Event Recap: 2026 NADS x TCAF "Check Your Nads: Ball March" Austin, TX 📍

This past weekend, I traveled from our home base on the Eastern Shore of Maryland to Austin, Texas to take part in the NADS x TCAF “Check Your Nads: Ball March." I was making this trip solo, representing Wayfinders Testicular Health Fund with the goal of connecting with other leaders in the testicular cancer nonprofit community. I was also looking forward to meeting some fellow survivors and doing our part to push awareness forward in a bold, brave way.

I arrived the evening before the event and a chance encounter with my Uber driver affirmed why I was there. Like all drivers, he began our drive by asking where I was from and what brought me to his city. I told him that I was with a nonprofit from Maryland and that I came to march to the capitol to raise testicular cancer awareness. He paused, and said, "well, as a fellow survivor, that's really cool that you came all this way for that." What are the odds? I responded by saying, "Man, first of all, congrats on making it to the other side. I'm also a cancer survivor. If you don't mind me asking, what kind of cancer did you have?"

At this point in, I assumed he was going to name melanoma (skin cancer), lymphoma (Hodgkin or Non-Hodgkin), or thyroid cancer as they were some of the more common survivors I'd run into. I was wrong. Cooley and calmly he said, "testicular." My brain momentarily short circuited and when I snapped back into reality, I chuckled with disbelief, "Dude, no fuckin' way!"

We both laughed as he began openly sharing his story with me on our way to my hotel. Like all of us survivors, his journey was uniquely his own albeit with a shared thread of determination to overcome the odds. The tone of my trip had officially been set and I knew I was exactly where I needed to be. I had just landed and I was already finding the connection I had been hoping for.

The following morning, I couldn't find a ride to the meetup location for start of march so I decided to tack on the extra 30 minutes as extra credit. It was a good warmup and gave me a chance to re-listen to the WTHF Radio playlist on Spotify. I arrived right on time and everyone was focused, positive, and welcoming. As we stripped down to our NADS underwear, there were smiles of anticipation on everyone's faces. This was a group of people willing to step outside their comfort zone to get loud and make a difference.

NADS co-founder, Dan Baird gathered the troops with his opening remarks. It was clear that he and his company fully embraced their commitment to raising awareness for testicular cancer by focusing on men's health and making organic, non-toxic underwear. He then invited his event co-host, founder and CEO of the Testicular Cancer Awareness Foundation (TCAF), Kim Jones to say a few words. Kim shared her gratitude for our participation, donations, and how her experience as a mother who lost her son (Jordan Jones) to testicular cancer motivated her to form TCAF and raise TC awareness by promoting the importance of monthly self-exams and early detection.

Jones ended her speech by inviting TC survivor and NFL & Denver Broncos Linebacker, Alex Singleton to send us off toward the Capitol building. Singleton shared his experience as a professional athlete being diagnosed with this disease and how his TC survivorship has made him an ideal ally and advocate with an international platform of the NFL at his disposal. We grabbed flags, signs, and in a blur we were off.

The march itself was a 3-mile round trip walk down South Congress to the steps of the Texas Capitol building. Initially, the weather didn't look like it was going to cooperate with book ending rainstorms threatening to soak our shorts; but like all things surrounding this event, a perfect window of opportunity opened last minute and the rain was a non-factor.

In an unexpected way, marching in public wearing only my underwear felt freeing. It forced me to embrace my scars and the imperfect post-cancer body that testament left me with. I'm a fighter. A winner. A survivor. We all have our own stories and our own journey around being reborn into health and healing and mine is just beginning.

In that moment, I felt overwhelmingly encouraged to keep going, to continue to get better, and to not hide who I am right now.

Honestly, there is just something cathartic about yelling “check your nads” or "don't be wack, grab your sack" or "mam, if you love your husband, check his balls tonight" at complete strangers. Witnessing the range of responses from bystanders on streets of Austin was well worth experiencing for yourself. There were cars honking, people cheering, and some pulled out their phones to share footage of us to social media. Some bystanders laughed while others appeared shocked. Some of the male witnesses we engaged with enthusiastically grabbed their crotches with a big grin on their faces while others said they’d check themselves later that night.

And just like that, our mission was accomplished. Grassroots awareness that grabs your attention and engages you to react.

Throughout the remainder of the march, I made meaningful connections that will carry forward into the future. One such connection was with Fennec Pharmaceuticals, Jeremy DiCandillo who is a fellow TC survivor and Temple University graduate. Fennec is a biotechnology company researching neuro-ototoxicity or hearing loss due to exposure to cisplatin (a key platinum based drug used in testes chemotherapy). Despite having different backgrounds, being different ages, and growing up in different states, our paths felt definitively aligned.

I also connected with Alex Singleton, who clearly realizes that his platform as an NFL player gives him a unique ability to reach young, at risk men. We swapped surgery stories, both had tested our Beta-hCG numbers at home by peeing on our wives pregnancy tests, and realizing we had some geographic connections to Ocean City, Maryland where we'd be holding Putts Fore! Nuts 2026. As I continued to stockpile these connections, my perception of the world continued to sharpen it's focus.

A few blocks later, I had the chance to spend a few moments with Kim Jones. Her heart, passion for this cause, and her strength in facing the emotional toll of losing her son Jordan was incredibly moving. She is a joy and I'm impressed by what she has been able to build at TCAF.

This march reinforced that our work is rooted in empathy, compassion, the desire to make a difference. I could feel that standing with this group on the Capitol steps. We were a brotherhood formed in the trenches of trauma, proudly taking our message to the streets as a symbol of strength and unity.

Personally, this trip brought a new level of confidence and clarity to the WayfindersTHF mission. It reaffirmed that what we’re building matters, and that it’s bigger than just our local community on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. There’s real opportunity ahead for collaboration, shared event promotion, and expanding our reach to larger markets.

The responsibility I felt as a representative of WayfindersTHF turned into a deep sense of pride. Every conversation, every introduction, every moment was a chance to listen to others and share what we’re building. As you've read this, I hope you too feel motivated to get involved, to start a conversation, or to check your own nads. Encourage your friends and family to check themselves. You just may save a life. #checkyournads

Special thanks to NADS and Testicular Cancer Awareness Foundation for hosting this amazing event and for all of the work they do for this cause. For more information, please visit:

NADS Underwear: https://nadsunder.com/

TCAF: https://www.testicularcancerawarenessfoundation.org/

-Andrew Dorbin, Founder

Wayfinders Testicular Health Fund

📸: All photos posted here were captured on behalf of, and are the property of, Wayfinders Testicular Health Fund courtesy of Lauren Grover of Dumpster Dive Photography.