In the Barber Chair with Nate Collins

For Nate Collins, a nine year Mo Bro and a part of Team Macho Macho, part of the motivation to participate in Movember stems from the memory of his father, Neil Collins, who passed away April 7, 2019 from prostate cancer. Nate sat down with us in the barber chair to share more of his story, his father’s story, the importance of camaraderie and more.

Why do you support Movember and men's health and how has Movember affected you?

I supported Movember initially as a way for our office to build some camaraderie and for team building. And then the second year it turned personal when my dad had found out that he got prostate cancer. Ever since then, it's been a very close, personal mission of mine to raise money for men's mental health, physical health, and to prevent prostate cancer.

Movember has become a large portion of my life through the friends that I've met, the money that I've raised and the camaraderie that I've had being on a couple different teams. And that’s a lot of fun. The month of Movember is very busy, it's very stressful, but I think you can't replicate the fun that you have, and the people that you meet, and the impact that I feel like I'm having on men's mental health.

Movember: Can you speak on your dad’s journey with prostate cancer and how it affected you?

Nate: After my dad's prostate cancer diagnosis, he went through radiation treatment, and I saw how painful that was for him and the journey that he went on. And ultimately, it was a part of the reason that he passed away from complications later on. 

I think through that journey and all throughout my life, my dad's always been very important, always making the note of taking care of your body and taking care of your mental health. And I think now more than ever, I understand the importance of that. That's something that I'm always working towards, which is part of the reason that I take on physical challenges and try to really help keep my mental health as best as I can.

Can you talk to us more about Team Macho Macho, how it formed and what it means to you?

I joined team Macho Macho last year through one of my older roommates in the East Village. Grew up with a couple of the guys, and put me in touch when we were ringing the NASDAQ bell a couple years ago. And so it's been great to be on a really passionate, connected team. I feel like we do a really good job of hosting events, throwing parties, creating merchandise, creating events, really interactive on social with song shoutouts, and all sorts of different things. And I think the really nice thing for me is that it's year round. We're obviously well connected during Movember, but we keep the group chat going. People can give birthday shout outs, ask questions, share information, and just generally keep in touch.

I think it's been really important, especially within the last year; it's been difficult to keep in touch with people. I know myself and sometimes I get inundated with messages and I get overwhelmed. So, it's important to have an outlet where you can speak your mind, have that interaction, and get some positive reinforcement from others. So I think especially in the last 18 months, it's been nice to have a tight-knit group that I can rely on.

How have you been taking care of your mental health?

I've been taking care of my mental health by trying to be present in every moment and finding places, people, things, moments, experiences that remind me that things are not always this chaotic and that we do live in a world full of beauty and love and other people.

Knowing some of the experiences you’ve been through, what advice would you give to your younger self?

I think some of the advice that I'd give to my younger self is just go for it, or just start. I think a lot of times people have sort of that analysis paralysis where you want to be a part of something, you want to have an impact, and you're not sure how to start, so you just don't. So I think getting started early, doing the things that come to your mind and really pushing yourself, I think would be the best advice for a younger version of me.

What advice or encouragement would you give to your guy friends or the guys on your team to help encourage them to live a healthier life?

I think some of the advice that I'd give to my friends and other teammates is really just open up and be truthful. I think one of the main things or one of the hard things is to be truthful to others. You always want to hide some of yourself, to keep that portion to yourself. But even if you do do that, because I think it's a natural thing to do, I think it's really important to be truthful to yourself. So if you do have questions, if you do need help, if you do want to talk about something, I think it's super important to be truthful with yourself about that.