Don’t be alarmed by the number of unshaven and well-designed mustaches around town, Movember is in full swing.
Tamworth local, Sean Shipley has been taking part in the men’s mental health initiative for seven years, a cause he says is close to his heart.
“I got into it because growing up it was always men’s mental health didn’t matter, mental health as a whole didn’t really matter, and growing up this was one of the most important things,” said Sean Shipley, Movember enthusiast.
“I have mental health battles myself and this helps to break down the stigma towards it.”
Usually rocking the full beard all year round, Sean takes great pride in going clean on November first for the cause.
“I start from scratch and then let it grow until the end of the month and then take a photo for record keeping seeing if next year’s one is better than the last year.” said Sean.
And it sounds like this year he will have his work cut out for him.
“Last year was the worst looking moustache I have ever grown,” said Sean.
“It was a seedy very very big moustache and my wife hated it.”
“I am looking to improve on that this year.”
Supported by his teammates, rounding out an even six in the team, they have been running events, raffles and just rocking awesome moes in the hopes of reaching their target of $10,000 for Movember this November.
“At the moment we are sitting at $4022, and we still have two events to go so I have very confident.”
Last year the team raised $2582, and in total, since joining the cause in 2017, the team has raised $7299.
“We’ve already beaten last year by $1500 which is amazing.” said Sean.
“In our team we have five males and one female, and we also have a few people doing the move for Movember, and they have moved 185km this month.”
To make a donation or find out more information, please follow the Facebook link to Shippo’s Movember 2023 Fundraiser.
“You can buy raffles tickets, attend an event or follow the links to directly donate to the page.” said Sean.
“Donations are great, but if you can’t its not all about the money,”
“Just have that conversation, if we can get more conversations around men’s mental health the ripple effect of that is astronomical and its worth more than any money raised.”
“Bring it up, have a chat, and help break down the stigma around it.”
Need a reminder? This Sunday, 19th November, is International Men’s Day and a great opportunity to check in with your mates.
If you want to see the final product, get down to the Tamworth Hotel November 26thSunday for the final reveal and more.
“We will have prizes for the best moustache, first and second place, as well as drawing our raffle and there will be live music by Matt Barrow music, so it will be a great event.”
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