Australian Man's Brave 'Movember' Pledge Now Trending On Reddit

From "not much attention" to a deluge of donations.

Australian Man's Brave 'Movember' Pledge Now Trending On Reddit

Image: Getty (not the Redditor in question).

The hairiest month of the year is now more than halfway over, and people across the globe have been doing their bit to support men’s health.

We’re talking about Movember, of course: one of the most successful charity initiatives in recent memory. Originating in Adelaide in 1999 with things really kicking off with the founding of the Movember Foundation in 2004, the clever rebranding of the penultimate month of the year – which started with men growing moustaches and has since expanded far beyond that – has funded over 1,200 projects in 20 countries, and has raised millions of dollars for men’s health initiatives including cancer research and suicide prevention programs.

At its core, you raise funds by growing a moustache and getting people to pledge their support. But in recognition that not everyone can (or wants to) grow a ‘mo, Movember also encapsulates any number of fundraising initiatives. Other activities the Movember Foundation suggest include tests of physical endurance or hosting ‘mo-ments’ i.e. fundraising events.

One Aussie bloke has decided to do the unthinkable and shave off his long-cultivated dreadlocks – and it’s taken the Internet by storm.

Callum Sires’ mate took to Reddit’s /r/australia to help the dread-owning mine worker raise money for Movember by pledging to shave off his follicular pride and joy.

“A good mate of mine is shaving his dreadlocks off after 15 years… he’s not getting much attention it would be good if people could help out,” his mate posted.

The good people of Reddit immediately threw their support behind Sires, who’s now $3,000 closer to his target of $10,000.

Of course, people couldn’t help joking about the Movember pledge.

“Is he looking forward to shaving it all off, or is he dreading it?” one commenter quipped.

“Well, he’s locked into it now,” another rebutted.

Cutting off dreadlocks isn’t the same as just going for a regular shave. It takes years of patience and commitment to cultivate decent-looking dreads, and you need to be careful to maintain them properly. Dreads need to be cleaned properly and with care in order to prevent ‘dread rot’, mold or mildew setting in.

Regardless of what you think about the hairstyle, we can all agree that Sires’ decision to get rid of them for charity is a noble one.

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