"Very sadly I had two very good friends of mine who took their life in their 20s. That was the first time I had ever been exposed to mental health battles like depression, suicide and anxiety," he said.

Mr Ryan was 23-years-old at the time and says his group of friends had no knowledge about mental health issues.

"Young men certainly didn't talk about them and we certainly didn't talk about what was going on in our lives. We had a lot of bravado, like some men do have, the old 'she'll be right attitude' came into play a bit."

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The friends looked around for a charity to support and found Movember.

"It really resonated with us. The idea of being able to grow a moustache, to look a bit cheesy but it doing knowing our moustaches would start conversations in regards to men's health," Mr Ryan said.

In the last 12 years, the conversations Mr Ryan has with his friends has changed. He's also started working for the charity organisation.

"Now my friends and I are quite open books. No topic is hidden under a table. I like to think, and do see, communities around Australia are starting to have more impactful conversations around mental health," Mr Ryan said.

Figures released earlier in the year by Movember, following a global study by the Social Research Centre, found 52 per cent of Australian men had not been asked how they were coping during the COVID-19 pandemic.

There were also 23 per cent of men who said their mental health had gotten worse during the first six weeks of the pandemic.

This year, those taking part in Movember have plenty of options to raise money and awareness, it's not just about growing a mo.

There's also Move for Movember, which encourages Mo Brothers or Sisters to walk or run 60 kilometres during the month, the option to host a fundraising Mo-ment or some other wildcard way of taking part.

More information on Movember, as well as the instructions for signing up, can be found on the Movember website.