SSP 060: Addison Brasil - The Male Side of Mental Health

Yo, welcome back. Stage Shifters Podcast. Jordan Kanlish here. And if you're new to the podcast, then, wow, welcome. It's an absolute pleasure to have you listening in to my voice. And basically, the purpose of this podcast, the mission behind why I share this content, is to really give you the tools, the awareness, the insights and the support, the resources you need to start to tune into what it is that makes you unique and what it is that you're here to express, to shift your state. You can start to cultivate the elevated emotional states that go into align you with your true potential. Now, with that being said, when I started out on this journey, you know, getting on to social media and sharing content and really starting to really open up to the world around what it was that I was going through, through these internal shifts I was making, I will admit it was pretty scary. You know, as a man growing up in Western Australia, or young lad, 21, starting to get into meditation and yoga, growing up playing a lot of sport. You know, I was never really taught how to face my emotions and talk about my emotions. And it was sort of throughout that process, I realized how challenging this was. It was so challenging to open up and be vulnerable as a man and talk about these kind of things out of just fear of being judged by other people. My friends, the people around me, my work environment. And today's guest, his name is Addison Brazil. And the reason why I've brought Addison onto the podcast is because he's collaborated with his business partner, Matty, who I went live with on Instagram a couple of weeks ago. They've come up with an app called Tether for Men. And this app allows other men to have real conversations about the deep stuff that often men are afraid to talk about. Like what happened to me. It was like I wanted to talk about the things that actually mattered in life. But I felt like at the time, I didn't really have access to as many people who shared these insights. Now, given the fact that I was very privileged and I wasn't going through, you know, a depression or anything severe, but with that understanding, I've come to the realization that there are a lot of men out there who are going through some emotional pain and don't have the awareness and don't have the community to discuss these things. So the purpose behind the app that these guys have put out there is to really support men who really need to start opening up or need to find a community where they can feel safe, feel heard, and feel seen. Because as you're about to find out from Addison's story. Depression and suicide amongst men is something that needs to be seriously looked at. And that's kind of the intention behind this podcast, is start to put that out there and start to show to the world that we can be a safe space for men to start to open up and connect with their emotions. So without further ado, guys, enjoy the conversation today with Addison and if there's anything in today's episode that resonated with you, do not hesitate to reach out. Send me a message on Instagram. It's eight Shifters. And yeah, enjoy today's episode, guys. Take care. Welcome to the State Shifters podcast, a.

Show dedicated to helping you discover your true potential through connecting the mind, body and soul.

Okay. Adelson Brazil. How are you, my friend? Thank you for joining me on the State Shifters podcast. How are you doing today, buddy?

I'm doing good. Thank you for having me. I've been looking forward to this.

Yeah, likewise, man. We're just chatting offline about how we got connected and our mutual friend Jennifer Merrifield and, you know, hearing and seeing all the amazing things you've been up to from a distance, from afar, via social media. Now to finally be connected and to be able to jump on a call and have a conversation with you, man, it's been something I've been looking forward to and I'm looking forward to diving deep with you today, man. So maybe tell the listeners where you're calling from and what's new in your world today.

For sure, man. I'm calling from Los Angeles. I'm based in Los Angeles and I recently started working for, for Tether, which is a brand new app that's come out on the App Store, which is a mental health support platform specifically for male identifying users. And I'm based here in la. The company was founded in Toronto, which I know you have roots in Toronto as well, and that's where our mutual connect, Jen Merrifield, is based, out of which I'm sure we'll talk more about her later. But. But yeah, I'm, I'm here in sunny LA in the height of COVID and doing my best to connect as many guides as I can around the world through the app.

