FOR Men’s Health Awareness Month this November, London boxing gym Manor is spearheading a charity campaign encouraging men to address the reality of growing nationwide mental health issues.
The campaign, entitled Strong Not Silent, has been produced in collaboration with athletic apparel company, lululemon, which has produced a series of limited edition T-shirts featuring the Strong Not Silent logo, all of the proceeds of which will go to charity promoting men’s mental health.
Chris Baugh, Co-Founder of Manor and the StrongNotSilent campaign
Through the campaign, Manor intends to raise awareness of the prevalence of male suicide, and encourage men to share and speak out about their own personal mental health struggles.
The shame and stigma connected with the demonstration of masculine emotion mean that men’s mental health just isn’t talked about enough. Social pressure leaves man men who suffer from mental health issues feeling that they are unable to seek help, meaning that suicide is currently the biggest killer of men under 45 in the UK,
The Strong Not Silent campaign is in aid of mental health awareness charity, CALM, which aims to combat the horrifying statistics surrounding suicide amongst men in the UK.
The campaign began on World Mental Health Day on October 10, and following two October talks on Money, Power and Success, and Identity, another two talks will be held in November, discussing Relationships, and finally Vulnerability.
Angel Banev, Chris Baugh and Jason Fox at the Strong Not Silent talk on Identity
Addressing the social norms that require men to appear strong and silent, coaches and members will share their own stories and struggles, encouraging questions and contributions from the audience.
As a company which could easily be perceived as promoting a particularly masculine atmosphere, the founders of Manor felt that they had the duty and the opportunity to show that masculinity does not have to mean suffering in silence.
“We know that many of us are not as invincible or unbreakable as we may seem,” said Chris Baugh, Co-Founder of Manor and the StrongNotSilent campaign.
“We want to show that people who appear to be examples of strength in silence, have in fact struggled and sometimes still struggle with their own demons. We believe that if we want to see less men dying of suicide, and more men speaking about their problems and seeking help, we have to lead from the front” commented Baugh.
The final talk of the campaign on Vulnerability, which will take place on November 15, will be followed by a charity boxing night, Fight for Your Manor III, in which boxers who have been trained by Manor’s coaches will test themselves in the ring to raise money for charity, CALM.
by Hannah Valentine
To donate in aid of CALM please visit the FightForYourManor GoFundMe page
The talk on Relationships, by Ryan Lea and Ben Woods, will take place on Wednesday November 7 at 7pm at lululemon, Spitalfields.
The talk on Vulnerability by Greg Wooton and Chris Baugh, will take place Thursday November 15 at 6:30 at Ceceil Sharp House, Camden
To buy tickets for Fight For Your Manor on November 15 2018, please visit this link
T-shirts are available to order through Mymanor.london and can be collected from lululemon
Manor SW1 () offers memberships from £85 a month for 2 classes per week, prices vary depending on the location of the gym.
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