CHICAGO — As Movember — the month where men try to grow a mustache to help raise money for men's health issues — winds down, some "Mo's" like Wicker Park resident Jacob Abraham will be bidding goodbye to his 'stache come Monday.
"About 90 percent of my friends love it and I like it, too, but my wife hates it. She says the mustache is not you, not your thing. She can't wait until Dec. 1," Abraham said earlier this month while getting a trim at Floyd's 99 Barber Shop in Wicker Park, 1409 N. Milwaukee Ave.
Abraham, a 34-year-old self-described "serial entrepreneur" who owns Gallery Bar at 738 N. Clark St. in River North, said he was always curious how he would look with a mustache.
Though he had wanted to participate in Movember in previous years, hesitation on how he would look while growing it out and attending business meetings prevented him from doing it.
"This year I decided I was doing it; I don't care," Abraham said.
Rather than solicit money from friends, Abraham said he is donating $250 to the Movember Foundation, where donations will be accepted through March.
On Wednesday, a Movember spokeswoman said that there are 7,349 registered "Mo’s" — the name for participants — in the Chicago area, and they had thus far raised $602,242.25.
Earlier this week, Fast Company reported that the average "worth" of a mustache in Chicago, one of Movember's "top performing cities," is $150, based on fundraising from 2013.
Roger Romo, a Humboldt Park resident, said he has raised $25 for his Movember efforts.
Romo, a construction worker and nursing student, is a regular customer at Joe's Barber Shop, 2641 W. Fullerton Ave. in Logan Square, where participation in Movember has waned in recent years, according to a barber there who picked up the phone during a busy pre-Thanksgiving rush of customers Wednesday afternoon.
"A lot of guys are wearing full beards now, so not a lot of Movember stuff here," said the barber, who declined to be named.
And for those guys who are planning to shave their 'staches off a few days early, at least one Twitter user is cautioning against it.
"Do not. I repeat-do NOT shave your mustache [sic] before Thanksgiving. The conversations it will start are priceless. #Movember," tweeted @MoSisterKaren.
Contributing: Howard Ludwig
Check out Chicago's Movember social media highlights on Instagram and Twitter, sourced from folks who used hashtags #Movember and #chicago
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