Over 1,000 well-heeled gentlemen, and a few gentlewomen, gathered on some of the world’s best vintage motorbikes at a secret East London meeting point on Sunday.
The London leg joined 91,000 participants in 580 cities across 95 countries, the annual Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride raised £3.3 million for the Movember Foundation.
The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride (DGR) was founded in Australia by Mark Hawwa in 2012, and was first inspired by an image of Mad Men’s Don Draper, astride a classic motorcycle.
Mark decided a themed ride would be a great way to raise the profile and awareness of prostate cancer and men’s mental health and challenge the often-negative stereotype of men on motorcycles.
“It’s been amazing and very humbling to see so many people from all around the world ride dapper for men’s health this year,” said Mark Hawwa, founder of DGR.
“We’ve heard some incredible stories and started some potentially life saving conversations. I am hugely thankful to the ride hosts, volunteers, sponsors, participants and donors for making DGR the amazing event we saw today.”
Comedian, actor and presenter Rufus Hound, and participant of the London GDR, commented: “It’s important to support men’s health causes simply because men are much less likely to deal with the things that are likely to kill them.
“We are all way more likely to think ‘it will be fine’, until it isn’t, than our female counterparts. And yes of course, these are generalisations but just on the maths alone, suicide and depression is killing men at a rate of knots, as is prostate cancer.”
Useful websites and helplines:
- Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393
- Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI - this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill.)
- Get Connected is a free advice service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email: help@getconnected.org.uk