A new group in Bristol is running to help men keep an eye on their mental health thanks to a simple question, ‘How are you, out of 10?’
Talk & Skate meets each Thursday at Campus Pool Skatepark in Bishopsworth, Bristol, and is brought by Talk Club, an initiative that offers a talking and listening group for men to help them keep mentally fit.
“It’s a simple medicine that starts with asking ‘How are you? Out of 10’?, followed by an hour’s skating,” explained Bella Warley from Campus Pool. “By checking in regularly with yourself and other men, Talk Club creates a community that so many people are missing in today’s world.
“For us it started after an event hosted at Campus with The Ben Raemers Foundation, named after professional skateboarder Ben Raemers who, in May 2019, at the age of 28, took his own life. The foundation was formed to provide a way to maintain Ben’s legacy and help prevent any more loss to suicide
“That first meeting included film screenings and a panel discussion, and we came to understand how much of a need there was for a service of this kind within Bristol’s skate scene. Enter Talk & Skate. The group is free and open to all men over 18, regardless of age, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or skateboarding experience, and is run fortnightly on Thursday nights at Campus Pool from 7.30-9pm.”
Bella explained that Campus was set up and exists to support people and communities in all different kinds of ways, through the act of skateboarding. Founded in 2011 as a non-profit by one youth worker and one social worker, this particular initiative sits within its original mission statement of using the positive energy and influence of skateboarding to engage with and support people.
“The response to Talk & Skate has been an overwhelmingly positive response from the men attending, and it has steadily grown in size since the first week,” added Bella. “We’ve also had good consistency with the same people attending week on week. It’s safe to say a community is being built, and a strong one at that!
“Each session begins with a group discussion in the form of ‘check-ins’, in-line with the Talk Club format of asking and answering, ‘How are you? Out of 10?’. Once these have been completed by each attendee, the group moves into the skatepark for a group skate.”
Alongside Talk & Skate, Campus Pool Skatepark hosts a number of services for the Bristol skate community and the Bristol community at large at Campus. These range from dedicated sessions for toddlers to use and enjoy the space, to beginners sessions for mums, in collaboration with This Girl Can, which is all about inspiring women to join in and get active.
“We also host girls skate competitions and girls only nights, over 40’s nights, quad skating evenings and special surf-skate events, as well as skate tuition in the form of groups and 1-2-1s,” said Bella.
“The other side to the business is The Daily Grind Cafe at Campus Pool. It is here where we host fortnightly jam sessions on Wednesday evenings and regular art fairs showcasing Bristol’s young artistic talent, as well as offering some of the best pizzas in Bristol!”