J&J Studios recently received the wonderful opportunity of being part of the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride in Philadelphia. Our team followed around this great group of bikers and captured this amazing day and ride for them. In this article, I’ll tell you about the ride and show you the photos we captured. I will also explain why you should hire an event photographer for these types of rides. 

About the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride

The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride is all about taking pride in “riding dapper for a cause.” This motorcycle ride brings together both vintage and classic style bikes and riders from all over the globe to raise money and awareness for prostate cancer research and mental health illness among men. The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride began in Sydney, Australia by a man named Mark Hawwa. The inspiration came from the television show titled Mad Men, where a guy (Don Draper) was wearing his best suit and riding a classic motorcycle. After seeing this, Mark Hawwa knew that the best way to get people together for such an important event would be to encourage them to do a themed ride in their finest suits. Ultimately, this would connect communities around the world who want to raise money to support the men in their lives.

Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride Achievements So Far

The Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride started in 2012, which means this year marked the 10th anniversary! In 2012, around 3,000 riders showed up across 64 cities. This seemed like a big feat, but that number has continued to grow. Other than the pandemic years, the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride has seen over 116,000 riders worldwide. This amazing organization has been spotted riding in almost 700 cities and over 100 different countries. One year, it raised over 6 million dollars!

Throughout the ten years that it has been going strong, close to $32 million has been raised and over 340,000 motorcycle riders have participated. To say the least, the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride has been a huge success, and it keeps getting better each year! J&J Studios is thrilled to have been given the opportunity to photograph this big ride that occurred in Philadelphia, and we cannot wait to see what the future holds and how much money can go toward such great causes!

How Can You Get Involved and Participate in this Movement?

If you want to get involved in a meaningful organization and movement, the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride is an incredible choice! All you must do is register your profile, make a donation or share your profile to raise funds, put on your best suit, and ride through the heart of your chosen city for men’s health.

It’s not hard to get involved, and every biker we talked to at the event seemed to be enjoying themselves. The idea is to have fun riding your bike while also remembering that you are honoring and raising funds for the great men in your lives who may be experiencing mental health issues or prostate cancer. When you think of these two horrible illnesses and how they need more funds to help prevent them, you will immediately be drawn to wanting to make a difference by riding in the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride!

About the Issues that the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride Focuses On

Prostate Cancer:

Unfortunately, prostate cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer among men. The prostate is a gland located below the bladder. Cancer occurs in the prostate when the cells in this area reproduce too fast. If it is not treated quickly enough, the cancer cells will spread to other parts of the body. Prostate cancer occurs without any symptoms in the early stages, making it a dangerous form of cancer.

Women do not have a prostate. Therefore, this type of cancer only affects men. It is more common among men who are 50 or older, and it is known to be hereditary. With that being said, if you are a male with a father or brother who has experienced this type of cancer, it is a recommendation for you to be tested as soon as possible. If prostate cancer runs in your family, you are twice as likely to get the disease as well.

It is also important to know that men of African or Afro-Caribbean descent are more likely to get prostate cancer. If you are over the age of 45, are of these ethnicities, or have a family member who has had prostate cancer, it would be beneficial for you to start talking about getting tested with your doctor as quickly as possible. The quicker this disease is caught, the better chance of survival that you will have.

Men’s Mental Health:

You may find it surprising to learn that 3 out of 4 suicides are men. As a matter of fact, over 500,000 men die from suicides every single year. That means there is a man who dies from suicide about every minute. The reason for these suicides vary as there is no one single reason for suicide. However, it is a known fact that if you improve mental health, you will decrease the chances. Therefore, the goal is to address untreated mental health issues among men.

A lot of men believe in “toughing it out and struggling alone,” and the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride hopes to raise awareness that there is no shame in checking on your mental wellbeing. If you are a man who has thoughts of depression or suicide, you should seek help from your doctors or loved ones as soon as possible. You are not alone. Please don’t waste another second of living unhappy when you can get the help you deserve from a professional.

The Programs that This Ride Funds

Movember: 

Movember believes that “too many men are dying young to stay silent.” It is the leading charity trying to change the face of men’s health. By the year 2030, Movember aims to reduce the number of premature deaths among men by 25 percent. This organization focuses on leading causes of deaths among men, such as suicides, prostate cancer, and testicular cancer. Since 2003, Movember has been working extremely hard to provide funds to over 1,200 men’s health projects throughout the globe.

Biomedical Research and Clinical Registries:

There is a lot of unknown information as well as gaps found in the research of prostate cancer. Therefore, the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride provides funding to clinical registries and biomedical research organizations to gather information about how men are doing during and after treatment, compare patients around the world with different practices, and improve the care that they offer. The objective is to improve men’s quality of life as well as extend the lives of those with prostate cancer. Finding the treatments with the greatest success rate is #1 to the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride!

Veterans and First Responder Programs: 

Since veterans and first responders are at higher risk for mental health issues and suicides, the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride provides funds to programs that supports these individuals. They believe that it could save lives because there is a lot of evidence supporting it. The organization does its research to find the best community-based programs that improve the lives of veterans and first responders across multiple countries such as Ireland, Australia, the United States, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and more.

Why Should You Hire an Event Photographer for These Type of Rides and Benefits?

A professional event photographer is vital to help spread the word about your event. Whether you are raising money, spreading awareness, or want to showcase your event to get people to come out and join in the future, an event photographer is a necessity.

As a Philadelphia event photographer, J&J Studios knows the ins and outs of creating the best images of your event to show off to the public. The goal is to document your event and show others what they are missing out on. In addition, when you are trying to raise awareness and money for a specific cause, taking photos of your event will show others how serious you are. For example, the people who see the images from the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride will immediately see the smiles on everyone’s faces, the turnout for the ride that day, how amazing and dapper each individual looked, and the incredible awareness that was raised! It will also increase the chances of people wanting to attend your event next year.

The other good news is that you will not have to continue stopping what you are doing to capture photos. You can leave everything to the photographer as they have the skills and training to successfully capture all the details. All you need to do is show up, have fun, look at the camera often, and educate everyone who attends. J&J Studios is an excellent Philly event photographer that will ensure that you receive returned images of great quality that you will be excited to share with the world.

Book J&J Studios as Your Pennsylvania Event Photographer Today!

If you are planning to host an event soon and need an event photographer, J&J Studios has you covered! We enjoy being part of events and photographing them. It’s even better when they have a special purpose or are raising awareness for a specific disease or illness! Our photographers are located in the Greater Philadelphia area, but we travel anywhere in the tri-state area. If this sounds like a good fit, please fill out our contact form by clicking here. After you have submitted it, a member of our staff will be in touch with you soon. Our crew looks forward to meeting you, hearing about your event, and capturing stunning photos for you to show everyone!