Movember 2026: Day One

At 4:30 am today, the crusade began—
Nineteen campaigns, one steady plan.
From July’s start to November’s light,
My moustache rises for men’s health and fight.
Eight hundred thousand, twenty-one thousand more,
Raised by thousands who opened their door;
Since 2008, my donors have shown
That kindness builds hope—and hope is grown.
Forty-one thousand already this year,
Toward sixty thousand, the target is near;
Australia’s highest, second worldwide—
Not for the numbers, but those by my side.
MOV~ing Mackay Cricket Club, a team with heart,
Has played its part from the very start:
One million, ninety-seven thousand strong,
A cricket club turning care into song.
So walk the kilometres, share the word,
Let every conversation be heard;
For fathers, brothers, mates, and friends—
The Mo begins, and hope ascends.
My campaign links and A–Z Men’s-Health blogs extend the message beyond fundraising:

Dr Sanjeev Bandi

5:30 at Primal, Last Light of October

At 5:30, Evan Street is still half-asleep,
The sky a bruised orange over Mackay,
And Primal Coffee opens its doors
like a lantern in the dark.
Halloween weekend lingers in the air—
A paper ghost taped to the window,
Someone’s costume from last night
Folding itself into the morning crowd.
The grinder growls its first low thunder.
Steam curls like breath in a cold room.
A flat white lands warm in my hands,
And the day begins to make sense.
Outside, the last day of October
Wears its mask and prepares to leave:
Pumpkins softening on porches,
Sugar ghosts dissolving into November.
Tomorrow, the crusade begins—
Clean-shaven faces, a month of moustaches,
Conversations about men’s health
growing stubbornly above the lip.
But today, there is only this:
The first sip, bitter and bright,
The street waking beneath a fading moon,
And coffee strong enough to face whatever comes.

Our Movember 2026 begins on 1 November, with participants traditionally starting clean-shaven; Primal Coffee’s Evan Street café in Mackay is known for its early-morning opening and on-site roasting.

5:30 at Primal, Last Light of October

At 5:30, Evan Street is still half-asleep,
The sky a bruised orange over Mackay,
And Primal Coffee opens its doors
like a lantern in the dark.
Halloween weekend lingers in the air—
A paper ghost taped to the window,
Someone’s costume from last night
Folding itself into the morning crowd.
The grinder growls its first low thunder.
Steam curls like breath in a cold room.
A flat white lands warm in my hands,
And the day begins to make sense.
Outside, the last day of October
Wears its mask and prepares to leave:
Pumpkins softening on porches,
Sugar ghosts dissolving into November.
Tomorrow, the crusade begins—
Clean-shaven faces, a month of moustaches,
Conversations about men’s health
growing stubbornly above the lip.
But today, there is only this:
The first sip, bitter and bright,
The street waking beneath a fading moon,
And coffee strong enough to face whatever comes.

Our Movember 2026 begins on 1 November, with participants traditionally starting clean-shaven; Primal Coffee’s Evan Street café in Mackay is known for its early-morning opening and on-site roasting.

A Time to Know

A quiet gland, a hidden place,
Yet health can leave a visible trace.
A number rises, not a decree—
A signal asking: please listen to me.
PSA is not a final word,
Nor every worry to be feared;
One test may open careful doors,
To questions, context, and wise discourse.
Know your body, know your risk,
Let knowledge guide what comes next,
For screening choices work best made
With doctor, evidence, and personal shade.
An MRI may map the way,
PI-RADS helps the picture say
Where further questions deserve a look—
Not verdicts written in a book.
A biopsy seeks the truth within;
Grade and stage help medicine
To tell a slow and watchful course
From disease that calls for greater force.
Some cancers rest, observed with care;
Some need treatment, skill, and prayer.
From genes and tumours, scans and tests,
Precision seeks what suits us best.
And when disease has travelled far,
Hope still meets it where we are—
With systemic care, with science new,
With teams who see the whole of you.
So speak, ask, learn, and do not wait
To understand your risk and state.
Early awareness can change the road—
Lightening fear, sharing the load.
For prostate health is more than fear:
It is informed choice, and being near
To those who listen, guide, and see
The person behind the pathology.

