The Movember Foundation helps raise funds for research and support programs that enable men to live happier, healthier, and longer lives. To show support for men’s health this Movember, our team of Roubler Rise and Climbers completed 100 sets of Brisbane’s (in)famous Kangaroo Point stair climb. That’s 21,400 stairs – or the equivalent of climbing the Burj Khalifa more than three times!

To get things moving, we’re sharing insight from the Rise and Climbers themselves. Throughout November, we’ll keep updating this post so you can meet the team and learn what Movember means to them.

If you want to show your support, you can check out our team page and donate to the cause here.

1. What about the Movember cause resonates with you?
   The Movember cause is incredibly close to me and my family, particularly this year. As men, we tend to suffer in silence, tackling life’s challenges without the support of friends, family and professionals. Yet we still commonly mistake asking for help as a signing of weakness when it’s one of the most empowering feelings that we can experience.
   
   
2. Why is it important for men to open up about what they’re going through?
   You will never regret the conversations that you have, only the ones that you didn’t. In 2017 I developed symptoms of a critical health condition, yet naively I never spoke to anyone about my condition – not even my family. For nearly 6 months I told myself I was stronger than the illness I was experiencing and instead of asking for help I naively focused harder on work and exercise. In March 2018 I ended up in ICU after nearly losing my life. I nearly didn’t get to have the conversation.
   
   
3. When you have health concerns – who would you reach out to?
   I’ve realised now just how important it is to speak openly with friends, partners, family and professionals about health concerns, whether they are concerns of physical or mental health. These people know you best and often pick-up on certain behaviours or symptoms that often we don’t even notice ourselves.
   
   
4. How are you planning to spark conversation about cancer and mental health with your friends and family to help raise awareness?
   I’m a believer that we need to do more than just have conversations a few times per year. We need to make a conscious effort to create a safe and trusted environment between friends and family so that everyone feels comfortable being open with each other at any time. It’s something I also need to work on, consciously checking in with friends and family.
   
   
5. How can people show support?
   Showing your support by donating towards initiatives such as Movember, growing a Mo in support of the initiative, or more importantly – telling those around us that we are here to listen and support whenever they need us.
   
   

1. What about the Movember cause resonates with you?
   I love the idea of growing something physical to represent something mental. A ‘Mo’ is almost unavoidable if you are speaking to or looking at someone, whereas mental health is often hidden or disguised. It’s a statement that really helps to open the conversation and break down the barriers that men often hold up.
   
   
2. Why is it important for men to open up about what they’re going through?
   Suicide is the biggest killer in men under 40, which is pretty staggering. I think men have a tendency to cover up their insecurities and put up a front, I think it’s due to the preconceived idea that men have to be the provider, leader or strongest in the tribe. The idea of being a ‘man’ in that respect is very dated, the biggest show of strength or leadership is reaching out, showing vulnerability and helping out your mates when they are struggling – this can only happen if we open up.
   
   
3. When you have health concerns – who would you reach out to?
   I’m lucky enough to have a good group of mates split across the UK and Australia, we might not speak every day but in between sending memes and talking football, I know there’s a good group who are there to listen if I need them. My family are also blessed with good ears as well, I can always count on them to pick up the phone and listen to me vent.
   
   
4. How are you planning to spark conversation about cancer and mental health with your friends and family to help raise awareness?
   I’ll be joining in with Roubler’s rise and climb challenge!
   
   
5. How can people show support?
   Head to our team page and donate what you can, or just give our post a share on socials to help make some noise!
   
   

1. What about the Movember cause resonates with you?
   The Movember cause is one that has been close to my heart for a long time. Particularly, given the work they do to raise awareness for men’s mental health. Too many men subscribe to the stiff upper lip culture which puts us in a societal box of not showing any weakness or vulnerability. As a result, we often embody a front to mask our true emotions and bottle them up from the world to the detriment of our mental health. Movember encourages a safe space for men to be themselves without having to mask their emotions and vulnerabilities. This is important because all men ultimately want to feel comfortable in their own skin and their own headspace. 
   
   
2. Why is it important for men to open up about what they’re going through?
   Bottled energy tends to spill out in the wrong places. Men get emotional too, but too often this is expressed through anger, frustration and resentment. By opening up about what we’re going through – at home, or at work, or in our own heads – we give ourselves the opportunity to deal with negative feelings in the moment and not let them occupy our headspace for longer than they need to. Nor do they have the opportunity to channel themselves in an unproductive way.
   
