and I said to him, "I have this most amazing concept."
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7:58 - 8:00(Laughter)
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8:00 - 8:03"It's going to transform your organization. I don't want
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8:03 - 8:05to tell you about it now, but will you meet with me
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8:05 - 8:08if I fly all the way to Toronto?" So I flew here,
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8:08 - 8:11met down on Front Street East, and we sat in the boardroom,
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8:11 - 8:15and I said, "Right, here's my vision of getting men growing mustaches
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8:15 - 8:20all across Canada raising awareness and funds for your organization."
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8:20 - 8:21And he looked at me and laughed and said,
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8:21 - 8:24"Adam, sounds like a really novel idea, but we're
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8:24 - 8:26an ultraconservative organization." (Laughter)
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8:26 - 8:30I've heard this before. I know how it goes.
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8:30 - 8:32But he said, "We will partner with you,
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8:32 - 8:35but we're not going to invest in it. You need to figure
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8:35 - 8:38a way to bring this campaign across here and make it work."
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8:38 - 8:40So what we did was, we took some of the money that
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8:40 - 8:42we raised in Australia to bring the campaign across
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8:42 - 8:45to this country, the U.S, and the U.K., and we did that
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8:45 - 8:47because we knew, if this was successful,
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8:47 - 8:50we could raise infinitely more money globally
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8:50 - 8:52than we could just in Australia. And that money
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8:52 - 8:55fuels research, and that research will get us to a cure.
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8:55 - 8:57And we're not about finding an Australian cure
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8:57 - 9:01or a Canadian cure, we're about finding the cure.
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9:01 - 9:06So in 2007, we brought the campaign across here,
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9:06 - 9:10and it was, it set the stage for the campaign.
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9:10 - 9:12It wasn't as successful as we thought it would be.
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9:12 - 9:15We were sort of very gung ho with our success in Australia
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9:15 - 9:18and New Zealand at that stage.
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9:18 - 9:21So that year really taught us the importance of being patient
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9:21 - 9:24and really understanding the local market before you
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9:24 - 9:27become so bold as to set lofty targets.
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9:27 - 9:31But what I'm really pleased to say is, in 2010,
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9:31 - 9:34Movember became a truly global movement.
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9:34 - 9:36Canada was just pipped to the post in terms of
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9:36 - 9:39the number one fundraising campaign in the world.
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9:39 - 9:44Last year we had 450,000 Mo Bros spread across the world
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9:44 - 9:48and together we raised 77 million dollars.
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9:48 - 9:56(Applause)
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9:56 - 9:58And that makes Movember now the biggest funder
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9:58 - 10:03of prostate cancer research and support programs in the world.
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10:03 - 10:05And that is an amazing achievement when you think about
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10:05 - 10:09us growing mustaches. (Laughter)
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10:09 - 10:11And for us, we have redefined charity.
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10:11 - 10:16Our ribbon is a hairy ribbon. (Laughter)
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10:16 - 10:18Our ambassadors are the Mo Bros and the Mo Sistas,
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10:18 - 10:22and I think that's been fundamental to our success.
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10:22 - 10:26We hand across our brand and our campaign to those people.
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10:26 - 10:30We let them embrace it and interpret it in their own way.
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10:30 - 10:32So now I live in Los Angeles, because
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10:32 - 10:35the Prostate Cancer Foundation of the U.S. is based there,
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10:35 - 10:38and I always get asked by the media down there,
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10:38 - 10:40because it's so celebrity-driven,
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10:40 - 10:43"Who are your celebrity ambassadors?"
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10:43 - 10:46And I say to them, "Last year we were fortunate enough
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10:46 - 10:49to have 450,000 celebrity ambassadors."
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10:49 - 10:50And they go, "What, what do you mean?"
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10:50 - 10:53And it's like, everything single person, every single Mo Bro
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10:53 - 10:56and Mo Sista that participates in Movember
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10:56 - 10:59is our celebrity ambassador, and that is so, so important
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10:59 - 11:02and fundamental to our success.
