Feature | The DGR - London
One per minute - 60 within every hour - 1,440 on any given day.
On average, around the globe, a man takes his own life by suicide every 60 seconds.
Let's read that again. One per minute. 60 within every hour. 1,440 every day.
We lose fathers, brothers, uncles, nephews, sons, family members, colleagues, neighbours and friends daily. That's not okay.
The one-per-minute statistic is one I heard over a loudspeaker as I stood amongst 500 other people last the weekend. All 500 of us were dressed very sharply—a great collection of tweed jackets, formal shoes and more waistcoats than an international snooker tournament. Standing proudly beside everyone in attendance: a motorcycle. Modern classic-styled bikes, classic bikes, and even vintage and pre-war-era bikes. I stood among that crowd dressed proudly in a King Charles Check waistcoat and trousers and a vibrant orange knitted cotton tie and pocket square to match the motorcycle I'd soon be riding, a Triumph Speed Twin 1200 - finished in a glorious Matt Baja Orange colour scheme.
And the cause for such an assembly of eclectic motorcycles and dapperly dressed riders? The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride.
The Distinguished Gentleman's Ride, or DGR for short, unites classic and vintage-styled motorcycle riders around the world to raise funds and awareness for prostate cancer research and men's mental health.
DGR was founded in Sydney, Australia, by Mark Hawwa following inspiration from a photo of the TV Show Mad Men's Don Draper astride a classic bike and wearing his finest suit. Mark decided a themed ride would connect niche motorcycle enthusiasts and communities while crucially raising funds to support the men in our lives.
The format of DGR is simple, yet the result of the annual rides since 2012 has been nothing short of remarkable.
In 2012, the first-ever DGR rides took place, with 3000 riders partaking in 64 cities. Only a year later, 3000 riders had grown to 11,000 with events hosted in 164 cities, raising an incredible AUD $277,000 (£150,000) in aid of Prostate Cancer Foundation Australia.
By year three, in 2014, the DGR was making serious waves. The numbers had grown again, with 20,000 riders participating in 257 cities worldwide across 58 countries. But a few other exciting things also happened in 2014; the money raised reached $1.5 million (£ 1.2 million) for multiple charities specialising in combatting prostate cancer. The world was watching, as were some large global brands, as 2014 was also the year that Triumph Motorcycles signed up as a global partner giving additional support to the ride events.
Ten years following the launch of DGR in 2022, the figures were unsurprisingly even more incredible, with 94,000 riders in 804 cities across 101 countries, raising a breathtaking $6 million (£ 4.8 million) for charitable causes. The charity focus by this point had branched out beyond exclusively prostate cancer to men's mental health and suicide prevention too.
To date (not including the totals added for 2023), DGR has raised $37 million (£ 30+ million) thanks to 340,000 riders in cities spanning 121 countries around the world.
So, back to me in my Sunday best standing with 500 people and 500 bikes. We were all about to embark on just one of the many rides happening around the globe on Sunday, May 21st 2023. Despite being aware of the DGR since its early years, this would be my first ever ride on the event. My attendance for the 2023 event came as a result of Triumph kindly offering a bike for the occasion, and whilst London is no longer my local city, it is my home and therefore was the one I felt I should join.
The ride started and finished at a familiar location, The Brentford Project in West London. The venue is famous for its painted blue floors, and it houses a collection of small businesses, including a classic car dealership run by a close friend, Merlin, called Duke of London. Following an informal but helpful briefing from Ben Bowers on the Triumph stage, it was time to get the 2023 London ride on the road.
The Atmosphere at The Brentford Project was already electric. The symphony of 500 bikes firing up together brought a new layer of atmosphere to the already buzzing venue.
At the point of the bikes individually firing up, I thought about the individual fingers pressing the start buttons or, in many cases, feet on the kickstands. Each and every one of us out of the 500 was there to make a difference in some way; we'd all registered on the DGR website, we had dug out our best suits and prepared our bikes, ready to show up and raise some funds for very worthy causes.
The train of thought about the community of riders continued to develop as we took to the streets. Keeping 500 bikes in a consistent convoy is a challenge even on the simplest road networks, but it is frankly impossible through London. The group naturally divided into ever-evolving clusters, often re-grouping at junctions or traffic jams. Even though we weren't together as we were at the briefing, the impact of 500 bikes could still be felt and heard, both ahead of me and behind. The sound of the engines bounced off of buildings and echoed through the streets like voices in a crowd cheering each other on. Traffic lights and large junctions become spectacles in their own right, with the front row of traffic exclusively populated by beautifully dressed people on beautiful bikes.
Again, in a moment of reflection, whilst taking in the scenes, I realised it's more just a group of well-dressed people riding well-dressed bikes. We were five hundred individuals, each with our own individual stories to tell, their own unique experiences of struggles, our own insecurities and our own doubts, all being heard and seen on masse - it was magical.
The atmosphere became more remarkable as the route took us further into Central London. I started to notice the faces of pedestrians and other road users looking on with confusion and delight at the ever-evolving string of stylish riders passing by. Camera phones were all pointing in our direction, children were waving, and at one point, a man that I'd guess was in his 60s knelt on the pavement to gesture the 'we are not worthy' wave toward a group of us.
We rode past and through landmarks, including The Houses of Parliament and Parliament Square. Alongside Westminster Abbey, The London Eye and St Paul's Cathedral. We rode past the iconic Picadilly Circus and along Picadilly, where huge Union flags were draped above the streets, before cutting through Hyde Park, where we received waves from unexpectant passers-by. Everything about the ride felt special: the community of people, the scenery, the marshalls guiding the route, the pedestrians waving, and, crucially, the bike I was riding. Only 48 hours prior to the ride, the bike I was riding - and the first ever Triumph I've ever ridden - was rolled out the back of a van outside my home, and there I was riding it as part of an event I'd always aspired to join.
I'm not usually one for the typical red, white and blue flag-waving patriotism, but I have no shame in saying that whilst riding the British Triumph through the streets of London, the city I grew up in, with Union flags still draping the roads and buildings following the King's recent coronation, I felt pretty damn proud to be a Brit.
Outranking my temporary patriotism was the pride in simply taking part. As riders, we were all there as a community wanting to help make a difference. A community wanting to raise some money and, perhaps equally importantly, a community of people on hand to remind each other that it's okay not to feel okay. A community to remind the world that it's okay to reach out, that it's okay to ask for help and, as our friends at Takona say, that it's okay to talk.
The ride ended where it started, back on the painted blue streets of The Brentford Project. The atmosphere was as electric on arrival as it felt at departure. In every direction, everyone was smiling. The feeling of pride and community was a buzz, there were handshakes, hugs and laughter, and for a short while, I was reminded that even through the simplest of formats, a group of united people really can make a significant difference to the world even if it is by simply riding some motorbikes around a city centre.
We're losing too many men as a result of them not feeling like they're able to get the support they need, and the money raised by DGR through organisations like Movember and Men's Mental Health And Suicide Prevention, plus the other excellent organisations such as Prostate Cancer charities are making a difference.
If you would like to take part in the Distinguished Gentlemans Ride in 2024 and beyond, please visit www.https://www.gentlemansride.com/
words: John Marcar
pictures: Shane Benson
special thanks: Triumph UK
