'Staches in November; Exclusive Interview with Harvard Men's Hockey Captain

They call it the 'mo. Mutton chops, handlebars, Fu Manchu—the time-honored mustache has drifted in and out of style. But in November, men around the world throw down their razors and bring back the 'stache.

Many of these men choose embrace their upper lip hair-growing abilities as part of Movember, a month-long celebration to raise awareness about prostate cancer and other men's health concerns.

According to the Movember Foundation, "Mo Bros effectively become walking, talking billboards for the 30 days of November."

Students all across campus are growing their mustaches out, some for charity and some just for the fun of it.

We had the exclusive opportunity to interview one of these men. Ryan M. Grimshaw '11, captain of the men's hockey team and pioneer in The Art of Not Shaving, is leading the entire team in Movember, heading the collection of donations for prostate cancer research and men's health awareness.

Why Movember?

"Movember" or "No Shave November" is a big thing in the hockey world, so we've done it the last couple of years—not for charity or anything, but just kind of joking around. This year, we decided to actually do something with it.

Do you normally grow out your facial hair?

I'll usually go a couple of weeks growing out my facial hair, but it's a little different when it's a mustache. A little more attention to that.

Does your mustache have a name?

Last year, when we did this, a kid on our team—one of the French kids, our goalie Raphael Girard—he started calling me Handlebar Jim because of the handles, so I guess that would be the name for it. Handlebar Jim. I don't know. He thought it made sense.

Has your mustache helped your game on the ice?

It definitely helps with team chemistry. I don't think you see anything on the ice from it, but I think it does kind of make for a more enjoyable atmosphere in the room. Kids come in every day, and they'll have a little mustache and they'll grow it out for a week with a shape or something. It does make it more funny and you can ease back on that when it gets more stressful.

Has your mustache helped your game with the ladies off the ice?

I wish it could. I don't know. It definitely gets the attention of them, but I don't know if it's for the good reasons. It's not exactly the best looking thing, I think.

Do you have any mustache-related pick-up lines?

No. Nothing like Ron Burgundy or anything.

If you could have any famous person's mustache, whose would you pick?

I don't know a lot of mustaches that are famous, but I would say, from the hockey world, George Parros. He's from the [Anaheim] Ducks. He's always a famous guy during this whole Movember thing. He always sports a huge mustache during the season. It's pretty big.

How are you going to feel when it's time to say goodbye to Handlebar Jim?

I might miss it a bit. I think we've grown attached in the past couple of weeks. It ends with November, so still a week and a half to go. I'm going to a kid on our team's Thanksgiving, and I'm not sure what they're going to think of it at dinner, with all the relatives there and the mustached kids in the room.