Still Stand: A 12-Hour Endurance Challenge For Mental Health

I've always struggled the most, when I've lacked direction in my life, or a goal to work towards. The black dog comes. I've always needed something hard enough to pull me out of dysfunctional autopilot. Something that gives the inner battle somewhere useful to go.

For me, training has never been about fitness. It’s been a way to deal with & a release from pressure, stress and the darker parts of life that can be hard to talk about. There are days where the weight is not on the barbell. It’s in my head. It’s in your chest. It’s in the silence & inability to talk.

Mental health struggles, depression, anxiety and burnout affect so many people, but too many still feel like they have to carry it alone. Especially men. We are often taught to tough it out, keep quiet, push through and pretend we’re fine. But silence can become one of the heaviest things we carry.

That’s why I’m creating Still Standing, a 12-hour fitness challenge for mental health.

Every hour, on the hour, we take on physical task. Lifting, moving, grinding away, then recover & go again. Surface pain, deeper meaning. It’s about fighting the stigma around speaking up. That it’s strength & survival. How we Stay Standing.

You don’t have to do all 12 hours, be the fittest or the strongest. You just have to show up and stand for something.

This event is for the conversations that need to happen before it’s too late.

Still Standing. For mental health. For support. For speaking up. For yourselves & each other.