Why I Mo: Brad Smith

Movember has always been about looking out for the influential men in our lives. Sports became a common theme in raising money, awareness, and education for men's health issues that Movember helps to support. Movember’s origin story was about supporting your Mo Bros and Mo Sisters, so within our college sports networks, we brought the Movember Campaign to the NCAA to raise money in a competition against other lacrosse, hockey, and baseball teams. The motivation? Our teammates, coaches, support staff, families, and friends.

One of our Movember team Captains and a member of the Villanova Men’s Lacrosse Team, Danny Seibal, was a direct benefactor of the services, education, and support that Movember provides and his story is the exact reason Movember exists:

“In October of 2018 my life changed when I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's Lymphoma. I wanted to brush off the growing lump in my neck and the night sweats that would wake me in the middle of the night, but in the back of my mind I knew something was not right. Instead of trying to tough it out and pretend the lump would go away, I decided to get checked out by my physician.

Thankfully, 6 months and 12 rounds of chemo later, I was fortunate enough to make a full recovery. Being involved with The Movember Foundation prior to my diagnosis helped me identify and know that getting the lump in my neck checked out was the right thing to do. The timeliness of visiting my doctor allowed me to catch the cancer before it spread to more parts of my body, as well as allowed my doctors to prescribe a treatment plan that they were confident would allow me to make a full recovery. Movember supported me while I was going through my treatment by checking in and just making sure I knew that I was not going through this alone. Having this life experience deepened my passion for Movember and overall men's health awareness so raising awareness and money for Movember in return is the least I can do! Cancer comes in all shapes and sizes and does not discriminate. Early detection is extremely important to fight this battle and can literally save a life.

Movember encourages everyone to not be afraid to see a doctor and get checked out if something is not feeling right and I am so thankful to be involved with the foundation and their principles instilled in me.”

This is why I participate in Movember year after year and why we wanted to bring Movember to the larger youth, high school, and collegiate sports world.

With the help of Arete Sports and UNRL, we’ve created Movember Apparel with the infamous Moustache to get student athletes involved, educated, and passionate about a cause that can impact so many people globally.

Here’s the link to the apparel: https://www.areteapparel.co/collections/movember-collection