Shining A Light On Talk Club

It’s International Men’s Day and we wanted to shine a light on the wonderful work that Talk Club is doing for men around the UK and internationally.  

What is Talk Club?

Talk Club is a men’s charity and was born from Ben Akers, Blue O’Connor, Claire Wilkinson, Gavin Thorpe, Neil Harrison and Tom Watson.

One day in a pub in Farringdon London in 2018 Ben Akers decided to get his friends together and start talking about men’s mental health. Ben Akers sadly lost his childhood friend Steve to suicide in 2014.

Suicide is the biggest killer to men under the age of 49. We live in a world that has cultured a stigma that men shouldn’t talk about their feelings, that it’s weak to do so, but that just isn’t the case.

Men should always feel as though they are able to share their feelings in a safe and non-judgemental space, which is where Talk Club comes in. Talk Club gathers together locally and online in many different locations internationally. Talk Club offers a confidential group chat for men of all backgrounds to be themselves and be able to talk, whether it’s mental health or just life in general that they need to talk to someone about without being judged, these can be done online or in local centres.

A question as simple as “How are you? Out of 10?” can be a way to engage with each other and talk about how you’re really doing, and why.  

For International Men’s Day (and every day) we need to continue to advocate for how important it is to talk and reach out if you need it. Talk Club has helped so many men embrace themselves and open up about their mental health. Below is a video explaining a little bit more about the organisation. 

This International Men’s Day, we encourage you to reach out if you need to, help normalise the conversation of mental health and destigmatise the conversation. There are lots of helplines from around the globe on our website and if you know someone who isn’t doing so well, ask how they’re really doing.

Learn more about Talk Club here.