We are proud to be supporting Movember again, and this time we had the great opportunity to meet with Mo bro Chef Anthony Power, one of the original 30 Mo Bros who participated in the very first Movember and a renowned chef from Melbourne. Here is Anthony’s insight about the Movember Foundation, his fabulous chef experience and his vision on the hospitality industry. Enjoy the first part of the interview!
MOVEMBER Foundation:
You are one of the original 30 Mo Bros who participated in the very first Movember. How did this idea come up? Did you expect to create such a successful movement?
It was a couple of my friends they came up with the idea for it. Sitting in a pub back in 2003 in Melbourne in Australia. They were talking about how everything had come back into fashion and one thing that they could think of that hadn’t come back into fashion was the moustache. So they had a few more beers and then made a challenge to see who could come up with the best moustache and see if we could bring moustaches back into fashion. That first year there was thirty of us that got together and participated, and obviously it has grown into something which I don’t think anyone could have imagined would happen.
Morris, our director called Mo is participating in Movember for the second time. We suspect him to be a Trucker Mo-holic. What do you think of his look?
Well, it's a pretty strong look. The “handle bar” moustache or the “trucker” moustache has been worn by some pretty influential people in the past like Hulk Hogan (from WWF) and Lenny (from Mötorhead). Not to mention it’s a pretty tough moustache, of all the moustaches you can grow! We’ve got a style guide on www.movember.com where you can look at all the different styles and pick which one you want to grow. The trucker - certainly there’s something about it, it’s pretty tough, I can understand why he wants to grow that one.
How close do you think we're getting to changing the face of men's health?
I think we’ve already come a long way since we started Movember in 2003 back with a bunch of mates in a pub! We’ve had over 5 million participants across 21 countries around the world in the last 13 years and together they’ve helped to raise £402 million. That’s going towards some ground breaking research with Movember funding over 1000 programmes, but the awareness that comes from those 5 million people growing moustaches and starting conversations is what can also change lives - it gets guys to think about their health, act on their health and take care of themselves more.
What power can a Mo have in the restaurant property sector?
There is a lot of power. I think if you look back at history some the greatest chefs wore a moustache like Auguste Escoffier - One of the greatest chefs of all time; he had a moustache as well. One of the biggest chef influences on my life is the Swedish chef from the Muppets.
What power does the moustache have?! I’ll tell you another example even you walk past any Italian restaurant or any kind of place which has a picture of a chef, like a cartoon picture of a chef, they always have a moustache. The moustache is synonymous with great chefs, synonymous with expert taste buds; it’s not called the flavour saver for nothing.
Our Mo Sista agents love Moustache - Are you considering our Mo Sistas as men's health advocates?
Without a doubt, if it weren’t for the support of the Mo Sistas in our life, Movember wouldn’t exist. Back in 2003, 2004, 2005 when we first started Movember a lot of people thought we’re idiots, we look like freaks, we went through a lot of bad times but the girls in our lives supported us and gave us that pat on the back. They told us we didn’t look like freaks and that we were doing something good. But if it wasn’t for the Mo Sistas…we wouldn’t be here. Behind every a Mo bro is a great Mo Sista and we need Mo Sistas more than ever!
Which Mo Sista agent matches the most with Mo-rris?
Emma of course! She’s got the Mo-ve and the smile! What a perfect agent!
What words of motivation can you provide the Cedar Dean Group?
Thank you very much for getting involved! We need your help. It’s great you guys are getting behind the cause and spreading the word. Reach out to your friends and family, get them involved and signed up on Movember.com and help support what we’re doing. The power of unity is very influential, not only are you participating in a good cause but also these types of campaigns can only bring positive results to any business.
Do you know how many restaurant businesses are joining Movember this year?
I know it’s a lot but I don’t know the number exactly. I know across Europe there are Michelin star chefs in Finland, Norway, French chefs, in fact restaurants all around the world in fact. In the early days it pretty much started with the restaurants and bars, they were the first ones to pick up the moustache and run with it. There are hundreds and hundreds, however we need many more bartenders and restaurants to get involved.
What would you like to say to all restaurateurs, chefs, professionals in the industry and any foodies who are not involved in Movember yet?
It’s not too late to get involved! I think a team of people getting behind Movember really brings the team together, it brings something to work together and combining forces is always better. It gives you something to talk to your customers about, there’s nothing better than a bartender or a waiter being able to talk to one of their customers in the restaurant and say “Hey this is what I’m doing, I’m supporting Movember and starting that conversation. The morethe merrier!
To get involved with the Movember movement: www.movember.com
To support us for the great cause: http://moteam.co/cedar-dean-group
