Beards have enjoyed their time in the sun over the past few years.
Their striking, luscious regrowth has graced the faces of almost everyone from royalty to rugby stars. However for those of you who don’t know, many of these beards could very well save your life.
Four years ago, a 26 year old named Wes Bonny lost his life to melanoma.
At his wake, a group of his friends decided more needed to be done to encourage people to have regular skin checks. Because Wes’ melanoma was on his neck and not many young blokes had beards back then, they decided to grow beards for winter and share Wes’ story with everyone who asked about them. This was the start of Beard Season.
Beard Season is a non profit movement inviting gentlemen to grow their beards for winter, get a skincheck, and become an ambassador in the fight against melanoma.
Since launching from humble beginnings, the movement has now gone global, with thousands
of ambassadors from over 27 countries, and hundreds of people who have found something which could have killed them were it not for the friendly advice.
Ben Maggs is one such ambassador who is helping the South Australian branch of Programmed Property Services become the first in the world to organise free skin checks for their employees in the name of Beard Season.
What’s even more impressive is that a lot of their employees work outside, so the chances of finding melanoma are considerably higher. The founder of Beard Season, Jimmy Niggles, challenges other companies who employ people who work in the sun to follow suit.
“Melanoma kills over 1,500 Australian’s a year and a majority of these people are men, aged 18-45. If our ambassadors can help companies like Programmed set an example for businesses all around the world, we are going to save thousands of lives for many more years to come.”
To find out more about Beard Season and book your skin check, visit beardseason.com or visit your local GP.
When was the last time you had your skin checked?
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