Yeah, and that's sort of where this, the connection came through. I had a good conversation with Matty, the founder and your business partner. And really I was inspired to hear about the purpose and mission behind the company and the brand. And given the fact that I really thoroughly enjoyed the conversation I had with Matt, which was a. Which was instagram Live we did last week. I'm curious to know, you know, briefly, what. What the inspiration came from for you to really want to create something in this field right in the mental health space, but more specifically for men, maybe. Would you be able to give some of the listeners here a bit of an idea of where this kind of began for you, man, this. This journey that you've now taken?

Yeah, I, you know, I speak openly about my own mental health journey on all of our tether stuff and our platform there. And, you know, I guess the. I'm getting better and better at the shorter version of it, but as I was telling you before, my mental health journey started, and me watching the mental journey of the men in my family started around the diagnosis of my brother. He had an inoperable brain tumor when I was a teenager, and we rode the wave of his journey for four years until, unfortunately, he passed when I was 19 and he was 17. And it was. It was a very interesting experience. And the reason I bring it up, it was sort of. I had my own process and my own stressors around that experience. But then I was also. Because I was right at the age where I started developing and figuring out who I was as a man in the world, I was very, very aware of how all the men around me and all the men in my family were showing up in response to this. And it particularly was very interesting to me and touching to me the way that my dad responded to it. And my dad was a Robin Williams type, like, just larger than life, like that uncle, like, just so fun and happy and always joking and, you know, so. So there was something in my brother's death that really sort of broke my dad's spirit in a way. And I came to find out a few years later that he was silently struggling not only with grief, like we all were, but a very severe depression that would come and go. And I think that was just something that, like, wasn't really spoken about in our family at that time. I would have been open to, but it was just something he wasn't in the way that he was brought up. It was seen as a flaw or, you know, a weakness. And it progressed. And my father, he. He ended up having a second divorce and a big change of life. And in July, in 2012, just kind of noticed something was off with him and got very connected with him on his mental health journey. And he really wanted it to be a private thing. He really wanted to keep it just between us and kind of didn't want me to involve Anybody. I was very alarmed. Very. But yeah, I was very alarmed. And I didn't really know how to show up for him because I was trying to respect his mental health journey and who he was as a man and his privacy. But at the same time, my experience with it was that he needed help and he needed to talk to and connect with people and not close himself in. In a very short amount of time, my dad kind of closed himself off and it was just three weeks later, July 21, 2012, that after not hearing from my dad for a certain amount of time, you, shortest version of, you know, obviously I can recall every minute of those three weeks in this time of year. On the eve of the anniversary itself today, I'm always kind of thinking about what I was doing and what I could have been doing and how many times I checked in. And unfortunately, on the morning of July 21, I went to check on my dad and I found him dead from suicide. And I apologize to any listeners that I didn't give a trigger warning there. But, yeah, it definitely changed my life in a moment in a way that I still can't really put words around. And it. It really was like the amplifying moment of how much of a priority my mental health and my mental wellness was going to be for that moment forward and how necessary it was going to be for me to connect with other people in order to survive. And it's not until much later, through, you know, more of my mental health journey and unfortunately, one. One more hiccup in the road, a very bad accident that killed one of my very good friends and left me relearning to walk and with a pretty bad head trauma that I finally was compelled to learn not how to just survive, but really, really thrive. And, you know, that's a shout out to Jen right there, Jen Merrifield, who is my coach and now has become my mentor over the last few years.

Yeah, man. Well, thank you for sharing that. And I can imagine, especially this time of the year, and I'm sure it's probably. It's never easy bringing up these old stories and traumatic events and to really hear, you know, the brief. And the brief version of that for me is such a thing. Yeah. And I just again, want to acknowledge you for just being courageous enough to share that with us and the listeners. And ultimately, you know, I'm. I'm a believer that, you know, within the seeds of our darkest moments and the most painful experiences hold the potentials for our purpose to emerge. Right. And it kind of seems like you know, the larger purpose has been birthed out of some of these really traumatic experiences for you. And I'm really excited to bring this message, you know, out here to Australia as well because this is certainly a global thing. You know, mental health is something that, you know, is widely talked about, but I feel in Australia, around men, it's not something that is not very often talked about out here and it's something that I feel this message needs to be shared more. So maybe tell me a little bit more about what you think you've noticed when it comes to the male side to mental health and what you've noticed around the struggles that men have when it comes to having these kinds of conversations. And that made you feel like now is the time to bring a brand like Tether. And for those who don't know, Tether, the peer to peer support app for connecting men with like minded individuals to have deeper conversations, is that correct?

