Movember Foundation marks Men’s Health Week with its first podcast and campaign via Urchin
To mark the beginning of Men’s Health Week, the Movember Foundation has today launched its first podcast. Lifting the lid on society’s often damaging ideals about masculinity, each episode seeks to challenge people across the globe to re-think what it really means to be a man. Creative agency Urchin assisted with imagery for the podcast.
The podcast – Movember Radio: Continuing the Conversation – will air stories from men around the world who share personal, empowering and often funny narratives behind the experiences, people and decisions that have shaped their lives. These are real men talking about real issues.
Running all year, each week the series will feature a one-on-one interview, hosted by Mo Bro and TV personality Osher Günsberg. The first episodes released feature interviews from a diverse range of inspiring men who have overcome odds and faced tough challenges, including:
Kurt Fearnley, paralympian and wheelchair racer
George Parros, former American ice hockey player
PJ Roberts, former football (soccer) player and testicular cancer survivor
Tom Carroll, former professional surfer
Adam Garone, CEO and co-founder, the Movember Foundation.
As the world’s leading men’s health organisation, the Movember Foundation knows firsthand the key challenges faced by men today, many of which revolve around traditional stereotypes relating to masculinity and what it means to be a ‘man’. This can lead to reluctance to take action on well-being issues and an unwillingness to have conversations about significant life events.
With one man dying by suicide every minute around the world and three times as many men dying of suicide than women, the Foundation is determined to highlight these issues and continue conversations that began with the growth of a hairy upper lip last Movember, ultimately moving the dial on the state of men’s health.
Adam Garone, CEO and co-founder of the Movember Foundation, says men often compare themselves against a masculine ideal which values power, strength, control and invincibility.
Says Garone: “From a young age, our society teaches boys they need to act tough and not talk about how they’re feeling. Men are expected to be a provider and protector, in control at all times and never vulnerable. If you break any of these ‘rules’, you supposedly aren’t a real man.
“As men, we often don’t like talking about how we’re feeling or discussing the impact of significant life events such as the breakdown of a relationship, loss of a job or becoming a father, but the reality is that we all go through tough times. It’s how men deal or don’t deal with these moments that has an affect on mental health and, unfortunately, suicide rates.”
Research funded by the Movember Foundation found that men aged between 35 and 54 years are at the greatest risk of social isolation and more likely to have mental health problems, which can be an indication of suicide risk. These alarming statistics highlight the need for a continued and united effort to encourage men to have conversations about their health and well-being as well as put the issue on the global news agenda.
Says Garone: “Our aim for the Movember Radio podcast is to share the ‘hairy’ tales that inspire men to have real conversations and make simple changes that can lead to a big difference to their lives and their families.”