Brent Pope is a New Zealand born Rugby Player, Coach, Television Pundit, Children's Book Author, Journalist and Founder of the Elephant in the room foundation. Brent has spent many years advocating for Mental Health Awareness whilst confronting and giving voice to his own personal struggles.

We discuss his childhood in New Zealand, his career in Rugby, his efforts to raise awareness and destigmatize mental health issues, the Elephant in the room foundation and what the future holds

"Rugby is a special, extreme case of face to face communication, with real and voluntary vulnerability to pain and humiliation, which is seldom exploited, even by your enemies. This serves to build up your trust in human decency, to recognise your own tendency and ability to hurt others, and to empathise with people who haven't had this opportunity - those who end up lashing out, in fear, envy or resentfulness. How to bring those people back into the fold seems to be much more about inviting them onto the rugby pitch, where they can earn and express genuine respect, rather than in a disembodied no-stakes gladiator death-match online. If good conversations are a game, perhaps they're rugby." - Kevin J. Ryan

Elephant in the room foundation: https://www.elephantintheroom.ie/

Twitter @RealBrentPope

#mentalhealth #rugby #mentalhealthawareness

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