GROW: Movember & Men's Health

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November is Men's Health Month. Prostate cancer, mental health, testicular cancer—these aren't topics we avoid. They're topics we address.

Issue #111, November 18, 2025

Welcome back, G-Tribe.

November is Movember. Men's Health Month. This is when guys grow mustaches to spark conversations about prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health.

But let's be real: most men treat this month like any other month instead of a genuine wake-up call.

Here’s the cold, hard truth: We are dying at higher rates from preventable causes. Not because we don't have access to healthcare, but because we don't go. Only 60% of men get an annual routine checkup, and 40% wait until a serious issue arises. We are leading families, businesses, and young men, yet we're failing at the most basic leadership task: preserving the asset (our health) that allows us to do all of it.

This week, we're talking about why avoiding your health is a leadership failure, and what real strength, the kind young men need to see, actually looks like.

Real leaders don't just build businesses and mentor young men. They take care of themselves so they can keep showing up.

Growth Spotlight: Health is Wealth - Why Your Wellness Matters

Let's cut straight to the numbers, because these stats are about our fathers, brothers, and mentors:

• Prostate Cancer: A man is diagnosed every 2 minutes. Black men are 1.7 times more likely to be diagnosed and 2.1 times more likely to die from it.

• Mental Health: Nearly 1 in 10 men experience depression or anxiety, yet less than half receive treatment. The suicide rate for males is approximately four times higher than for females.

Your mentees need you alive. Your family needs you to be healthy. The same discipline that helps you build a career? Apply that to your health. Schedule the appointment. Get the screening. Talk to someone about what's going on in your head.

The young men watching you aren't just learning how to work hard. They're learning whether real men take care of themselves or ignore problems until it's too late.

🎯 Your Challenge This Week:

Schedule one health appointment you've been avoiding. Whether it's the annual physical, a mental health screening, or that symptom you've been putting off—make the call this week.

Then, tell a young man in your life that you did it and why it matters.

Professional Growth Gateway: Workplace Culture That Supports Men's Health

Movember has raised over $837 million for men's health, but fundraising isn't enough. We need workplaces that actually support men getting help.

Most workplace cultures send mixed messages: they talk about "balance" while rewarding the 70-hour work week. That stops now.

Here's what a culture that supports men's health looks like:

1. Leadership Models It: When a leader says, "I'm blocking my calendar for my annual physical," or "I meet with my therapist every Thursday," it normalizes health as a priority rather than a weakness. For young men, this teaches them that success and self-care aren't contradictory.

2. Flexible Scheduling for Health: Companies make it easy to schedule appointments without using vacation days or lying about where you're going. Explicit PTO for medical appointments removes the barriers that keep men from getting care.

3. Conversation Without Stigma: The fear of being seen as "uncommitted" or "unstable" is real. We need managers trained to recognize signs of struggle and peer support networks where men can talk about what they're going through without fear of reprisal.

Action Point

If you're in leadership, audit your workplace this week. Are you making it easy or hard for men to prioritize health? If you're not in leadership, model what you want to see. Talk openly about your health appointments. Ask your coworkers how they're really doing.

Success Spotlight: Men Leading in Wellness Advocacy

These men changed the conversation by using their platforms, their struggles, and their influence to normalize vulnerability and help-seeking.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson: Strength and Self-Disclosure

Most people assume Dwayne Johnson embodies the ultimate strong man, a wrestling legend, a massive movie star, and a global brand. But he's been just as open about his lifelong struggle with depression. Johnson has repeatedly stated that he found that with depression, the most important thing to realize is that you're not alone. By discussing his own experiences and even his mother's attempted suicide, he directly challenges the idea that "tough guys" don't have feelings or struggles. His message: Struggle and pain are real. No amount of success or muscle makes you immune, and talking about it is true strength.

Kevin Love: The Panic Attack That Changed Everything

NBA All-Star and NBA Champion Kevin Love recounted the day he experienced a panic attack during a game. Up until that moment, he had been dealing with anxiety and depression in silence. Love was instrumental in normalizing mental health in professional sports. He said that when he first spoke out about his mental health struggles, it transformed his life. His powerful point is that not talking about our inner lives robs us of the chance to really get to know ourselves and to reach out to others in need.

