Movember – the final (follicle) stretch for the Pemberton Secondary mo-growing team
For the past few weeks, there’s been a wave of facial hair sweeping the nation, and Pemberton isn’t missing out. Thanks to an inspired team effort from staff and students at Pemberton Secondary, the global fundraiser for men’s cancer Movember (formerly known as November) has received a boost, while the razors are growing duller by the day. Sprouting mo’s en masse for the Movember cause, the Pemberton Secondary team are well on their way to meeting their fundraising target – so why not rally for the cause and help push them to new philanthropic heights? Visit http://ca.movember.com/mospace/1484722/ to donate.
Choose Pemberton checked in with team leader, teacher Daryl “Moe” Treadway, and student Clint Samuels, to find out what they’ve learned about the fine art of Mo-Growing.
So, Pemberton Secondary offers students the chance to participate in quite a few team sports… why team moustache-growing?
Mr Treadway: Some students excel in basketball or soccer, while others excel in facial hair growth. We want to give those male students an equal chance to be part of a sports team.
Mr Samuels: Team moustache growing here at Pemberton Secondary offers students a different experience. The common goal is to raise money, but surrounding the event is an air of humour, excitement, and determination – all things that are important in leading a healthy lifestyle.
As far as ‘stache style goes, who are your icons and role-models?
Mr Treadway: All the cowboys from ‘Tombstone’, Nacho Libre, and of course the highway patrol in ‘Super Troopers’.
Mr Samuels: My personal icon is a local, Al Leblanc. His stache is present all over the community and has been for many years. It is the kind of moustache that instills confidence in people. The kind of stache that gets young people into stache growing.
How does Mo-vember work?
Mr Treadway: Participants enter Movember clean shaven and begin working on their furry upper lip for the month; meanwhile raising funds and awareness to help battle prostate cancer.
Mr Samuels: We have had a very organized event from the beginning – students were signed on the team before Mo-vember even started. Each person has a profile on Mo-vember.ca where photos, updates and donations can be made. Also donations from outside the website are logged on that person’s profile so progress can be monitored.
What is the motivation to do this? Where does it come from? (is it really that the teachers are sick of shaving everyday?)
Mr Treadway: The main motivation comes from the women in education, who cannot resist a solid ‘stash and have forced us to take part – my wife especially.
The other motivation is student driven; earlier this fall I was speaking with a group of adolescents who were talking about growing a greasy ‘stache for Movember. I told this fearless prepubescent group about many who ‘stache during this revered month, yet they do nothing to help battle the cancer. Pembertonians are no posers and the boys asked me to organize a way for them to flaunt their manliness for the cause.
Mr Samuels: A lot of young people, who many not understand much else realize that 1 in 7 men getting prostate cancer is something that we have to fight against. However I’m not going to limit the reason to that – the competition and humour in growing or trying to grow is very funny.
How many team members are there? Who are they?
Mr Samuels: The team has 23 members. Five teachers, 18 students.
Mr Treadway: Dave Dunkin, me (Moe Treadway), Jason Gadd, Mark Leverton, David Cipp, Matt Tuck, Michael Fidork, Alexander Clark, Sean Russell, Clayton Ferron, Rene Long, Sean Carter, Land Gobert, Neil Walser, Kalio Sittlinger, Jesse Miller, Toby Eslake, Clint Samuels, Robin Esseltine, Eldon Fink, David Cipp, Cole Koning, Sam Schranz
Who’s the most competitive about this? The teachers or the students?
Mr Treadway: There doesn’t seem to be much competition. We are a team.
Mr Samuels: The students. If there was a way to increase growing rate of a ‘stache, all of the students would be using it. The teachers can all obviously grow facial hair whereas some students struggle.
Is there a lot of support in the school for Mo-vember? Or does it take serious guts for a dude to grow a greasy little ‘stache?
Mr Treadway: Yes and yes. A good ‘stache takes time and many of us don’t have the ability to show off a good one until the end of the month; so this growth stage is a bit intimidating. The women on staff are also supportive in getting people signed up with their pictures on our ‘MoSpace’. (Thanks Ms. Thomlinson)
Mr Samuels: The females understand that they won’t be able to convince the boys to shave it off so they join in and monitor everyone’s process. Being one of 23 people on a team, with your buddy in the same situation encouraging you, keeps you going.
What’s the fund-raising target?
Mr Samuels: One thousand dollars. It’s a reachable, hefty sum, and the team is on track to easily surpass that.
Mr Treadway: We are already at $890!
What else do you hope to accomplish?
Mr Samuels: To raise awareness, money and combat men’s cancer. I know it sounds cliché for teenage boys to be interested in something other than video games but that is why we are doing it. Hopefully next year the team will grow, and more money will be raised.
What’s the hardest thing about Mo-vember?
Mr Treadway: Probably seeing how terrible of a moustache I have, while others rock out in style.
Mr Samuels: It is pretty darn awesome; it’s not hard at all. Really, the hardest part is realizing that we are going to have to wait a few years to be able to grow iconic staches.
Any tips or tricks on grooming, moustache style, or speeding up facial hair growth?
Mr Treadway: The prepubescent can shave often prior to Movember, thus increasing the stubble.
Mascara helps highlight that peach fuzz.
I also suggest growing the full ‘Trucker’ to begin so you’re not limiting your potential.
Mr Samuels: If there was a golden “how to speed up growth” secret, everyone would be doing it. Style grooming really all depends on your personal growing abilities. But the basic tip about style is just to have it. Any kind of style. It can improve the look exponentionally.
They say that clothes make the man, but facial hair says a lot about a person, too. Do you feel different sporting a mo?
Mr Treadway: Yah, I get a lot more respect…. or maybe people are just afraid of me with this creepy thing.
Mr Samuels: Yes and no. A person’s ability to grow the fuzz isn’t so much the story – it’s how they wear it. A kid wearing a beard says he does not care if people don’t approve of his facial hair, he has other more important things…
When can people donate until? And how can they do it?
Mr Samuels: People can donate until after the season ends. They can donate online to the team on movember.com or to a team member in person with cash.
Mr Treadway: Donors will receive a receipt.
Finally, who at Pemberton Secondary should win the Most Likely To Play Tom Selleck in the remake of Magnum PI award?
Mr Treadway: Unfortunately, I’m not seeing any Magnum look-alikes; we seem to have a different style here, leaning more towards Paul Teutul, Sr. from Orange County Choppers. Check out Cox, Duncan, and Carter.
Mr Samuels: I believe that that honor should go to a student Eldon Finck. He is one “hairy bastard” with a unique face almost in the same way as Tom’s. Other than needing to grow a few inches and keep the rest of his face free from dark shadow, he would fit the bill pretty darn good.
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