The Greater Man Challenge

We are proud to be supporting such a meaningful charity, and look forward to sharing this moment with you at Solstice.

The Greater Man Challenge is a non-profit raising awareness for men’s mental health through the restoration of a heritage sailing boat with a rich, storied past.

The Greater Manchester Challenge was built in the 1980’s using charitable donations and constructed with largely unskilled labour by the people of Greater Manchester. For nearly 30 years it was used by the Ocean Youth Trust to give young people from underprivileged backgrounds life changing experiences at sea, fighting knife crime and giving them opportunities to work together, learning the importance of working together in community. After being sold into private ownership nearly 15 years ago it fell into disrepair, until now…

The GMC team found the boat rusting in a marina in Kent with no masts, sails or rigging, and hearing the back story of the vessel vowed to restore her to her former glory and re-trace the journey she took in the 1992 Tall Sails Columbus Regatta, sailing from the UK down to Portugal, and across to the Caribbean via the Azores.

Now, a year since the discovery, they have a crew of 12 men from different backgrounds at different points in their mental health journey coming together to restore the boat and learn to sail, whilst discussing the themes around mental health that affect so many. Cameras have been rolling as we put together a feature documentary, alongside a YouTube series centred around the themes of restoration, and mental health.

It is our hope that through doing something side by side, and talking face to face, we can debunk the stigma that leads to nearly 80% of suicides being accounted for by men, saving lives as we go.

Men’s mental health affects everybody, and The Greater Man Challenge aims to include everybody in the discussion, irrespective of gender.