T
DGR FOUNDER TURNS SIGHTS ON
CLASSIC CAR ENTHUSIASTS
he Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride – or
the DGR as it has become known – is a
community of conscience. Grown from
Sydney, Australia into a global fundraising
behemoth contributing millions towards men’s
health issues, the DGR has brought together
thousands of motorcyclists every year to help fight
prostate cancer and men’s suicide.
With the DGR running like clockwork, event
founder Mark Hawwa is refocusing his efforts to
help bring the same ethos of the DGR to a new
movement – the Distinguished Gentleman’s Drive.
The goal behind the Distinguished Gentleman’s
Drive is to connect owners of classic (in this case
pre-1980s) and exotic cars globally to unite behind
a common passion and cause; which is to stop
men dying too young.
86 KIWI RIDER
“I was always into cars before I was into
motorbikes”, says Hawwa. “But for me, it was
always about trying to get to a point where I
could spend a bit of time on the Distinguished
Gentleman’s Drive side of things because it is
such a huge market full of so many inspirational
people within that automotive scene and so many
passionate people. A lot of people who tend to
drive those sorts of cars are in a position where
they’re a little bit older, they’ve been through
mental health issues and prostate cancer stress
so it’s a good market for us to target. In the end,
it’s all about connecting people.”
“Although we’ve got the core goals with the DGR
they’re just still so important to men and as men,
we still don’t speak enough about our emotions.
We still don’t speak enough about prostate cancer