Yep.

So why do you feel like now was the time to kind of get this, something like this out to the world and really spread the word here?

You know, Tether is really born of our CEO and founders Matt's experience and you know, his story is very inspiring to me in the sense, you know, obviously my story hits, you know, it's something of sort of a traumatic phenomenon that like those things all happened in such a short amount of time. And you know, obviously there's a certain level of resilience and mental wellness that has to be tended to when you're dealing with events. And my inspiration is kind of bridges with Matt because, you know, my, what I like to always say to people is start taking care of your mental health and your mental wellness before a life event deems it absolutely necessary. And I know that, you know, we're both Joe Dispenza fans as well and you know, Dr. Joe says that as well, you know, like, start the work now because, you know, whenever there's a trauma or some sort of big life event and you know, we're all going to go through in a scalable way an experience that we find traumatic or life changing at some point generally. And so to start to do that work earlier and Matt, Matt was very inspired because he struggled with mental health his whole life and he kind of, you know, I'd like to say sort of that, that typical point where you're in your mid to late 20s, you're doing pretty well for yourself, but you're not fulfilled and you're not happy and you don't feel like your mental health is being tended to. And he actually befriended somebody that he could really connect to and open up to. And unfortunately, in Matt's story, that very good friend of his passed away quite suddenly. And in losing that one really strong connection where he felt like he could show up in respect to his mental health and wellness, sort of the seed and the need of tether was born. And as a friend of mine, that's sort of where Matt and I reconnected. We went to high school together, and we had this long lapse where, you know, we were Facebook friends, acquaintances, of course, but, you know, just the way life is. I was off in California, he's in Toronto. Not as connected as you might think, but he just had posted, actually, a Facebook status. And there's something. When you've been through a certain level of grief, it's almost like a spidey sense that I sort of had it like, you know, something's going on there. There was just something in the tone and something that, you know, inspired me to reach out. And we sort of were both at this point, me right after the accident and him right after his friend's death, where we really were. We were both being coached, we were both seeing therapists, we were both doing it all, you know, meditation, energy healers, Reiki, I mean, you name it. We wanted to feel good, and we wanted to feel like we wanted to be here. And we were both sort of grappling with even layers of suicidal depression at points. Matt, I know, more so than me at one point and me shortly after. So it was weird. We found this ebb and flow of supporting each other and connecting each other. And, you know, that's when he was in the early days of starting to talk about something like tether. And, you know, right away, just as a champion, I was like, dude, this is what is needed. I'm telling you. Like, this is what's missing. Like I always say, the only reason I'm still here, a big part of it is the coaching and that wellness aspect, but the connection, connecting. Anytime that I can feel heard, anytime that I can show up, anytime that I can truly within my own experience, which you think would come with the territory, but it's not something we feel comfortable doing. And I grew up in a very, very modern house with, like, liberal parents and, like, just. I have nothing bad to say about my mother. Her only fault is that she. She loves too much, if that's a thing. So I was given the words to talk about whatever I was going through, and I still somehow inherited whether it was through my dad's side of the family or just in general, this, this idea to kind of to over present that I was doing well no matter how much I was struggling. And for me, that showed up in a lot of a type behavior. Founding a charity after my brother's death, doing advocacy work after both, both my brother and my father graduating top honors on scholarship. Like just really trying to overachieve in many different segments to bring attention to that. So it wasn't the classic like stoic masculinity challenge so much as the idea of keeping that private and really presenting success and strength.

