Mark Exotic

Mark Buckingham, a VP within Corporate Technology, has an affinity for pets. He has birds, a snake, and a dog. Earlier in the year, back when Tiger King was popular, and while on a Zoom call, he was showing off his bird and pet snake. And while doing it, he had a stuffed animal tiger in the background. And the nickname "Mark Exotic" was born.

At that time, I talked to Mark about doing a fundraiser. He'd grow out his hair so he could cut it into a mullet and then bleach it blonde.
He'd also grow out his beard so he could cut it into a handlebar mustache.

And what do you know, he agreed to it. Please be sure to read Mark's story below.

We are doing a 3-tier fund raiser:

Raise $200 dollars = Mark will cut his hair into a mullet.
Raise $600 dollars = Mark will also bleach his mullet.
Raise $1000 = Mark will shape his facial hair into a handlebar mustache.

Once the deadline for the fundraiser is met, Mark would do whatever tier is reached. Then he'll wear it like that for 1 week. We'll get pictures and video of him out in public. For example: shopping at the grocery store; getting gas; driving his kids to school. We'll then publish the pictures and videos for everyone to laugh at.

Please donate so we can see Mark Exotic!

Message from Mark:

"I have unfortunately witnessed first-hand the damage that ALS has on the deterioration of the human body. I met my wife roughly 13 years ago, and subsequently her father. He was the kind of person that would give you the shirt off his back and never ask for anything in return. Not only did he not ask for anything in return, he genuinely didn’t want anything in return. I would love to tell you that we had a unique and special bond unlike that of anyone I’ve ever met. While that holds very true for me, I’m fairly certain that most people felt that way about him. When we met, Jim was an active, healthy man that was always getting his hands dirty with projects whether at work or at home. He could fix or build anything it seemed. When we met, they had purchased an older home on a large piece of land and were working through restoring it. Of course Jim was performing the bulk of the restoration work himself. Given that the man worked 90% of his day, he always maintained a great sense of humor, was always positive, and was a ton of fun to be around. Not long after meeting Jim, he started to experience weakness in his grip and legs and occasional numbness and pain. In the summer of 2009 he paid a visit to the Dr only to find that he was diagnosed with ALS, a horrible disease that has a reputation of eating away at your muscles very quickly. As much as we did to prepare ourselves with the reality of how quickly this could progress, it was unreal seeing how fast things deteriorated. Shortly after getting the diagnosis, I decided to move in to help with work around the house. I can’t begin to express the pain to see someone that has been so self-sufficient their entire life quickly become so dependent on others for so many of common daily tasks we take advantage of. Within a few months he was forced to use a walker, a couple months later a scooter, a few months later a power chair, and finally a device that tracked his eye movement so that he could communicate with us as he was unable to speak. Yet through all this he never lost his goofy, fun-loving personality that everyone gravitated towards. He participated in a research trial where he received weekly infusions, as there is no treatment for the disease. Jim passed on Dec 29th, 2011. He taught me more than he will ever know, and is a relationship that I will cherish for the rest of my life. This is why I chose to donate to the ALS Association."

More information about The ALS Association: The mission of the ALS Association is to lead the fight to treat and cure ALS through global research and nationwide advocacy while empowering people with Lou Gehrig's Disease and their families to live fuller lives by providing them with compassionate care and support.