Christmas special: LIVE recording part one

Man Up / Man Down

Christmas special: LIVE recording part one – a roundtable discussion on what it means to be a man in 2023/24

This special episode is the first part of our live recording, which took place in Brighton at the end of November.

Our panel included Louise Chunn, CEO of our sponsor Welldoing, Stewart Cumming, head of operations at Dad La Soul and Mick Rigby, CEO of Yodel Mobile (who recorded a great episode with us in the first season, discussing his dyslexia and ADHD diagnosis in his 50s.

During Louise’s keynote address, she discussed the changing landscape of men’s mental health and how Princes William and Harry had driven the conversation forward by discussing their mental health challenges.

She also praised the work Volker and David had done in encouraging men to talk through the podcast.

We weren’t expecting so much engagement from the audience (which we were absolutely delighted with), so apologies if the audio isn’t as clear when it comes to audience discussions – this will certainly be improved for future events.

The audience expressed a range of views and charged the debate.

These were the views of individuals and not necessarily ones that represent Volker and David, but it was clear that there is a lot of confusion about what exactly a man’s role is in 2023/24.

Topics that were discussed were:

· Why do men not talk as much as they need to?

· Do men still feel weak discussing their vulnerabilities?

· Is it a weakness to discuss vulnerabilities?

· What is the role of employers in helping men and women with mental health support?

· How easy is it for an employee to raise concerns about their mental health or neurodiversity issues?

· What role does social media play in causing confusion in the role men play in modern society (should we be more masculine, more vulnerable, a better financial provider, provide more emotional support)?

· What emotional support do we expect from our partners as “traditional male/female roles” become blurred?

· What impact did the pandemic and lockdown have on us?

· What responsibility do we need to take for our own mental health?

A big thanks again to our sponsors Fat Fish Digital Infigo and Welldoing and everyone that took the time and money to join us for the event.

Keep your eyes peeled for the next one in 2024!

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