Yeah, I see what you mean. And really like you said, I wanted to pull out what you said. There's so much value in feeling connected and seen and heard in conversations. And that's where back to, you know, the connection with Jen, that Jen was my first coach and I remember having my first experience of being coached and that was exactly what I felt I received in that context or that space in that container that gets created when you have a coaching session with someone, it's someone's there for you to hold space, for you to hear out what it is you're going through. And as a man, like, dude, sometimes it's so rare to have someone who's like jumping on a conversation. They're there to hold space views. Hey, what's going on? What are you feeling? What's happening? Tell me what's up? And there was so much power and value in that for me, which that fundamentally shifted my journey, man. Like, I'd come out of the corporate world and was in pursuit of a path in health and wellness and really know what direction I was going to take. But when I experienced coaching from Jen, it really showed to me the tremendous amount of power and value in just listening to people and giving space for someone to feel seen and heard. And since that point, you know, like, I eventually transitioned and became a coach because I wanted to give that back to other people. And this is why I align so heavily with what you guys are doing. And I believe so fully in the power of deep conversations because we forget, particularly someone like myself. And given the fact I've been so blessed to grow up in Australia to have a great support group of friends and I've always had support there, you know what I mean? But easy to forget that a lot of people don't. A lot of people don't have anyone they can talk to. And that's where I'm like, that's got to change. Because one conversation can change someone's life like, you know, and really I'm curious to know what is the vision here with the brand and the company, like other specific milestones you're hoping to achieve when it comes to the expansion of the company?

Yeah, absolutely. So I'll give a shout out. So the three co founders are Matt Zuercher, Danny park and Burke White. But you know, what they originally really set out to do was to create a safe space and a barrier free space where men could show up. And something that I do as the VP of brand is make sure that every time we show up that that's what we're creating and it's somewhere where men could come and feel safe enough to open up and share or feel safe enough just to listen to others or to connect. So I, I think that's like sort of like overall that's, that's always going to be the seed of our mission. And I don't know, you know, it's kind of from a, from a brand perspective, like it's interesting. It actually kind of reminds me of conversations that I had with Jen and I don't know if you ever had this, but she used to talk about this later on in my coaching and my mentoring. But there's sort of two types of loneliness that I think that what I'm seeing is like a lot of the men that I'm talking to, there's, there's two types of loneliness. There's the loneliness when you feel that like you were talking about where you need an entry point, you need just a safe space to kind of find yourself in terms of your mental wellness and your mental health. And really what I'm saying just to like, for the guys who are going like, you know, I don't know, that sounds like a lot. I'm just talking about talking, I'm just talking about connecting with other guys and sort of like you said at the beginning of this conversation, practicing courage, you know, that's, that's really what it is, you know, practicing courage and kind of showing up for each other and taking turns being the supporter and being supported. And I think that when you've never had that, we really want to always show up as an entry point and on the other side of the spectrum there's that other type of loneliness that my coach and I used to always talk about is I would love to hear how you kind of see this as well. Once you've started to do the work, once you've headed down a spiritual and wellness path, there's a different type of isolation that starts to show up where you really are looking for a community. You know, you start to, in some ways, kind of grow out of certain friendships and you're looking for sort of more and to have deep connections. And there's like this sort of new willingness where you wish, like, you could kind of bring everyone along in your learning and in the benefit of that learning and tether kind of like is a cool ecosystem where there's a home in that for both of those people and there's. There's something on both sides to really provide value and to still continue to learn from each other.

