Men of tech strip down for a good cause
In honor of Movember, 12 corporate dudes get stripped and 'stached for "The Sexy Men of Technology" calendar. Here's a sneak peek.
November is the month when every CNET lover's favorite holiday arrives -- Cyber Monday, of course. It's also the time of the year when guys everywhere grow in their mustaches in support of men's health as part of the "Movember" initiative.
To celebrate Movember and increase awareness of the campaign, global tech company LiveTiles has partnered with ad agency GSW to create a calendar called "Sexy Men of Technology."
"As a company operating in an industry that is predominantly male, we were looking for a creative way to make some noise around men's health and to encourage men to go to the doctor and take their health seriously," Karl Redenbach, co-founder and CEO of LiveTiles, said in a statement. "The calendar serves as a great vehicle to convey that message, and what better way to do so than through humor."
As the CEO of LiveTiles, the creator of the calendar, Karl Redenback shows he's more than just an idea man.
While the calendar's title might have you thinking you're going to get to spy on Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk in the buff, the tech guys who dropped their drawers for the calendar are slightly lesser known. Some examples include Mr. September, Scott Bounds, who is the US media and cable industry lead for Microsoft; Mr. October, Aaron Wright, who serves as the systems engineer for Inventiv Clinical Solutions; and Redenbach himself, who takes a turn as Mr. January.
"The technology industry is approximately 75 percent male and 100 percent of these men have prostates," said Marci Piasecki, president of GSW. "Prostate cancer is one of the main conditions that Movember focuses on each year. By using humorous insights like this, the hope is this approach will make men take a second look at their health, inspire them to donate to issues that affect men around the globe, and take control over their own health."
For December, Alex Bonilla, a network engineer at AXA Technology Services, braves the cold (sort of) shirtless for a good cause.
In addition to featuring a bunch of tech captains of industry being incredibly good sports, the calendar covers a range of topics each month like testicular and skin cancers, healthy eating, hydration and safe sex.
To date, the Movember Foundation has raised over $650 million to educate men around the world about health and wellness. The idea of the mustache is to get people to begin a dialogue about how guys need to take better care of themselves, while the "move" part of the campaign focuses on getting sedentary men -- like some tech guys who work in offices all day -- to include more exercise in their lives.
The calendar is available from the Sexy Men of Technology website in a printed version for $35 (about £23, AU$50) and as a digital download for $20 (about £13, AU$28). All proceeds benefit the Movember Foundation.