NEWS: Zenith partner with Distinguished Gentlemen to fight prostate cancer, crowd cheers
Ben ZachariahOne September morning each year all over the world, thousands of men wake up early to don their most dapper outfits, wax their moustaches, and mount their cafe racer motorcycles to ride together through their cities. Their aim? To raise funds and awareness for prostate cancer.
On Monday, the roar of engines interrupted the normally hushed halls of Baselworld as a cavalcade of bikes and classic cars announced the partnership between the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride and Zenith.
The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride began in 2012 in Sydney, but its popularity quickly spread internationally. Last year, over 60,000 people in almost 80 countries across the globe rode together on the same day and collectively raised $2m for prostate cancer. And it works – Mark Hawwa, the Australian founder of DGR told Time+Tide that he’s spoken to three people who manned up and had themselves tested as a direct result of awareness created by the Ride who were diagnosed with prostate cancer and are now being treated. And now, Zenith’s support will mean the DGR team can reach out to even more men.
“For us, it’s a huge step forward,” Hawwa said. “Partnering with Zenith gives us the assistance to raise more money for charity, and importantly raise more awareness.”
Zenith also showed-off their new Heritage Pilot Cafe Racer watch. Inspired by the community of bikers who modify (or ‘mod’, if you’re talking the talk) modern motorcycles in the style of stripped-down English bikes of the 1960s, the new Zenith Cafe Racer follows those cues and presents a decidedly vintage English look, yet enjoys the reliability of a modern mechanism. The 45mm aged-steel case houses a slate grey dial with granulated texture and beige lume. A slightly domed sapphire glass and leather nubuck strap completes the vintage look.
The new watch was on the wrist of Hawwa, the vintage lines matching his dapper suit and bowtie. Hawwa also told us that a special Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride Zenith watch was in the pipeline. With their support, Hawwa is hoping to outdo the money raised in 2015 and forge a tradition amongst gentlemen riders everywhere.