   
3. When you have health concerns – who would you reach out to?
   For mental health concerns, I try and talk to my wife. I will often try to talk to some friends who I trust closely. In addition, the best way for me to deal with mental health concerns is by physical activity. For this reason, I had created the Rise & Climb challenge which Roubler so kindly supported.
   
   
4. How are you planning to spark conversation about cancer and mental health with your friends and family to help raise awareness?
   A great way to start the conversation is to grow a Movember mo if you can as that’s always a great way to break the ice! If that’s not your thing, you can still get involved in Movember in many ways. For me, arranging physical challenges, like the Rise & Climb has been an amazing way to start the conversation.
   
   
5. How can people show support?
   People can show support by donating to the Rise & Climb challenge. Or simply by connecting with someone close to them – father, son or an old friend for a coffee or a beverage!
   
   
   

1. What about the Movember cause resonates with you?
   Coming from my cultural space and race, men don’t openly talk about mental health. They are told that men need to be strong and not show emotion as if that means they are weak. I know a lot of people who suffer in silence as a result of it. I believe in the community men should be able to talk about what really bothers them instead of putting up a tough exterior with bottled-up emotions inside. 
   
   
2. Why is it important for men to open up about what they’re going through?
   I believe opening up will show everyone how empowering it is. You don’t have to be some type of superhero who never gets hurt. We normally don’t talk about the high rate of depression that resonates in the male society. It needs to be taken seriously so that the next generation can learn that it’s normal to cry and it’s normal to show weakness. Your only human. 
   
   
3. When you have health concerns – who would you reach out to?
   For me, it’s my siblings. I grew up in an environment where you don’t normally voice out your concerns but having siblings and an elder person in the family helps. If there’s a serious matter it’s good to have the full support you need when you go through the process of healing.
   
   
4. How are you planning to spark conversation about cancer and mental health with your friends and family to help raise awareness?
   We need to be the new millennium. At family and friend gatherings we need to start discussions. In fact, I want to start them. We can share discussions about the dangers and problems we face on a daily basis and always check in on each other – get everything out in the open.
   
   
5. How can people show support?
   Something that I read has always stuck with me – that mental health is invisible, and men tend to block it out so perfectly that you won’t realise because they expect to be like a shield. Let’s all support our brothers, fathers, partners and friends. They often need us more than we think they do. Donate to the Movember cause to support men’s health!
   
   
   

1. What about the Movember cause resonates with you?
   Movember is a great fundraiser for men’s health across the board. I feel that it opens conversations that need to be had with loved ones and friends. Movember resonates with me mostly for the mental health aspect.
   
   
2. Why is it important for men to open up about what they’re going through?
   There is a lot of stigma around men and showing emotions. Personally, I think talking through issues and confiding in others is the ultimate way to relieve stress.  It only takes one person to open up for others to realise they’re not alone and show support rather than shut down emotions. After the last two years, it’s important now more than ever for people to communicate their feelings of isolation. I feel as though Movember is key to getting men talking to discuss any issues they may be experiencing physical or mental.
   
   
3. When you have health concerns – who would you reach out to?
   Family first and then friends. There is always someone who can help regardless of your situation.
   
   
4. How are you planning to spark conversation about cancer and mental health with your friends and family to help raise awareness?
   A good friend of mine recently got diagnosed with Breast Cancer at age 27, it was so unexpected. Everyone thinks it will never happen to you or someone you are close to. This was a massive wakeup call for me. I’m a strong believer of knowing your own body, meaning if you check regularly, you will know when something isn’t right so you can see the doctor early! I raise awareness through speaking to people I meet and sharing relevant information on social media. Everyone suffers in different ways and there is no right or wrong way to feel. Normalising mental health so that people don’t feel embarrassed they’re suffering, I believe is a huge step forward in the right direction! It only takes one comment for something to click in another person’s head and help them more than you ever thought!
   
   
5. How can people show support?
   I think posting on social media is a great way to show support as you are sharing with hundreds of people. I also think freely talking among friends is a great way. Everyone knows someone who is going through something and talking it out is therapeutic.
   