Yeah, you nailed that. When it comes to people who start out, or from what I've noticed when I started out on my journey and through some of the conversations I've been having with other people who. Who have began that kind of, like, spiritual journey or that inward journey, initially, like you said, that can feel lonely as well. Because as an example, you know, when I was working in my corporate job, I realized that there wasn't. This wasn't the path for me. So I began this kind of inner journey of looking to understand my emotions more, meditate more, practice yoga. And as a man, I felt a little bit alone because I was a little bit afraid or embarrassed to talk about what I was doing because people around me weren't talking about this stuff. And it was like. It felt a little bit isolating. I felt like a bit of an outsider. So I'm getting the sense that's the second loneliness that you're speaking of. And I know that a lot of people go through that as well. They want to be connected with a community of people who are engaging in the same things. And that's where, like, I took value from, being in, like, the local yoga community, my local yoga studio, because I was just. I just enjoyed being around other people who are into the same stuff as me. So. And like you said, this is a platform where people can come together and really connect on a similar wavelength and really be around people who are having similar kind of conversations. And when it comes to kind of, if someone's interested in learning more about this, like, how does the app work?

Yeah. So at this point, as long as you have access to the Apple Store, our Android users, we are coming for you. It is in the works. But right now it's available in the Apple Store. And basically what's going to happen is when you download the app, you're going to be prompted when you first download it, to create a profile, and you create that profile to your Comfort. We are in an effort to normalize men's health and wellness conversations. So we really encourage you to put your picture up and use your first full name. If you're at a point though where something a little further out and maybe initials is is how you're going to show up, we can honor that too, of course. And then you're going to be prompted to take an oath. And the oath just has some guidelines around like our community principles and just what is and isn't sort of what will help to make this a supportive environment. And then beyond that, at a very basic level, the app prompts you to check in with a screen that's just you can scroll and scroll and scroll and find the exact mood that you're feeling, prompting you to do a self check in to and build some awareness there and put words around what you're feeling. Because, you know, often in real life we don't do that, we don't check in. So it's like you don't know if you're acting or speaking out of anger, out of, you know, sadness, out of grief, whatever it is, or out of complete gratitude. It's like you're not kind of checking that first, you know, So I love just doing that. Like, it's like if I was to check in right now, where am I at? And then from that check in you have the ability to kind of create a thread and start to connect with other men. And as the platform grows, there's going to be a lot more elements to it and it will always be peer enabled in the sense that it grows and changes with the user experience, all in an effort to really create the most impact for the user. And just in the world, as far as where we're at with the men's mental health crisis, I know that you've been following us, but I'm happy to share that our Close the Gap initiative that just ran from July 1 to tomorrow, July 21, it's guided by two statistics that are guiding a lot of our work and we're advised by some of the top doctors or the top doctors in the world around men's mental health and depression over at Heads Up Guys, which is another great resource to check out as well. But 77% of men are saying that they have some sort of depression, anxiety or stress. And 40% of men say that they won't ask for professional help unless they feel suicidal or like inflicting self harm. And what's kind of more alarming about that is one we both know that Mental health for men specifically is underreported because it's not something that a lot of men always talk about. And from the suicide statistics, which is three out of four suicides are men worldwide, and up to 80% are, in some countries are men. You know, that leaves you wondering how many aren't even. You know, you think that the other 60% of that statistic are asking for help earlier. But the suicide rates and the epidemic that's going on in men's mental health in relation to suicide really makes you question how many aren't ever asking for help. And so again, we, you know, we have vision and we have excitement around really tackling and showing up in the men's mental health arena. But what we really have to do right now is create an entry point and create a community where that can grow, you know, and that people can grow to a comfort level where they're able to share and we can close the gap. Filling that gap with resources, awareness, fundraising, and just access. And that's. That's the biggest thing I get most excited about for Tether is access. I mean, even in a global pandemic where, you know, I know you guys are even state to state closed, and I don't know if you guys still are, but last time I talked to my sister, like, even within the country, we're being kind of confined within our counties and our states. And this is something that was born by coincidence at a time where there's no borders. You know, you can connect with anyone around the world, around what you're feeling and what you're dealing with.