Arielle’s AI-Driven Workspace

In a world that rushes, fast and loud,
Arielle stands out from the crowd,
Your personal AI workspace, smart and true,
Designed to organize your day for you.
Each morning starts with a briefing bright,
Insights that guide your day just right,
Through voice and chat, she hears your call,
A workspace built to do it all.
Your email hums, your calendars align,
Meetings, tasks, and notes combine,
Documents and reminders too,
All in one place, made for you.
Plan smarter with her clever mind,
Work faster, leave the clutter behind,
Stay in control of every day,
With Arielle, there is a better way.
A simple interface, powerful and clean,
The modern productivity machine,
So if your days feel hard to tame,
Let Arielle put them in a frame.
A quick note before you start her song,
Subscriptions keep her running strong,
Arielle Pro renews, that is true,
Through your Apple Account, billed to you.
Choose monthly or yearly, whichever you please,
Displayed before purchase, with ease,
Cancel anytime — but keep in mind,
At least 24 hours before the end you will find,
Settings in your Apple Account are there,
To manage or cancel with proper care.
So here is to Arielle, your daily guide,
Intelligence always by your side,
From first briefing to the evening’s end,
She is more than an app — she is a trusted friend.
Play your day to her engaging tune,
A workspace that works while you rest or swoon,
With Arielle, your tasks align,
Plan smarter, work faster — and truly shine.

❤️NXTU: The New You❤️-coming soon to Google Play and App Store

No two journeys ever look the same,
So NXTU starts by learning your name —
Your rhythm, your reasons, your why and your way,
Building a plan that fits your each day.
E is for energy, earned step by step,
X marks the progress you make while you sleep;
Tracking your triumphs, both big and small,
Celebrating each win — you deserve them all.
Through plateaus and pitfalls, we are there at your side,
With workouts that meet you wherever you stride,
Not punishing drills, but movement that is fun —
Your body, your tempo, your race to be run.
Uncover the version you knew all along,
The stronger, the brighter, the singing-your-song,
Where wellness feels less like a mountain to climb
And more like a friend walking with you in time.
So here is to the journey, the sweat and the grin,
The habits you build and the strength found within —
Your story, your pace, your personal view:
NXTU is here — the NEW YOU starts with YOU.

Have been asked to talk at the REV for REASON@TWO FATHOMS BREWERY in CANNONVALE on 7th NOV 2026 and will be taking my beloved RX5 for the drive to raise awareness and monies for Movember

The Wizard of Australia

From Mackay’s sunlit cricket ground,
A quiet wizard can be found—
With stethoscope, with steady hand,
And moustache grown at Movember’s command.
Dr Sanjeev Bandi, nineteen campaigns strong,
Has turned compassion into song:
Eight hundred thousand, six hundred nineteen—
A lifetime’s gift to men unseen.
This year, thirty-three thousand seven sixty-five
Already raised to keep hope alive;
With sixty thousand in his sight,
He marches on through Mo-bro night.
Australia’s highest individual name,
Not for applause, nor fleeting fame,
But for the fathers, sons, and mates
Whose health he helps before it’s late.
And MOV~ing Mackay Cricket Club,
With community spirit, heart, and grub,
Has bowled a century of care:
One million, eighty-nine thousand there.
In 2025, eighty-three thousand one sixty-six—
A team whose kindness never quits;
This year, thirty-four thousand seven forty-six,
Still building bridges, still fixing bricks.
From North Queensland’s warm, wide land
To every man who needs a hand,
The wizard’s spell is not a trick—
It is talk, it is check-ups, it is “Are you sick?”
So raise a mug, salute the Mo,
Let awareness, funds, and courage grow;
For every step and every plea
Says: Men, your health matters—talk to me.
His A-to-Z of men’s wellbeing,
In blogs that keep the message freeing,
Reminds us all, with wisdom clear:
Early action conquers fear.
Here is to the Wizard, brave and kind,
With Mackay’s generosity close behind—
May the target fall, the totals soar,
And men live longer than ever before.

