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A LOT HAS CHANGED SINCE OUR FIRST MAN RIDE.
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MENTAL HEALTH WAS SOMETHING WE DIDN’T SPEAK ABOUT.
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WHAT DO WE DO WITH ALL THE AWARENESS.
WRITTEN BY JOHN POLSON. ARTWORK AND ANIMATION CREATED USING FABLE 5 AND SOL 5.6, DEPICTING THE MAN RIDE OVER THE LAST 10 YEARS. LEARN MORE.
MOST PEOPLE KNOW MENTAL HEALTH MATTERS.
I don’t think that is the problem anymore. The harder question, ten years into this work, is what we actually do with that awareness. How we turn it into something useful. Something real enough to matter when life gets noisy.
01 / THE GAP
Sport has a way of exposing the gap between where you are and where you want to be. That can be useful. It can also become a difficult place to live if you struggle to celebrate the wins, or spend too much time thinking about what you are not doing well enough.
Over time, I realised that feeling was not unique to athletes. It shows up in business, in relationships, and in everyday life. Especially for people who look busy, driven, capable, and fine.
02 / THE MAN RIDE
A REASON TO BE BESIDE SOMEONE WITHOUT FORCING THE CONVERSATION.
The Man Ride came from that place. Ten years later, it remains one of the things I am most proud of. For me, the reason it has lasted is that cycling gives people something simple and powerful: shared effort, shared discomfort, shared accomplishment, and a reason to be beside someone without forcing the conversation.
03 / FOCUS
It has also shaped Black Sheep. It has reminded us that real impact requires focus. We cannot be everything to everyone, or support every good cause properly. But we can go deeper on the work that is important for us.
THE MIND HEALTH PROJECT · NOW
AWARENESS OPENED THE DOOR.
PRACTICE BEGINS HERE.
And that is where we are with the Mind Health Project. Awareness still matters, but we want to move beyond simply saying that mental health is important. We want to help people do something with that awareness.
We are not replacing professional support, or pretending we have all the answers. But we can create small tools for athletes that can make a meaningful difference.
Over the next few months, we’ll be sharing a series of emails with the same simple purpose: a reminder to pause and reset. Think of them as moments of practice, not a program.
Sport can be one of the best things we have. It gets us out of bed. It gives us purpose, identity, confidence, and connection. But if we are not careful, it can also become another place for pressure, anxiety, ego, and comparison to live. We think we can help with that. That’s where we are going, anyway.
IF ONE SMALL THING HELPS SOMEONE THROUGH THE NOISE, WE’RE ON THE RIGHT TRACK.
And if, somewhere in that, someone feels quietly understood, or finds one small thing that helps them get through the noise a little better, then we are on the right track.