The viral Movember and LSKD video aiming to change men’s mental health messaging
It’s a simple video that begins with two blokes going for a jog - but it’s the utterly tragic ending that makes this clip one that every Aussie bloke must watch.
What starts with two runners ends with a global reminder that mental health issues often hide in plain sight.
Last weekend Movember partnered with clothing company LSKD to release a video aimed at changing the narrative around how men’s mental health is viewed.
The moving video, based on a similar one from English football club Norwich FC in 2023, uses two runners to highlight the hidden signs of mental health conditions.
You can watch the video in the player above.
Head of Content at LSKD and brainchild of the video Matt Kirby said although blown away by the response to the video it was never the goal of its creation.
“The goal with this video was never to go viral. It was to create a conversation around men’s mental health. And it’s definitely done that. The response across social media has been wild. To be honest, we’ve never had a piece of content get this much reach.”
At the time of writing the clip has over 20 million views on TikTok with 14,000 comments and more than four million views on Instagram.
“If you check out some of the comments on TikTok. It’s so sad how many people have been impacted or who are currently being impacted by mental health and how many people don’t talk about it.
“This video actually has sparked so much conversation. There’s so many people in the comments opening up and sharing their stories and it’s creating real conversation, which is awesome to see.”
Global Director at Movember’s Men’s Health Research Institute Doctor Zac Seidler said part of the video was about recognising how the messaging around mental health needs to change.
“We’re not trying to say just talk more, just be more vulnerable, which I think has been the prevailing narrative for a very long time in this space: if we just talk more, everything will be okay.
“Well, this guy’s talking heaps, you know? He’s the only one talking in this video and yet he’s the one who is struggling. So we need more nuance around our awareness messaging. We need to move away from like, ‘if you just call Lifeline, everything will be okay’. At Movember, we spend a lot of time realising that the health system and services are not responding to men’s needs.”
Dr Seidler recently ran a research survey which found 45 per cent of men drop out of therapy prematurely.
In Australia an average of nine people kill themselves every day, seven of them are men.
“[The state of men’s mental health in Australia] is pretty dismal if we’re honest, we’re not seeing a lot of positive news stories here and in my eyes more problematically, we’re not seeing trends shift in the right direction, despite the fact that we’re now having more conversations than ever.
“I think we’re actually reaching an awareness ceiling where lots of guys are really aware of this stuff.
“Movember’s been around for over two decades now. Mental health is showing up in the workplace. Everyone’s kind of seeing it. But we’re actually not moving into improving the day-to-day lives of lots of these guys on the street. These numbers do not seem to be moving, no matter how much time and money we’re throwing at it.”
Facing a problem of such scale may seem insurmountable however Dr Seidler said it’s simple strategies applied early which can have the biggest impacts.
“I think that you don’t want to wait until it’s too late fundamentally. And so the best way is to actually cultivate a meaningful connection with someone where you are talking about your hopes and dreams and feelings and fears and all of that on a regular basis.
“Otherwise it comes out of the blue, it’s strange, it’s awkward, it’s uncomfortable, it’s embarrassing, which is most of the stigma that many men feel when they’re talking about this stuff. It’s a muscle. It’s a muscle that requires flexing and strengthening over time. And so that showing up, that relentless showing up, is where the simplicity, you know, of life saving goodness kind of comes from.”
Through the course of his clinical work Dr Seidler said one issue among men stood out more consistently than any other.
“I don’t think that lots of guys can name this necessarily, but I think there is so much around mattering. The idea that they want to matter, that they want purpose and meaning and connection, and many, many guys go about it in the wrong ways or they run in the opposite direction because it’s too hard or vulnerable to actually pick up the phone and call a mate when you are just wanting to have a yarn.
“I’m really seeing that that desire, for a sense of value, and like what where do I fit in and what can I offer here and what am I capable of is so implicit in our current state of masculinity. And no one is really speaking to young guys about this.
“In fact, we’re seeing a lot of bad actors step into this place and kind of take up the mantle saying, ‘oh, do this, be this, and this will solve everything for you’. And it often means demeaning others, you know, power, dominance and destruction, which is not what we want.”
LSKD are releasing a follow-up video on Sunday with a member from their community which aims to build on the conversation started in the previous video.
“They speak about the impact that opening up about their struggles on them working through that and coming through the other side,” Mr Kirby said.
“He speaks about how he did think about potentially ending things and he talks about how he is one of those guys who in the past wouldn’t open up, he would just keep everything in.
“But what has been key to him actually working through his and improving his mental health has been talking about it. So we’re hoping, again, that it’s another really powerful piece of content that helps inspire the community to actually, if they are struggling or if they are going through a really hard time to open up about it.”