Yeah, 100%. And like you said, man, I really feel this is the time, like that statistic to me blows. Blows my mind. Because, you know, when you're leaving it that late, before someone asks for help, when you get to the point, oftentimes at that point it is. It's too late. If you're already experiencing thoughts of suicide, that's depression. You've been pulled in and down the spiral of depression that's sometimes very hard to pull yourself out of. So I really am inspired to. To really share this kind of. This mission and really be. I really think it comes down to what we're doing right now, man, is sharing and speaking up. Because, you know, in. Since I've started, like, my Instagram page, like, I really, I struggled initially to. To share, to be vulnerable. Don't know, just because I grew up playing football at a high level, has been around a lot of other, like, you know, masculine, stereotypical men, wasn't normal to talk about feelings and emotions and things like that. So I really struggled starting out, being more open online. And as I continue to share more, I noticed that every time I did, always someone would reach out and say, hey, thank you. Thanks for sharing that. That resonated well, that helped me today. And that was the. Those little reminders that I kept getting to say, hey, this. This isn't actually about me. This isn't about me. This is about how can I make someone else feel safe in what they're feeling or validate someone else's experience. Because I spoke up and said, hey, I'm going through this today, and if anyone else is too, then know that it's totally normal and fine and you're not alone. And. And I think that's where it's at, man. Because a lot of the times that's all someone needs is someone to be like, oh, shit, you know, he's going through that. Jordan's going through that as well. Addison's feeling the same way. Okay, maybe. Maybe it is okay for me to speak up and get some help. I think that's the stigma that needs to be broken, you know?

Absolutely. And I think it's important for us as well. You know, regardless how far I take my mental health and wellness advocacy and how evolved you become as a coach, there also starts to become this sort of second assumption that people that are heavily involved in a spiritual and mental health journey have it all figured out. And I don't know about you, but I'm willing to go on the record and say that's absolutely not true for me. And I'm spending my days as a result of building such an incredible brand, like, just literally with proof and analytics and data like, supporting like that. I shouldn't feel as isolated as I do sometimes are lonely. And, like, even the statistics I just shared, I mean, that's gotta be a lot of other dudes who've lost their dad the same way. And unfortunately, a lot of other dudes that have just lost someone or anyone really, you know, and, you know, to even heighten that, to be the person who found them, I mean, that's just it much more common. And that's where the inspiration for everything that I've done, even, like, you know, as, you know, when I moved to la, it was originally, you know, before COVID we used to have this thing called Hollywood. And it was, you know, as a. You know, I was here as a writer, an actor, a creator, and, like, I went to school on scholarship in the performing Arts and that's been, been a part of my life and what Covid has kind of been like, as we say, there's gifts birthed from these hardships. And what it's really allowed me to do is realize that like the power of story and the power of connecting people is what my passion is. That can be through a screenplay, through my God given talents of writing, which I think I definitely got from my mom, who I always say if you think mine's good, she's the next level. But you know, no matter what, it's that connecting for me. And you've seen with my work with Addy Connect with the conscious consulting that I've done. Like everything I was doing was about connecting two things in an effort to create a bigger picture and a bigger web. And you know, I'm so glad that you, that you're one of the brave who even on Instagram and it like we're not all there, you know, I, I was stuck in this place between my sort of model actor Instagram and what I was being told to put out and like being this fully feeling human being and like part of this sort of commercial outlook in LA was to what we all see on social media, but amplified that you're doing so well. And it's funny, one of my younger cousins who I used to think of like as, you know, I never thought when we were younger that like my younger cousin would be such an inspiration to me. Her name's Kelsey and she works in sustainability. And I just, I love having conversations with her and I remember her saying like, I was starting a second account for Addie Connect and she just said, I said, do you think I should carry my 11,000 followers over? And she said, I think you should be brave and start something new and know that whoever follows what you're doing there is really there for that reason. And every one person that shows up will be more valuable to you and you'll know that you're creating value for them. And that just became such a cool seed for everything I did in my life. And it's exactly like what you're saying. You start to exhibit that bravery, you start to practice courage. And people come out of the woodwork and they're like, you know, even if it's not with you at the same public level, they're in your DMs, they're taking you aside after like talking to you about your share. And so that like, for me, as soon as Matt came up with Tether, it was just like, yeah, I think There's a lot of people waiting on the sidelines for someone to make the first move right now, you know, because everyone has a full range of emotions and feelings and feels connected when they get to express them in a safe way. That's a no brainer that the challenges is inviting them in. And a lot of what the research that the doctors that we work with have found too, for men, for whatever reason, to get them to start talking, there's something specific about the peer to peer relationship that the person listening to them wasn't paid to listen to them, that they consider them someone who's gone through what they've gone through. And there's sort of a commonality and not a hierarchy. And for whatever reason that peer to peer environment and exclusively specific to other male identifying users just is the recipe of them really opening up. And that's like I say, we've got to start where we are. We got to be right where we are right now. Right now. We could make this for everybody and slap an inclusivity sticker on it. But what we're really working towards is inclusive benefit. Because when a man takes care of their mental health and wellness, it positively affects every single human being they come in contact with. And that I have just seen time and time and time again. And so that value of allowing them to connect in this way, to get comfortable in that zone and then allow it to bleed into the rest of their lives.

