Blue Brothers And Pink Sisters Movement

For those who know Dave Cattermole, they know him as a tireless and dedicated individual, with a strong sporting history and a successful business career. Dave is the founder and backbone of the Blue Brothers Movement - a now established charitable trust.

In March 2019, Dave had a vision to set up an exercise and camaraderie group to support men who were living with cancer. He set to work, and the Blue Brothers Movement was born.

Why? Because he is one of them.

As a successful businessman, Dave has owned a painting business, completed his coach building apprenticeship, risen through the ranks in hotel management and has held key roles in hospitality, marketing and account management.

Beyond his career, Dave is passionate about sport. He has been a significant figure within the New Zealand hockey arena, currently managing the Canterbury Premier Men’s representative team, and in the past, has managed the Men’s’ Black Sticks Team, Junior Black Sticks as well as various Men’s and Womens’ Canterbury Hockey representative teams. He had a strong affiliation to his club side, HSOB-Burnside, and remains involved with the Canterbury Teams to this day. Dave is also a keen golfer, bowler, tramper and traveller, and he and his partner Gill enjoy keeping fit and getting out and about regularly.

The back-story

In January 2015, Dave and Gill completed The Great Walk around Stewart Island, both in typical form and in good time. But by Easter, Dave no longer had the energy to get off the couch. Something didn’t feel quite right.

After many many tests, scans and specialist visits, Dave was eventually diagnosed with a cancerous tumour on his kidney. The doctors moved swiftly and completed a roof-top surgery to remove the entire kidney, and subsequent scans revealed a small tumour on his remaining kidney, as well as two inflamed (and inoperable) lymph nodes in his chest.

Dave also endured two courses of radiation and a further procedure to address the tumour on his remaining kidney. The success of these procedures has seen a slowing down of cancer growth and spread.

For most people, this would have been an extremely tough journey. But in true Dave fashion, he committed to a strict health and fitness regime. His goal was not only to recover well from his operations, but to continue to live life well, despite his remaining cancer diagnosis.

This he did, and only six months after his initial diagnosis, he and Gill completed the 120km Australian Sunshine Coast’ Coastal Pathway. A testament to Dave’s strength and tenacity to not let cancer get in the way of living.

And so today, seven years on from the removal of the initial tumour, Dave acknowledged he still lives with cancer.

“It doesn’t stop me - in fact, I’m determined to face it head on,” he said.

“I prefer to say that I am living with cancer, rather than dying of it, or suffering from it,” he explained. “We’ve gone positive.”

Dave explained he has had the odd medical setback since his initial diagnosis, resulting in different updates at each oncologist visit.

“Things come and go, and when we go for scans, they look different every time,” he explained. “So, to be honest, I’m not quite sure where it’s at!”

One thing he was sure of, however, was that he wanted to use his experience to help others. He felt that if he was living with cancer, there would be others out there too who might wish to connect.

The Blue Brothers Movement

Inspired by a news story about an exercise group dedicated to women living with breast cancer, Dave struck upon the idea of doing the same for men. And so in February 2019, he started the Blue Brothers Movement.

As his idea gathered momentum, Dave was recommended to reach out to personal trainer and founder of MVP Training Michelle Vann. Well known in the Canterbury fitness industry for her positive, empathetic and can-do approach, Dave asked Michelle if she could help him create a tailored exercise programme to keep his body moving on a regular basis. His goal was to then share this programme with others living with cancer.

He drafted fliers and hand delivered them to sports clubs, health & medical clinics, and asked his connections to spread the word. Michelle also worked very hard to reach out to her network across the region and encouraged people to join.

Dave also connected with Christchurch’s Affinity Fitness owner Zane Hagaman, who offered to block out a space in his gym and allow group members to train every Tuesday mornings for free. Michelle was also happy to stay on and donate her time, adapting the classes each week to suit the physical abilities of those who could attend.

And slowly - but surely - the Blue Brothers’ Movement grew.

“It was not only about exercise and movement,” explained Dave. “Camaraderie was equally as important as exercise for our members.”

“It’s about mixing it up with people who understand what you’re going through - we often catch up outside of the gym for a coffee. It’s about being around so that people can talk to one another.”

Following on from the success of the Christchurch group, Dave connected with Gabrielle from The North Canterbury Cancer Society and worked to establish a second group in Rangiora, and a third in Kaikoura.

Both of these groups are run by locals who are committed to supporting group members in both camaraderie and exercise. Their goal was to provide a trusted space for men living with cancer to meet and connect, as well as offer the opportunity for regular movement and physical fitness.

However, just as all three groups gained in popularity and traction - the world was hit by Covid. It soon became obvious that the gym was not an ideal location to run a group fitness class, especially since many of the group members were immuno-compromised.

The way forward

Dave and Michelle remained undeterred. They came up with the solution of offering the class via Zoom each week, which provided group members with the opportunity of tuning in from the comfort of their own living room.

“This way we can still connect as a group and keep the banter going,” explained Dave. “We are hopeful we can get back in the gym soon, but we think this is a good solution in the interim.”

As the Blue Brothers Movement recently celebrated its 3rd anniversary, Dave was keen to celebrate. He wanted to acknowledge the men who have taken the steps to join the group and who have been brave enough to reach out for support. He remained eager for more to join and be part of this great community.

“We live in a culture where men, in particular, find it hard to express their emotions and talk about what they are going through,” he said. “And this is a space where we can catch up, keep our bodies moving and yarn about what’s going on - there’s no judgement here.”

Dave now has a further vision of replicating the Blue Brothers Movement programme in the future to deliver the same opportunities to women living with cancer. This was reflected in the name of the trust, as well as the vision of the charity and the addition of The Pink Sisters" logo to the banner.

Dave said he is working hard behind the scenes to investigate and bring these opportunities to life.

“It is my vision to improve the physical and mental well being of all people living with cancer, both men and women,” he explained.

“I want to create a safe and non-judgemental space where anyone living with cancer can feel comfortable to just come and be themselves, whatever their situation or stage of their cancer journey.”

There are currently three Blue Brothers Movement classes running each week throughout the Canterbury region:

• Christchurch - Tuesday 11am-1130am (Men’s Class) - online zoom class.
• Rangiora - Monday 815am - 9am (Men’s Class)
• Kaikoura - Wednesday 1030-11am. (Men’s Class)

There is no cost to attend, and classes usually finish up with the crew heading for scones, coffee and a chat (as and when the Covid Traffic Light system permits).

Dave is on a personal mission to put the word out and invites anyone interested in knowing more about the Blues Brothers & Pink Sisters Movement to contact him directly.

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