“The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride unites classic and vintage styled motorcycle riders from all over the world to raise funds and awareness for prostate cancer research and men’s mental health.” – gentlemansride.com
The inaugural ride was in Sydney Australia in 2012. The organiser, Mark Hawwa, got the idea from watching an episode of ‘Mad Men’ and created a themed ride that would be used to bring niche riders together for a yearly event, to raise vital funds and awareness for prostate cancer and mental health world-wide.
The event was a massive success and so spread from 64 cities in Australia, to over 100 countries world-wide, bringing together hundreds of thousands of riders from all backgrounds to this day.
When the Director of Barberstown Castle Hotel came to us for support at this year’s event, our team were confused why a group of bikers would want a health and wellness startup to come along to their event. We had never heard of the work this group had been undertaking nationwide for so many years. They left us gobsmacked at the level of effort and comradery they all shared together with all their counterparts world-wide, and we knew this was a calling we were meant to support.
Our team hit the ground running with the aim to get our Prostate Specific Antigen test online and tested as soon as possible. We wanted to give back to the men and women who have been fighting to raise awareness and funds by supporting them in their own health journeys. For this reason, we made our PSA test available, months ahead of its official launch, and free of charge to all that took part on the day!
Making our test available to so many on the day was no simple feat, we took our knowledge of the digital and online environment to provide a solution that would suit all attendees. Our pop-up stand was up within a few minutes and we began our meet and greet with all the riders. They were astonished to hear that a company like empowerDX was even possible in this day and age. No longer was their GP the first port of call, they could now empower themselves in their own health journey bringing them the peace of mind they needed.
Nearly all attendees had suffered from or known someone who had suffered from prostate cancer, so for them to receive a free test that would let them and their loved ones know that they were alright was a great relief to them. But what about the lady riders? For anyone under the age of 40 and for the female riders on the day, we also made our Vitamin D test available for free too. Nobody was left out this week!
After all the prizes were given out to the attendees for their wonderful outfits and their immaculate bikes, what touched us the most was the stories they told us on the day of their own struggles and the loved ones who had passed before their time. You were all in our thoughts on the day and know that empowerDX Ireland is here to support you with an ever-growing array of tests to help you with early detection of life-threatening illnesses as well as the peace of mind of checking everything else too. Take charge now, empower your health journey and live with peace of mind.