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11:02 - 11:05Now what I want to share with you is
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11:05 - 11:09one of my most touching Movember moments,
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11:09 - 11:12and it happened here in Toronto last year,
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11:12 - 11:14at the end of the campaign.
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11:14 - 11:18I was out with a team. It was the end of Movember.
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11:18 - 11:20We'd had a great campaign, and to be honest, we'd had
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11:20 - 11:23our fair share of beer that night, but I said,
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11:23 - 11:27"You know what, I think we've got one more bar left in us." (Laughter)
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11:27 - 11:30So we piled into a taxi, and this is our taxi driver,
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11:30 - 11:32and I was sitting in the back seat, and he turned around
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11:32 - 11:34and said, "Where are you going?"
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11:34 - 11:37And I said, "Hang on, that is an amazing mustache."
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11:37 - 11:41(Laughter)
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11:41 - 11:43And he said, "I'm doing it for Movember." And I said,
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11:43 - 11:48"So am I." And I said, "Tell me your Movember story."
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11:48 - 11:50And he goes, "Listen, I know it's about men's health,
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11:50 - 11:53I know it's about prostate cancer, but this is for breast cancer."
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11:53 - 11:54And I said, "Okay, that's interesting."
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11:54 - 11:58And he goes, "Last year, my mom passed away from breast cancer in Sri Lanka,
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11:58 - 12:01because we couldn't afford proper treatment for her,"
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12:01 - 12:06and he said, "This mustache is my tribute to my mom."
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12:06 - 12:08And we sort of all choked up in the back of the taxi,
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12:08 - 12:11and I didn't tell him who I was, because I didn't think it was appropriate,
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12:11 - 12:13and I just shook his hand and I said, "Thank you so much.
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12:13 - 12:14Your mom would be so proud."
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12:14 - 12:16And from that moment I realized that Movember
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12:16 - 12:19is so much more than a mustache, having a joke.
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12:19 - 12:23It's about each person coming to this platform,
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12:23 - 12:25embracing it in their own way,
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12:25 - 12:28and being significant in their own life.
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12:28 - 12:33For us now at Movember, we really focus on
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12:33 - 12:38three program areas, and having a true impact:
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12:38 - 12:40awareness and education,
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12:40 - 12:43survivor support programs, and research.
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12:43 - 12:46Now we always focus, naturally, on how much we raise,
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12:46 - 12:49because it's a very tangible outcome, but for me,
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12:49 - 12:54awareness and education is more important than the funds we raise,
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12:54 - 12:57because I know that is changing and saving lives today,
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12:57 - 12:59and it's probably best exampled by
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12:59 - 13:02a young guy that I met at South by Southwest
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13:02 - 13:04in Austin, Texas, at the start of the year.
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13:04 - 13:08He came up to me and said, "Thank you for starting Movember."
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13:08 - 13:09And I said, "Thank you for doing Movember."
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13:09 - 13:13And I looked at him, and I was like, "I'm pretty sure you can't grow a mustache." (Laughter)
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13:13 - 13:16And I said, "What's your Movember story?"
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13:16 - 13:20And he said, "I grew the worst mustache ever." (Laughter)
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13:20 - 13:22"But I went home for Thanksgiving dinner, and pretty quickly
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13:22 - 13:24the conversation around the table turned to
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13:24 - 13:28what the hell was going on." (Laughter)
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13:28 - 13:32"And we talked -- I talked to them about Movember,
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13:32 - 13:34and then after that, my dad came up to me, and at the age
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13:34 - 13:38of 26, for the first time ever, I had a conversation with my dad
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13:38 - 13:41one on one about men's health. I had a conversation
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13:41 - 13:44with my dad about prostate cancer, and I learned
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13:44 - 13:47that my grandfather had prostate cancer
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13:47 - 13:50and I was able to share with my dad that he was
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13:50 - 13:53twice as likely to get that disease, and he didn't know that,
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13:53 - 13:55and he hadn't been getting screened for it."
