Each day after work, three young Dunedin flatmates routinely find themselves sitting on the couch, cursorily asking each other how their day was.<\/p>\n
Then they invariably go straight into killing people on the Xbox.<\/p>\n
But this month, glazier Alex Boomer, 22, groundsman Luke Tuten, 22 and builder Jed Collings, 24, have decided to take men\u2019s mental health more seriously, and run 800km between them to raise money during Movember.<\/p>\n
Mr Collings said each of them knew someone who had experienced mental health issues and had seen how it affected them, their friends and their families.<\/p>\n
He said recent data showed 22% of men experienced poor mental wellbeing and men accounted for nearly three-quarters of suspected self-inflicted deaths in New Zealand.<\/p>\n
“We all know of people and I guess some of our other friends have had to deal with it.<\/p>\n
“We were surprised at how prominent it is, how common it is \u2014 unbelievable really.”<\/p>\n
The trio of tradies aimed to break down the stigma surrounding men\u2019s mental health.<\/p>\n
“The old \u2018she’ll be right\u2019 sort of thing, is a big problem,” Mr Collings said.<\/p>\n
“Just getting blokes to get together and talk about it, could be part of the solution.<\/p>\n
“Our message has been, \u2018check in on your mates\u2019.”<\/p>\n
He said the lads met each other through playing football for the Dunedin City Royals and it was inevitable they would end up running the 800km together.<\/p>\n
Lads who live together, play together. And those who played together, could also do extraordinary things for the community together, he said.<\/p>\n
So, instead of watching TV or playing Xbox after work each day, they were running about 10km \u2014 not including football training or games \u2014 in a bid to raise $5000.<\/p>\n
“Part of the reason we do it together, is to support each other through it.<\/p>\n
“It encourages you to get out of bed in the morning when you don\u2019t really want to.”<\/p>\n
Mr Collings said they were finding the running itself was very good for their own mental health.<\/p>\n
“It’s amazing how much good some physical activity does \u2014 getting you off the couch and just getting some sun on you.<\/p>\n
“Even if you’ve had a bad day, at least you’ve done something that’s good for you and good for other men around New Zealand.”<\/p>\n
\u2022 To donate, visit: @larkruns<\/p>\n