Grow courage, speak out!

M E N traditionally don’t talk about their problems openly, says Lotus FM personality Ryan Naicker.

“And that needs to change ASAP!”

Naicker, 32, pictured, is best known for his quirky oneliners on the popular Morning Rush show, takes part every year in the Movember challenge, growing a moustache during November to raise awareness of men’s health issues in a fun way.

The show’s Neville Pillay has joined Naicker. For Pillay, Movember is personal. “As I enter my forties, I’ve become acutely aware of the challenges faced by older men, especially – one of those is embarrassment. Men feel embarrassed to talk about things like testicular cancer or anything relating to male sexual health. I want to show them it’s perfectly natural to be aware of and talk about cancer and go for check-ups.”

Apart from growing a moustache, Naicker will be using his social media platforms to direct his followers to the Movember website. “Here they can pledge to support this brilliant initiative. People can sign up and donate on Movember.com.”

Naicker said the stigma around men’s health issues needs to be changed. “Knowledge is power, and educating men in our country is the most important thing right now. I try to promote these and others issues on social media, hoping to change just one life.”

So what’s the secret to a healthy-looking moustache?

“Patience. Lots of patience. And tolerance lol,” he said via e-mail. “It’s not as easy as letting it grow and ‘bam!’. It’s a trial and error thing, a labour of love almost.”

His advice to fellow Bros’?

“We are stronger together!

‘Mo The more we speak about it, the more we can change it.

“It’s simple. Go get yourself screened for prostrate cancer and live healthy. Together, we have numbers. Together we can inform ourselves. Together we can beat it.”

Follow Naicker’s progress on Twitter: @ryannaicker.