Yeah, man. And I'm curious to know, like from the work you've been doing so far, because you've been operating or working in this space for a little while now, you're probably noticing, I guess, certain patterns or certain observations around what it takes or what kind of gets in the way of men being able to open up or when it comes to supporting an environment that allows men to speak up and to talk about these topics, like what have you noticed being some of the main things that stop men from opening up and how if someone's listening who might know someone, who they want to try and you know, lean them in the direction of kind of having these kind of conversations, but don't know how to necessarily introduce them or kind of mention something like tether, like what have you found to be some of the best ways someone can reach out or create that space for someone to open up.

You know, I love when Matt refers to tether being a container. I think that it's such a perfect metaphor of creating the container where this, where this type of thing can happen, where people do feel safe to Open up, regardless of any. Any other factors. And within the app, I mean, I'm sure you've been. You've been in those rooms how many times where someone's facilitating something and then you know, who wants to go first? And nobody moves. You know, it's like. And then one person shares or one person practices courage, and then it's just sort of like, for lack of a better word, in this environment, viral in the sense that, you know, it's contagious in the way that suddenly people who were never going to say anything first are showing up. And so the idea here for me, as I continue to build the brand with founders, is that that entity is tether, that best friend. You know, that's who tether is. For me, it's like, it's not Harry Potter. It's not the Crusader, it's the Ron Weasley. You know, it's the best friend who's gonna kind of make it safe and show you the way and have your back. And it's not Dumbledore or Gandalf either. It's not like this wisdom hierarchy down either. It's someone on your level who's down for the journey and really is able to create that container for you. And, you know, sometimes we don't start these conversations because we're so scared that we won't know what to say or how to help a friend or how to help another man. And the crazy thing is, is I know you know this, and you said at the beginning of the conversation, creating a container between two people sounds as simple as, I hear you. You know, just, you know, I want to acknowledge that you shared that. I'm really happy that you're sharing this, man. You don't have to feel like you're a psychiatrist or a life coach or to normalize mental health conversations. You can just simply make sure that someone feels heard. And, I mean, I know you see it every day in coaching others and when you were being coached and when you work with mentors, I'm sure, as well. And just on a general level, when you just know someone's really listening, there's magic in that, you know, And I know that's not science for you and it's not tech, but that's also not where I come to this equation. It's really in the magic of human connection and how in the digital age and even in. In the face of a pandemic, how we can create that and that safety within an app. And that's why I love your question. It was Two sided And how can guys also do this in their lives? And it's the same way because really what I'm always doing is looking at what works or what's worked in lives or in the feedback from men of what's made them feel connected. And then we're trying to bring that to more people and make it more accessible. But it's always that seed of that container of being listened to and then being a trusted resource. Your best friend is not going to like say, oh, you should try these magical pills because they'll, you know, fix your body and make you happy for the rest of your life. Like tether's not going to be that type of brand. Wouldn't your best friend refer this to you? Would they connect you to this practitioner, this coach? Would they? You know, how does a best friend look like in a fully optimized platform? How do we keep showing up in that way? And a lot of the times what that person does in your life, I don't know for you but for me it's helping you with the unchartered territory like in the movie Archetypes like I mentioned. And also just kind of a come along with me. Like you don't have to be the hero today. Like just come and meet these people and if you like sharing, share. And that's kind of Tether's kind of that, that entry point of hey, let me show you something. But there's this club over here and it's, it's not exclusive, although you might think it is. But any man who wants to share or talk can kind of show up. And the biggest proof of that man is when you're scrolling through the app there's kind of surface level stuff. That's great. We do our check ins like you know, share, share, everything's valuable, share it. But when someone goes deep and in an unexpected way, the sort of instant and full responses that come, you know, it's like suddenly these users appear and it's just, you know, they were waiting for one person to open that door and they're willing to share as well. Everything from sexual health to personal blocks and relationship issues and just takes that one person to kind of open the gate and, and you'll see Matt and I are, we're on there as well as Burke and Denim as trusted voices guiding and moderating and again but in that role of that best friend, not as a, any sort of like policing mentality.

