The First Step - Beginning the conversation around male mental health

So here's where it all began. J and I (Tim) had been talking for months about launching Man vs Mind, a brand-new podcast all about opening up on male mental health, and in a surprise twist that literally everyone can relate to: life got in the way.

Maybe we were struck with a little bit of stage fright/inertia or something – heck, the conversation around mental health is a difficult one to start, especially for men – but one night we just decided "you know what, it's time".

So we sat down, uncomfortably close to each other in a windowless room at Tim's house, to talk about things that are uncomfortably close to the bone. And nothing was off the table.

The First Step

Tim: "Are we ready?" J: "Yeah why not." Tim: "Okay.... clicking record... aaaany second now"

J: "Whenever you're ready mate..."

Tim: "DON'T RUSH ME!"

Eventually, after a giant leap of faith, we hit the record button, and broke the silence on our mental health challenges. Our fears, our anxieties, our ADHD, insecurities and adventures of going through therapy to address our respective mental health issues.

We opened by explaining how the idea for the show came about. It wasn’t a big moment in a therapist’s office or some inspirational retreat – it was just one of those nights in the pub watching football. A mate had injured himself, conversation drifted, and suddenly the usual banter gave way to something honest. It felt refreshing, rare. And it stuck. Why don’t we talk like this more? Why don’t we hear conversations like this more? So here we are, trying to have them.

That first recording wasn’t polished. You can hear us fidgeting, laughing nervously, losing our thread. J even admits, “I’m incredibly nervous. I’ve never done anything like this before.” But we pushed through, because it mattered to us. We weren’t interested in making a podcast where two guys moan about how hard done by they are. We wanted to talk about the everyday stuff – the stress, the worries, the awkwardness, the small but heavy things that pile up in your head.

Breaking the Silence around male mental health

One stat around male mental health that’s really stuck with me since we recorded is when I said, “Suicide is the biggest killer of men under 50 in the UK. The biggest.” You can actually hear us both go quiet for a second afterwards. It’s a grim truth, and it still shocks me every time I think about it. Because we both know how easy it is to keep things bottled up, to just carry on until something gives. I used that metaphor of a shaken bottle of Coke – you hold that lid down for as long as you can, until eventually it bursts and you’re left with a right mess everywhere.

What we’re trying to do with this podcast is prise that lid open a little earlier, before it ever gets to that point.

If you’ve ever felt that weight – the bottled‑up stuff, the fear of being the one who cracks – I hope this first episode feels like a hand on your shoulder. We’ll get more focused in future episodes, tackling specific topics like talking, fatherhood, money, body image. But this one was simply about starting. A first step.

We twisted the top of the bottle, after years of keeping that lid tightly shut. There was a bit of a fizz, a bit of a pop, but eventually we took a deep breath and let it all out.

Join our chat

If you’ve got your own stories, your own scales of what makes you anxious, or even just a passing thought, we’d love to hear from you (get in touch below!). And if this episode made you think, even just for a moment, then maybe pass it on. Because talking about it is how we all start.

Seeing the first episode of Man vs Mind (a show dedicated to male mental health) appear on Apple Podcasts is a surreal moment.