Well, Mo Bros and Mo Sistas, it is indeed that time of year again where we celebrate a bygoned facial decoration in an effort to bring awareness to men’s health.
This year should be especially interesting as I am to be in a wedding looking my best, and to be honest, a mustache makes me look… well… like a pedophile. However, unflattering facial hair aside, this is a month I have been planning for quite some time as I want to take the opportunity to launch some appropriate blogs over the next 30 days.
When I sat down and did the photoshoot of Adam Garone (the Movember CEO), we talked in depth about the causes that it stood for. At the time, all I could think about was fighting prostate cancer, for my father had just been diagnosed. Fortunately, since then he has made a complete recovery and has won that battle.
For this year, I wanted to address a cause that I have talked about in the past and still hear a ton about in private conversations both on and off set…. Mental Health. More specifically the mental health of my friends in this industry that we call advertising. Photographers, Illustrators, Copywriters, Art Directors and Creative Directors alike, we most likely know someone that has gone through it, or go through it ourselves. It is the token that we pay to be able to create environments and concepts that don’t really exist. Blessing and curse often dance intertwined through the music of talent.
So for this reason, I put together some blogs to talk about people that have had great success, even through struggles in their head. Be it actors, comic book writers, musicians… artists, we are a family and a lucky one at that. So go get growing your craziest mustache and support the cause that is Movember. But more importantly, use this next month as the excuse to talk to someone in the agency, in the studio or on set about mental health. Maybe none of you have had any issues with it and for that I say congratulations. More likely though, one if not all of you have gone through something, and this conversation will be one of the most relieving ones you will ever have…. nothing helps more than knowing you’re not alone.