Dedicated to the unrelenting support of the communities of Mackay and Whitsundays.

When life feels heavy, skies drawn low,
And every path feels hard to know,
A gentle “How are you?” can be
A hand held out across the sea.
It will not make every storm depart,
Or lift the clouds from someone’s heart—
But sitting with them through the rain
Can ease the weight, can soften pain.
So check in—not just today,
Let care be something we convey.
Ask “R U OK?” and listen through:
Together, we can see each other through.

Dr Sanjeev BANDI
#WorldMentalHealthDay #WMHD2026 #TogetherWeThrive

My Distinguished Gentleman's Drive
Sunday, 27th September 2026 — Mackay

From Richmond's quiet streets at dawn,
Where cane mills slept and birdsongs call,
The morning light came softly on —
A Sunday meant to hold us all.
At nine, the men assembled round —
No suits of armour, just bare hearts.
In loss and grief, we common found
The hardest roads, the gentlest starts.
Then engines woke from slumber past,
And my classic Mazda RX-5 lined up,
Where grief gave way to heartbeats
And wheels began their coastal hymn.
The Breakwater stood strong and wide,
The harbour's mouth, the open blue.
A gentleman tipped his hat to the sea
And set my course for something true.
Shoal Point — the fairest curve of shore,
Where children splashed and pelicans glided,
Where every wave seemed to restore
The peace that grief had set aside.
Then Eimeo — the headland's pride —
Where coral sea and green collided,
Where ocean stretched, wide and high,
And hearts were bathed in light at last.The Blue Lagoon, still and deep,
A mirror for the cloudless blue,
Where water sleeps and memories keep
Their place beside the old and true.
For this was always more than a drive.
The Distinguished Gentleman's road
Is grief made mobile, kept alive
By miles and men who shared the load.
The polish on the bonnet, the tear
Wiped quickly at the meeting's end,
Both said the same thing, loud and clear:
We grieve, we drive, we rise again.
From Richmond's dawn to Blue Lagoon,
From Evan Street to harbour's wall —
A Sunday stitched with loss and tune,
The bravest, gentlest drive of all.


Dr Sanjeev Bandi

15 Critical Minutes

Fifteen minutes, freely given—
Not a speech, but space to live
Inside the pause where pain can speak
To someone listening, week by week.
You knock on doors that stay closed long;
You sit with silence, wrongs, and song.
No perfect words are asked of you,
Only a heart that follows through.
You may not know the edge they near,
The fear they hide, the unseen tear—
But one compassionate call can be
The rope that leads them back to “we.”
Fifteen minutes may not cure,
But it can open, soft and sure,
A door where isolation fades—
And hope, at last, begins to wade.

Dr Sanjeev BANDI
Digital Champion & Mentor
CoderDojo - Mackay@Splitspaces
Clinical Advisor - UroAI®
CAPTAIN, MOV~ing Mackay Cricket Club* Movember Community Ambassador* Platinum Club Level 3 Member * 1 of 2 Diamond MO Award Winners in 2025* 1 of 2 Platinum Members of Movember Hall of Fame in Australia- https://mobro.co/sanjeevbandi #movember #menshealthmatters # mensmentalhealth #suicide #SuicidePrevention # WSPD2026 #ChangingtheNarrative

On the Road for the Ones We Love

This Sunday, the engines wake,
Polished chrome and morning light,
Dapper caps and vintage steel
Set the quiet towns alight.
Every mile becomes a promise,
Every turn a call to care—
For fathers, brothers, sons, and friends
Whose burdens we too often bear.
We drive not merely for the thrill,
Nor for the gleam of classic form,
But so a man might speak his fear,
And find a shelter in the storm.
Through winding roads and open skies,
The journey carries more than speed:
It carries hope to early tests,
To kinder words in time of need.
For Movember lifts the voices
That silence nearly stole away,
Funding research, care, and courage
For brighter, longer, healthier days.
So raise a hand, not just a glass;
Let every mile be proudly vowed.
See you on the road, good sir—
The cause is worth the journey now.