Action Point

These men didn't wait for perfect conditions to speak up. They used their struggles and their influence to change the conversation. You don't need millions of followers to do the same. Start by being honest with one person about what you're going through. That's how movements start.

Michael's Hot Take: Your Health is a Leadership Issue, Stop Dodging It

I'm going to say something that's going to make some of you uncomfortable: If you're ignoring your health, you're not leading. You're playing a role until your body or mind forces you to stop.

We’ve created a culture where men equate self-neglect with dedication. Where working yourself into the ground is seen as commitment. Where admitting you're struggling is viewed as weakness. That’s not a strength. That’s suicide in slow motion.

And look, the timing couldn't be more ironic. We're here telling you to schedule your checkup, to use the health coverage you have, while right down the road in Congress, they just finished a shutdown and are busy figuring out how to make that coverage cost you twice as much next year—or disappear entirely.

They’re playing political chess with the very system that millions of people, including young men who look up to us, rely on to survive. They are willing to debate whether a man should have access to affordable care at all.

So, while the debate rages in D.C., you have a simple choice: Are you going to be as negligent with your own life as some politicians seem to be with the lives of their constituents?

You want to see what that discipline looks like in practice?

I'm a current diabetic. For me, diet and exercise aren't options; they are the mandatory tools that let me keep mentoring. This past spring, I ran the Marine Corps 17.75 Kilometer—that’s nearly 11 tough miles. Then in October, I ran my first half-marathon right alongside my son at Buffalo Creek in Pennsylvania.

Running did not come easily. It required hard work and determination, pushing past excuses every single day. But if I, a guy managing a chronic condition, can push myself to run 13.1 miles, you can surely schedule that doctor's appointment this week. Stop using "busy" as an excuse for self-destruction.

Let me make this clear: when you refuse to address your mental health, when you skip medical appointments, when you ignore warning signs because you're "too busy," you're being selfish.

• You're selfish toward the young men who look up to you and learn that real men don't take care of themselves.

• You're selfish toward your family, who will have to deal with the consequences of your neglect.

I’ve watched men around me suffer the consequences of ignoring symptoms. I’ve seen families destroyed because a father or husband thought he was invincible. You’re not invincible. None of us are.

Real leadership looks like: admitting when you're struggling. Scheduling the appointments and going to therapy. Take medication if you need it. Talking to your friends about what's actually going on instead of just talking about sports and work.

The young men in our AFGM programs are watching everything we do. Which lesson are you teaching them?

This month, during Movember, I'm challenging every man reading this: Get the screening. Make the appointment. Have the conversation. This week.

Because the people watching you need to see that real strength includes taking care of yourself so you can keep showing up.

Watch & Learn: Men's Health Conversations

This week, watch these powerful conversations about men's health and mental wellness:

These aren't motivational videos. They're honest conversations from men who learned that vulnerability is what saved their lives.

Action Point

Watch one of these videos. Then share it with a young man you mentor or a friend who might need to hear it.

Upcoming Events

2025 NVBCC Annual Meeting & Holiday Gala

Celebrate Excellence | Elevate Connection | Embrace Community

When: December 12, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Where: Washington Dulles Airport Marriott
Who: Business leaders, veterans, and community builders in the DMV region

This is your chance to network with veteran business leaders, celebrate community excellence, and build connections that matter. If you're in the DC, Maryland, or Virginia area, mark your calendar.

Learn more and register: NVBCC.ORG

Join A Few Good MENtors:

• Be a Mentee: Learn what leadership looks like from men who've served something bigger than themselves.

• Volunteer as a Mentor: If you're a veteran, your service isn't over. Young men need what you have to offer.

• Share G.R.O.W.: Forward this newsletter to a veteran in your life and ask them how they're continuing to serve.

Real men don't just serve once. They serve for life, one mentee at a time, one example at a time, one act of leadership at a time.