Men’s tennis grows mustaches, raises funds for men’s health awareness
Coach Billy Martin said that growing mustaches for Movember has been a good team bonding experience for the men’s tennis team. (Daily Bruin file photo)
By Korbin Placet
Nov. 25, 2015 3:27 a.m.
The UCLA men’s tennis players had often talked about doing something wacky as a team, but nothing concrete ever came of that talk.
“We have always talked about bleaching our hair or something like that for NCAAs,” said junior Travis Martin. “But we have never really done anything.”
That is, until No-Shave November came around.
Martin recently became a campus representative for the Movember Foundation, an organization that encourages men to grow mustaches to promote and raise money for men’s health. He talked to coach Billy Martin, his dad, about possibly starting a Movember fundraising team among UCLA Athletics with the tennis guys leading the way.
Billy Martin was down.
“We met with the team and everyone seemed kind of up for it,” Billy Martin said. “It has been kinda funny to watch the growth as it has gone along. It actually has been a team-bonding kind of thing – everybody looking at the mirror, and then the last couple of days doing the Just For Men for darkening and all that – it has been quite comical.”
Since the start of November, the men’s tennis players, coaching staff and several other UCLA athletes have joined together to grow mustaches for the cause.
About halfway through the month, the tennis team used Just For Men hair dye to darken the hair on their upper lip – all to start a conversation.
“People on campus are like, ‘Oh, what are you growing your mustache for?’ And then we tell them about Movember,” said Max Hammer, the director of operations for men’s tennis.
Travis Martin said raising awareness about men’s health is important because of the stubborn nature of many adult males – a lot of men will actively avoid visiting the doctor or talking about potential health issues.
“The whole idea is that your mustache creates a conversation with other people and allows you to talk about men’s health problems,” Martin said. “Men don’t typically talk about health problems they have or may have. They are a little stubborn that way.”
The coaches and staff have all produced impressive mustaches, but some players have struggled to grow hair on the upper lip, a failure that has caused some good-natured teasing among the team.
“Logan Staggs, he gets a lot (hair) on the neck, but just can’t grow a mustache. Ryoto Tachi doesn’t grow a lot of hair, but I mean one day they will,” Hammer said.
For Billy Martin, growing a mustache has been something completely new. Heading into his 23rd season, the coach said he had never gone more than eight days without shaving.
He thinks his ‘stache, now more than three weeks in the making, should entertain alumni and boosters who follow the team on social media.
“I think they will have a good laugh at seeing me and some of the team members with the mustaches,” Billy Martin said. “All my friends nowadays are kind of laughing at me, including my wife, with how ridiculous I look. Anyhow, it is for a good cause.”
The team has reached about half its goal of $3000 and will continue to take donations until the end of November.