The Distinguished Gentleman’s Drive brings classic-car communities together to raise funds and awareness for prostate cancer and men’s mental health through Movember.

I will be proudly driving my vintage 1976 RX 5 13 B Ported who turned 50 last week through the streets of Mackay to support the efforts having already raised $26,095 already this year in my 19th Movember campaign individually and an amazing $ 792,949 since 2008 and $26,130 as a Team - MOV~ing Mackay Cricket Club and an incredible $ 1,080,449.16 since 2011-https://mobro.co/sanjeevbandi

A Poem for World Suicide Prevention Day

Out of the Shadows, We Walk
Today the shadows lift, though some still stay,
As footsteps gather, quiet, on the way.
Nine kilometres for the nine we lose—
Each step a promise, each breath a choice to choose
Hope over silence, connection over fear,
To hold the ones we love a little nearer here.
Behind each number is a name, a face,
A life once valued, held in love’s embrace.
For families, friends, for partners, carers too,
For colleagues, communities—this walk is for you.
We honour those we miss, we stand beside
The ones who walk through pain they cannot hide.
Through connection, compassion, hope we weave,
A net of care for all who struggle to believe
That morning comes again, that help is near,
That reaching out is brave, not something to fear.
We walk to break the stigma, open doors,
To say: your story matters, yours, and yours.
So lace your shoes, step out where light breaks through,
And walk for those who need a hand like you.
Together we can turn the tide, extend
A word, a call, a message: I’m your friend.
Out of the shadows, together we ascend—
Nine thousand steps toward a gentler end.

Dr Sanjeev BANDI
Digital Champion & Mentor
CoderDojo - Mackay@Splitspaces
Clinical Advisor - UroAI®
CAPTAIN, MOV~ing Mackay Cricket Club* Movember Community Ambassador* Platinum Club Level 3 Member * 1 of 2 Diamond MO Award Winners in 2025* 1 of 2 Platinum Members of Movember Hall of Fame in Australia- https://mobro.co/sanjeevbandi #movember #menshealthmatters # mensmentalhealth #suicide #SuicidePrevention

“R U OK ANY day?”

It is that time again—feeds fill with care,
With stories of struggle, of loss, of repair.
RU OK? Day meets World Suicide Prevention,
Two calls to connect, to heal, to mention.
Not just the ones we worry might fall,
But every friend, neighbour, co-worker, all.
“R U OK ANY day?”—the question takes root,
In kindness that listens, not cupcakes or loot.
Honour the lost, the survivors, the carers,
The voices once silenced, now brave declarers.
“Change the Narrative,” the theme for this year,
Replace fear and shame with compassion, not fear.
So check in with meaning, reach in, reach out,
Let storytelling spark what we are all about.
Together we shift, together we save—
One conversation can brighten a grave.

Dr Sanjeev BANDI

Reefside Triumph

At the Great Barrier Reef Arena, beneath a blazing sky,
The Aussies rose and made the rivals sigh.
By an innings and fifty-one, the verdict rang,
A golden day where Southern voices sang.
Mitchell Starc came storming through the heat,
With fire in his arm and thunder in his feet.
He bent the ball, he found the edge, he struck,
Turning every hopeful moment into luck.
The stumps lay scattered, the scoreboard told,
Of courage, pace, and nerves of steel and gold.
From reef to grandstand, cheers rolled like the sea—
A match-winning masterclass for all to see.
So raise a toast where coral colours run:
Australia’s finest job was neatly done.
An innings win, the margin bright and stark—
A Reefside triumph, lit by Mitchell Starc.

DR SANJEEV BANDI