Growing a Mustache for Men’s Mental Health

Since 2024, I have cultivated a sense of appreciation, confidence, and determination, personally and professionally, from a mental health crisis that almost took my own life. That mental health journey has propelled my life into uncharted territory, from becoming elected on the Glens Falls City Council, freelance writing for a local paper, unraveling historical moments for the Warren County Historical Society, and making new friends. Throughout all of these exuberantly incredible moments, Movember has been one of the keys in recovery.

Movember has helped fund documentaries and online tools to provide guides on overcoming mental hurtles with depression, anxiety, and addiction. Their financial assistance with the Ken Burn’s documentary, Hiding in Plain Sight, has illuminated the variety of mental illnesses as well as the treatments available for young people. The Movember Conversations online tool helps instill confidence and knowledge for tackling tough conversations, like heartbreak, isolation, stress, and aging. Created by licensed psychologists, it utilizes basic tenements of connection to allow people to feel heard, share vulnerabilities, and build relationships. The organization continues to sponsor grants for veterans and first-responders as well as workshops to bring people together throughout the world.

My grandfather, Charles Palladino Senior, as well as my father, Dennis Palladino, were able to outwardly show their emotions. Their openness is a wonderful and powerful gift of humanity, and they left an amazing legacy on the world. So many men are not open to sharing their minds, sometimes out of fear or frustration. Opening up about our feelings and emotions is the only way acknowledge shared struggles and find avenues of support. Showing a little vulnerability makes us human, allowing compassion, forgiveness, and empathy to grow stronger in our communities. It all starts with our collective voices.

This year, after two years of growing a thick beard, I ventured to my local barber to trim the beard into a dignified mustache. As I looked into the mirror once my barber Garth finished, my eyes filled with tears. Staring back from the mirror was my father, his thick mustache, smile, and receding hairline meshing into my own face. Since he passed away on May 31st, 2026, I have recalled a lifetime of memories, cultivating a section on my website to honor his legacy. I have conquered the Philadelphia Distance Run wearing his face on my shirt, along with my cousins and brother, to honor his perseverance for running marathons.

But a simple facial change of a mustache imbues a hard truth that he is gone. And my brother, sister, and I are left to continue moving forward with his spirit shining through our own experiences. His life may have ended, but he will not be forgotten.

Through this November, I will conquer thirty-five miles, venturing back to the Mike Nolan 5K in South Glens Falls and the Run for Kids 5K in Hudson Falls, embark on my inaugural participation in the Fall Back 5-Miler in Saratoga Springs, relive memories at the Moorestown Turkey Trot with my brother, continue running and collecting trash with the Glens Falls Run Club on Tuesday evenings, and wake up early on Friday mornings with the Adirondack Runners. Each step of the journey will showcase the breath of the unique places in New York and New Jersey as well as the people that make our community special. This month will not only support the Movember organization but countless other organizations that build resilience and connection, from the South Glens Falls Faculty Association, Hudson Falls Rotary Club, Adirondack Runners, Saratoga Stryders, and Moorestown High School Cross-Country. Grow the stache, raise money for charity, and keep opening up about our collective struggles to become a beacon of light for all. That is what my father would have wanted.