   
   

1. What about the Movember cause resonates with you?
   Movember raises awareness for some great causes, but what really resonates with me and has touched my life personally is men’s mental health. In the past few years, I think that society has come a long way with discussing these issues and destigmatising them, and causes like Movember have a lot to do with that. There is more to be done though, and especially after what has been such an isolating 18 months for so many it is more important than ever to ensure people aren’t suffering in silence.
   
   
2. Why is it important for men to open up about what they’re going through?
   Opening up is really the only way out of it. Having dark times is something that virtually everybody experiences at some time in their lives, so it’s I’ve It’s important for everyone to open up regardless of gender, but for some reason men are taught that feelings are a sign of weakness. Everyone needs a release and space to verbalise whatever is going on internally and externally. Bottling things up only makes them worse, and I am a strong believer in the phrase: a problem shared is a problem halved.
   
   
3. When you have health concerns – who would you reach out to?
   I feel very fortunate to have a great support system around me – my girlfriend and family are very supportive of me, and I also have a great group of friends. I feel lucky to have people I can reach out to no matter what’s going on.
   
   
4. How are you planning to spark conversation about cancer and mental health with your friends and family to help raise awareness?
   I think it’s always worth a gentle reminder: go get your skin checked, go get those tests done, go talk to someone if you’re struggling. I think the best way to spark conversations about health is to normalise the topic. By speaking out about your experiences and feelings, you implicitly give others permission to speak about their own. When people ask me how I’m doing, I will be honest with them and hopefully, that allows them to be honest with me.
   
   
5. How can people show support?
   Support can be shown in all kinds of ways, donating to the cause is always a good option, but people can also raise awareness for all these issues by starting conversations both in person and on social media with whoever they can reach.
   
   
   

1. What about the Movember cause resonates with you?
   In Australia, men’s life expectancy is four years shorter than women’s. There are a number of contributing factors, but I believe that the culture of “manning up” has a large part to play, as does our culture of being always-busy. Too often symptoms are ignored, precautions are not taken.
   
   
2. Why is it important for men to open up about what they’re going through?
   Opening up is really the only way out of it. Having dark times is something that virtually everybody experiences at some time in their lives, so it’s I’ve seen first hand that men can be more reluctant to seek professional help for both physical and mental health. I always say, if you broke your arm, you wouldn’t not go to the hospital. So why ignore that niggling cough, or those negative thought patterns, that could potentially be just as serious?
   
   
3. When you have health concerns – who would you reach out to?
   My first stop is my GP. It can be difficult to find a doctor who listens, and it’s always worth getting a second opinion.
   
   
4. How are you planning to spark conversation about cancer and mental health with your friends and family to help raise awareness?
   I think it’s always worth a gentle reminder: go get your skin checked, go get those tests done, go talk to someone if you’re struggling.
   
   
5. How can people show support?
   Come and join our Movember team!
   
   
   

1. What about the Movember cause resonates with you?
   The mental health element really resonates me. I’ve had family members badly affected by this for many years, and even though it’s quite prevalent there’s still very much a stigma. Comments like, “harden up mate” or “just get over it” are still common, which shows how few people understand it. The reality is that mental health problems have nothing to do with weakness, but rather tend to be due to people being too strong for too long and not seeking help earlier. No one is expected to just “tough out” a broken leg, so it’s crazy we expect people to just tough their way through mental illness.
   
   
2. Why is it important for men to open up about what they’re going through?
   Opening up is really the only way out of it. Having dark times is something that virtually everybody experiences at some time in their lives, so it’s important for people to know they’re not alone.
   
   
3. When you have health concerns – who would you reach out to?
   Your GP is a perfect place to start, for mental health or just general health concerns. They’ve seen it all before, so even though it feels awkward, once you break the ice and start talking about it you’re already on your way to winning the battle. From a mental health perspective, there is easily accessible government support in Australia to make seeing a therapist very inexpensive. Go talk to your GP!
   
   
4. How are you planning to spark conversation about cancer and mental health with your friends and family to help raise awareness?
   I’m joining the team in climbing the Kangaroo Point stairs 100 times and pushing that on social media. I’m also complaining bitterly about how much effort that is, which serves as a great ice breaker on why I’m doing it and what I’m trying to help raise awareness for.
   
   
5. How can people show support?
   First of all, just be a good listener. Let your mates talk, and just be there for them and let them get things off their chest. Secondly, come on down on November 13 and walk the stairs with us! Even 5 or 10 flights would be great, or come along and grab a coffee and cheer us on.