Orlando, Florida (July 1, 2016) - For men’s health experts Dr. Jamin Brahmbhatt and Dr. Sijo Parekattil it was a June to remember. For the 3rd year in a row, in honor of Men’s Health month, their Drive for Men’s Health tour travelled the country, covering 6,000 miles from Orlando to Los Angeles in 10 days and reaching hundreds of millions around the world with a simple message - men drop your excuses and take your health seriously.

This year’s Drive reached more than 320 million people worldwide through news stories, live appearances on local tv stations, live streaming from the road, call-in radio shows and social media and 10 stops across the country. At the stops in cities from Clermont and Windermere, Florida to Atlanta, Washington D.C., Philadelphia, New York City, Cleveland, Chicago, Las Vegas and Los Angeles they held fitness rallies at Anytime Fitness gyms. The goal - to get men to face the realities of ignoring their health. The hashtag - #DropYourExcuse.

“The reality is that the life expectancy for men is at least 5 years less than it is for women. We need to get men to live longer healthier lives. Our goal is to get guys, and their loved ones, to sit up and take notice.  If we can check our social media pages 17 times a day, which is what research shows, we can take 30 minutes a day and get moving, work out, change our eating habits, we have to change our priorities,” said Brahmbhatt, men’s health activist and Co-Director of the PUR Clinic (Personalized Urology & Robotics) located in Clermont, Florida at South Lake Hospital in affiliation with Orlando Health.

This year the doctors decided to walk the walk and ended up traveling a little lighter - losing a combined 90 pounds since the previous Drive, making a commitment to their overall health and dropping their own excuses - the focus of this year’s Drive.

Orlando Health commissioned a survey to find out the top excuses men make to avoid scheduling their annual appointments with their primary care physician. Rounding out the top three excuses - men say they’re too busy, they’re afraid of finding out that something might be wrong and they are uncomfortable with certain body exams such as prostate checks.

“This year by sharing our own personal stories we really made a connection to guys. Of course it also helped that we did the Drive again in an electric Tesla model S, which is a guy-magnet. Guys love to talk about cars and it gets them talking with us about cars, life, their health. They came out of their shells and started talking about the excuses they make, it was pretty awesome,” said Parekattil, MD, the other Co-Director of the PUR Clinic.

Plans are already in the works for the Drive for Men’s Health 2017. Follow the doctors and get important timely health information and tips for leading a healthier life via the Drive social media channels: Twitter and Instagram @drive4men and on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drive4men. 

STILL PHOTOS - available for download and free/unrestricted use by the news media: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/997vswtptzdbeoy/AACHQBOWy40QpztKKNmdqgZaa?dl=0

Photos courtesy Drive for Men’s Health/Fred Lopez.

About South Lake Hospital:

South Lake Hospital, in affiliation with Orlando Health, is a non-profit, 170-bed hospital in Clermont, Fla.  The hospital’s 180-acre health, education and wellness campus includes the inpatient hospital, The PUR Clinic – Personalized Urology Robotics, Centre for Women’s Health, SkyTop View Rehabilitation Center, LiveWell Fitness Center, National Training Center, South Lake Endoscopy Center, South Lake Surgery Center, South Lake Home Health and South Lake Wound Care Center.  South Lake Hospital has been serving the healthcare needs of the south Lake County community since 1947 and employs 1,350 team members and has over 250 physicians on its medical staff.  For more information please visit SouthLakeHospital.com.