The cause driving these brothers to drastically change their look

But their planned new look is not just for fun or fashion - Michael, Tom and Ben are raising money for heart research and hope to generate awareness of the early signs of a heart attack.

In April 2019, their father, Darren Williams, died after suffering an unexpected heart attack while watching his sons play football with their team, Kiama Power.

He was just 54 years old.

"He had warning signs, but typical male, he chose to ignore them and thought he was bulletproof," Michael said.

These signs included some chest pains, Michael said, and pain in his jaw.

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But Darren was fit and healthy, someone who exercised, did not smoke, and rarely drank.

However, there was a history of heart disease in the family.

This month marks REDFEB, a fundraising initiative for Heart Research Australia that also aims to improve awareness of heart disease.

In dyeing and perming their hair, Michael said, he and his brothers wanted to get the word out about Heart Research Australia and they work they did.

The organisation has a research fund in Darren's name, which supports work to discover novel blood markers and mechanisms that identify people with atherosclerosis before they suffer a heart attack or cardiac arrest.

Gerringong's Matt Shields is another supporter of Heart Research Australia.

"At 40, I was a healthy guy, running to work, and suffered a 'widow maker' heart attack on the side of the road," Matt said, adding that he was really lucky to survive.

He said he felt pain "like a shotgun" to his chest, so called triple-0 and told the operator he thought he was having a heart attack.

Thankfully, he was in the ambulance when the blood supply to his heart cut off.

Matt hopes that people will "be a bit curious" and get themselves checked out.

This Friday, February 12, Matt and participants in the regular Man Walk at Kiama will don red shirts for REDFEB, with a bike ride to follow.

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Heart Research Australia chief executive officer Nicci Dent said everyone should know how to recognise a heart attack.

"Firstly, the odds are high that either you or someone you love will suffer from a heart attack during your lifetime," Ms Dent said.

"Secondly, whether you survive that heart attack can depend on what you and your doctors do about it during the first few hours."

Cardiologist Dr Rebecca Kozor said signs of a heart attack could vary between individuals.

Chest pain is a classic symptom, but others include sweating, shortness of breath, pain in the jaw, neck, shoulders or arms, nausea and vomiting, indigestion or heartburn-like symptoms, and suddenly feeling dizzy, weak or light-headed.

Dr Kozor said women experienced different symptoms to men, and were more likely to report nausea, vomiting, sweating, and pain in the jaw, neck, throat or back.

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People who experience these symptoms are urged to call triple-0 immediately and ask for an ambulance.

"I cannot repeat this enough - every minute counts," Dr Kozor said.

A free guide that contains an action plan and information on the signs of a heart attack is available at the Heart Research Australia website.

Donations can be made to the Williams brothers' fundraiser here, and Matt Shields' fundraiser here.

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