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13:55 - 13:59So now, that guy is getting screened for prostate cancer.
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13:59 - 14:02So those conversations, getting men engaged in this,
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14:02 - 14:04at whatever age, is so critically important,
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14:04 - 14:06and in my view so much more important
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14:06 - 14:09than the funds we raise.
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14:09 - 14:12Now to the funds we raise, and research,
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14:12 - 14:15and how we're redefining research.
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14:15 - 14:20We fund prostate cancer foundations now in 13 countries.
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14:20 - 14:23We literally fund hundreds if not thousands of institutions
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14:23 - 14:26and researchers around the world, and when we looked
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14:26 - 14:30at this more recently, we realized there's a real lack
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14:30 - 14:34of collaboration going on even within institutions,
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14:34 - 14:37let alone nationally, let alone globally, and this is not unique
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14:37 - 14:40to prostate cancer. This is cancer research the world over.
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14:40 - 14:44And so we said, right, we'd redefined charity. We need
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14:44 - 14:48to redefine the way these guys operate. How do we do that?
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14:48 - 14:51So what we did was, we created a global action plan,
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14:51 - 14:53and we're taking 10 percent of what's raised in each country
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14:53 - 14:56now and putting it into a global fund, and we've got
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14:56 - 14:58the best prostate cancer scientific minds in the world
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14:58 - 15:01that look after that fund,
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15:01 - 15:03and they come together each year and identify
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15:03 - 15:06the number one priority,
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15:06 - 15:10and that, last year, was getting a better screening test.
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15:10 - 15:12So they identified that as a priority, and then
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15:12 - 15:15they've got and recruited now 300 researchers
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15:15 - 15:17from around the world that are studying that topic,
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15:17 - 15:19essentially the same topic.
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15:19 - 15:21So now we're funding them to the tune of about
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15:21 - 15:24five or six million dollars to collaborate
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15:24 - 15:26and bringing them together, and that's a unique thing
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15:26 - 15:29in the cancer world, and we know, through that collaboration,
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15:29 - 15:33it will accelerate outcomes.
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15:33 - 15:39And that's how we're redefining the research world.
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15:39 - 15:46So, what I know about my Movember journey is that,
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15:46 - 15:49with a really creative idea,
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15:49 - 15:53with passion, with persistence, and a lot of patience,
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15:53 - 15:56four mates, four mustaches,
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15:56 - 15:59can inspire a room full of people,
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15:59 - 16:02and that room full of people can go on and inspire a city,
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16:02 - 16:04and that city is Melbourne, my home.
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16:04 - 16:07And that city can go on and inspire a state, and that state
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16:07 - 16:11can go on and inspire a nation, and beyond that,
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16:11 - 16:13you can create a global movement
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16:13 - 16:16that is changing the face of men's health.
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16:16 - 16:18My name is Adam Garone, and that's my story.
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16:18 - 16:21Thank you. (Applause)
- Title:
- Healthier men, one moustache at a time
- Speaker:
- Adam Garone
- Description:
-
Adam Garone has an impressive moustache, and it's for a good cause. A co-founder of Movember, Garone's initiative to raise awareness for men's health -- by having men grow out their moustaches every November -- began as a dare in a bar in 2003. Now, it's a worldwide movement that raised $126 million for prostate cancer research last year.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 16:41
Thu-Huong Ha edited English subtitles for Healthier men, one moustache at a time | ||
Thu-Huong Ha approved English subtitles for Healthier men, one moustache at a time | ||
Thu-Huong Ha edited English subtitles for Healthier men, one moustache at a time | ||
Morton Bast accepted English subtitles for Healthier men, one moustache at a time | ||
Morton Bast edited English subtitles for Healthier men, one moustache at a time | ||
Joseph Geni added a translation |