Gymshark Opens ‘Safe Space’ Barbershop For Men To Open Up About Mental Health
Photo 137684695 © Ina Reviaka | Dreamstime.com
Mental health isn’t discussed often enough, particularly with men, who have been told all their lives that “boys don’t cry” and that they should “suck it up.”
There are very few places where men can let their guard down, and one of them is at the barbershop, when they hand over the reins to their barber.
Activewear brand Gymshark has thus opened a barbershop in East London’s Shoreditch that’s a cut above the rest—it’s a “non-judgmental safe space” where customers are encouraged to be vulnerable. The Gymshark Deload Barbershop, which will welcome customers from July 12 to 17, will listen to patrons talk about their mental health while giving them a free haircut.
All the barbers, who are employed by Curfew Grooming, are also trained professionals in mental health support.
Gymshark open new barbershop called deload- where all the barbers are trained in mental health care encouraged men to open up pic.twitter.com/r1ZwqbStu6
— Carrie Rose (@CarrieRosePR) July 12, 2022
Gymshark has been working with UK suicide prevention charity Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) and US-based mental health nonprofit The JED Foundation to raise mental health awareness in an initative called Deload, hence the name of the barbershop.
The temporary salon was set up following a study by CALM that discovered men felt safer opening up to their barbers than to therapists or doctors.
“As men, we’re notoriously bad at talking about how we’re feeling, but there’s just something about being at the barbers that makes us open up more. Here at Gymshark, we believe the weight belongs in your hands, not your head, which is why we want to get more men talking about their mental health in an environment they feel comfortable in,” Gymshark explains.
Sportswear brand Gymshark has created a barbershop where men can get free haircuts and open up to barbers with training in mental health care.
— Dionne Grant (@DionneGrant) July 12, 2022
Deload is open between July 12 - 17, 2022.
📠149 Shoreditch High St, London E1 6JQ https://t.co/VMJHLaknv8 pic.twitter.com/MpeD6hkp1N
Deload merchandise will also be put up for sale, with proceeds going to CALM’s suicide prevention efforts. Lined on the shop’s walls are posters by the charity reminding visitors that it’s okay to not feel okay.
Luckily, this barbershop might expand beyond the UK. Noel Mack, the company’s chief brand officer, says that Gymshark’s North American wing is considering taking the idea across the pond, according to Famous Campaigns.
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[via Retail Gazette and Famous Campaigns, images via various sources]
