Toronto Movember community brave the cold waters of Lake Ontario for the 5th annual Polar Plunge

This past weekend, Torontonians braved the elements and took to the frigid waters of Lake Ontario, taking part in the 5th annual Movember Polar Plunge. An absolutely epic Mo Your Own Way challenge, this year’s Polar Plunge boasted a crowd of over 100 men and women, coming from across the GTA, stripping down to their speedos, and banding together to take on the chilly dip for 60 seconds. That 60 seconds stands for the 60 men who will lose their lives every hour to suicide globally. A serious stunt, with a serious message.

The Polar Plunge was founded by Evan Smith. What started as a fun excuse to grow a moustache grew into something more meaningful for Evan, when he went through his own mental health struggles and decided to speak up about it during the month of Movember.

“For me, opening up was a shedding of my idea of what I thought a man should be,” said Evan, “It was very meaningful for me to be able to turn my struggle into something that was more than just me. I've always used Movember every year as a way to speak up and encourage others to open up as well.”

What started as 6 people dipping into Lake Ontario, has grown into a grassroots community-led initiative, with all proceeds going back to Movember.

“The goal of this whole thing is to do something fun together, have a laugh, but to support each other as people, support each other as men.”

Support Evan and his team’s mission to change the face of men’s health.