100%. Yeah, yeah. And you nailed it before with what you said around. There's Something powerful in. In giving someone your undivided attention and being there as a. As a space, as truly listening to someone, there's an energy exchange that happens there. I feel like it's an energetic thing. We don't really need to understand the quantum physics of it, but when you give some of your attention, you're giving them your energy. And that kind of space where someone feels fully heard creates, like an energy that they feel like they feel your level of presence and your level of connection, and then that allows them to really be able to express what's going on. And it's really special and powerful that this is a container for people to be able to experience that. So, again, man, just want to acknowledge you and Matt for what you guys are doing, and I'm fully on board with all of this. Hey, for people listening, I want to learn more about this. You did mention. Go and check out the App Store, Apple App Store, if they want to check it out. But where else. Where else can they learn more?

And then we are. We're on Instagram and we. That's. That's kind of where we do our podcast as an igtv. Our Instagram is kind of our main hub for user experience and also for everyone, regardless of gender, you know, for resources and to contribute there. Like I said, some of our biggest champions have been women and where allies are showing up all over. And we just absolutely love that. It's tetherformen T E T H R F O R M E N on Instagram and we're also on Facebook and LinkedIn. I can also be found on Tether itself on Instagram and on LinkedIn myself, mate.

Yeah, I highly invite people to really go and check this out and get on board with it. And be sure to check out Addison on Instagram as well. Mate, I just wanted to thank you again for being able to come on here and have this conversation and all the work that you're doing. I'm really looking forward to seeing where this goes and how far you guys can take it. So thanks again, man.

Thank you, man. Yeah, hopefully, hopefully over to Australia as soon as they'll let us fly. I look forward to coming, coming and. And spending more time together and sort of spreading this message over there as well.

Definitely, bro.

On my radar, man.

Definitely.

Thank you for the work you're doing and we'll stay connected.

I appreciate that, Addison. Thanks again, mate. Hey, there we have it, guys. Thanks so much for listening to this episode. And, yeah, look, if you made it this far, cool. Here's my voice again in Yuria and I'm going to make one more request for you is go ahead and subscribe and leave a comment on the podcast page because I'm really putting a lot of focus and attention on getting this podcast out to more people because I know what I'm putting in here can serve and bring value to people and it would mean a lot if you got value from this to leave some feedback and subscribe. So you stay up to date with what's coming up and as always, follow me on Instagram and love hearing from you. It's eight shifters until the next episode. Guys, thank you so much and I appreciate you.