After their own mental health struggles, two men from Deepcar, Stocksbridge, have founded the ‘Sheffield Dippers’.
Josh Eady, 31, and Tom Clancy, 32, aim to raise awareness for men’s mental health and create a community, all whilst taking on extreme outdoor challenges.
Josh said: “For some people, it’s a bit daunting at first, but we can really see it growing and going in the right direction.
“Don’t get me wrong I know not every person has had any issues, but we get people coming who are just enjoying the walk and being part of a team, a bit of purpose really.”
Their cold water plunges and wild swimming on Saturday mornings have seen around 40 men from the nearby area join.
Tom said: “The benefits when we looked into water therapy are just endless. There have been lads that have come and joined who have struggled with alcohol and drug abuse, and they’ve really turned themselves around.”
The Dippers’ also run ‘walk and talk’ walks.
Josh said: “One guy we had join the other day offloaded straight away, just past issues he’s had, whereas other lads who haven’t, the more they come might feel comfortable enough to pull one of us or another lad to the side at some point and just get things off their chest if need be.”
Andy’s Man Club, a national charity which has 20 free support groups nationwide, says that on average one man every two hours takes his life in the UK.
Josh added: “Personally I know men just don’t talk as much. We want to get the awareness out there that you can talk, we are here.”
The group, currently ranging from 18-52 years old, even want to expand nationally and inspire other men to join their journey.
Josh said: “As having our own struggles mentally, the positive effect it had on us, we just wanted to reciprocate that for other men and other fellas.”
Last weekend the group were just some of the 300 men joining the 22-mile march for mental health walk in Dorset.
The Sheffield Dippers continue to welcome men of any age to join them and can be found on Instagram and Tiktok: @sheffield_dippers