In episode 338 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with George Gabriel.

George is the Director and Co-Founder of an organisation called ‘The Dad Shift’, which is made up of a group of men, dads and other parents campaigning for better paternity leave in the UK. 

Currently, in the UK, dads only receive a statutory two weeks off work when they become a father or for any future children they have. This is paid at less than half the minimum wage, with self-employed men receiving nothing.

The Dad Shift is calling for more paternity leave that is sustainable, affordable and equal. 

In this episode we first discuss George’s mental health journey, which centres around several major life events. The first was his marriage to his first wife, who he was in a relationship with for 13 years. 

After it ended acrimoniously, he ended up moving back into his childhood bedroom with his parents at 30 years old. At the time, he was running a humanitarian organisation supporting refugees called ‘Safe for Passage’ and he hit rock bottom.

The first steps of his recovery then came when his brother took him on a holiday to Brazil. However, things didn’t pan out that way and after signing up for a mountain hike in the middle of the night whilst intoxicated, he reached the summit and thought about taking his own life. 

Just as he was about to complete this attempt, his tour guide came over to him and offered him a Snickers bar, and it broke his suicidal thought cycle.

He came back to the UK, took more positive steps with his recovery, and suddenly things began to fall into place for him. 

He was approached by a recruiter for a tech company and got the job, he did EMDR therapy and ayahuasca, which we’ll discuss in the pod how they benefited him, and George slowly rebuilt his life. 

He entered a new relationship with his now-wife and became a father twice! In his words, he now lives a life he never imagined.

We discuss this entire mental health journey of crisis and recovery, fatherhood, the work he is doing with The Dad Shift and the impact it has had on changing the conversation.  

As always, #itsokaytovent

You can find out more about The Dad Shift here: https://dadshift.org.uk/.

You can follow The Dad Shift on social media below: 

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In episode 337 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Mark Taylor. 

Mark is a Director at Men Walking and Talking (MWAT), a men’s walk and talk organisation founded in 2021 by Dan Reid. 

Mark is also the Kenilworth branch Walk Leader, which is how he became involved in MWAT and remains the leader to this day. 

In this episode we discuss his involvement with MWAT, its growth, the services it provides and the impact it’s had on the men they support. 

We also discuss Mark’s own mental health journey, which originates from a very bad car accident he had in 1997 when he was 25 years old. For a long time he didn’t see it as a long-lasting traumatic event.

However, in 2021, his mental health issues came to a head. 

He started experiencing unexplained outbursts of anger in the workplace, which became so bad they almost cost him his job. 

He googled anger management therapists and found someone who began helping him unlock why he was having these outbursts. 

He told his therapist about some important life events which had caused him difficulty or even trauma. He listed being bullying at school, getting divorced from his wife and the loss of regular time with his children. 

He then disclosed the car accident and some traits which are associated with Post-Traumatic Stress, including the anger, as well as high sensitivity to noisy environments and certain sounds. 

Suddenly, things began to make sense and from there, he began to gain the self-awareness to improve his life, make adjustments to his work to avoid being triggered and recover from those traits which had previously almost derailed his life. 

We discuss all of that, his recovery and how he now helps men go on that journey of self-awareness and ownership like he did.

As always, #itsokaytovent

You can find out more about MWAT and find your local walk branch here: https://www.menwalkingandtalking.co.uk/.

You can follow MWAT on social media here: https://www.instagram.com/menwalkingandtalking/?hl=en

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In episode 336 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Sam Lehane. 

Sam is an entrepreneur, former business owner and former employee of Virgin StartUp, where he worked during two separate periods.

In-between all of that, he co-founded a creative events & wellbeing business called Make Your Own (M.Y.O) alongside his wife Diana, which they ran together from 2017-2025, until they exited and sold it.

In this episode we chart Sam’s professional journey, from starting out in KPMG in their Dublin offices, moving to London, starting his own business alongside his wife and being inspired by his father, who ran his own business for over 30 years. 

We also discuss his work with start up businesses with Virgin and working with Richard Branson, where he is in 2026 where he could be unemployed for the first time, and the identity issues he has been managing as a result. 

For Sam’s mental health journey, we discuss the life and death of his dad, who died from bowel cancer on 4th September 2014. We talk about the influence he had on his life, the way Sam handled the grief and how he moved forward from that point. 

We also talk about how following the Covid-19 pandemic, Sam was much more proactive in developing his mental toolbox, which involved him trying various things to figure out what worked for him and what didn’t, and using those in the future when he experienced mental health dips.

We finish by discussing the role his wife plays in supporting his mental health, fatherhood, which he was due to become at the time of recording and this new chapter of his life.

As always, #itsokaytovent 

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In episode 335 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Darren Placid. 

Darren has worked as a firefighter in the London Fire Brigade for 20 years. He applied in 2004 and successfully became a firefighter in 2005. 

He is currently stationed at Romford Fire Station and completed a sponsored Hyrox on 5th December 2025 in full fire gear alongside his friend and colleague Carl to raise money for The Firefighters Charity. The charity provides mental health support to male and female firefighters across the service. 

In a previous life, Darren was a professional footballer, playing as a goalkeeper until retiring in 2004, and played in the FA Cup for non-league team Heybridge Swifts in 2003.

After retiring, he didn’t know what to do with his life. He was away with his mates for a weekender and he happened to hear the fire service advertising on radio stations all weekend. He decided to apply, which caused some conflict with his dad, whom he later reconciled with, and the rest is history. 

In this episode we discuss his professional journey, becoming a personal trainer, and his 20 year firefighter career. 

For Darren’s mental health journey, we discuss his experience of Post-Traumatic Stress, particularly two incidents which shaped his life at different stages. 

When he was 16, he was at a train station when he saw a man jump in front of a train and take his own life.

Fast forward a couple of decades and at the same train station, working as a firefighter this time, he had to deal with another incident of a young person jumping in front of a train too, and we talk about this very weird and dark ‘full circle’ moment. 

We discuss how he dealt with that incident from a mental health perspective, the tools he put in place to manage the symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress when they occurred after that incident, and how he's moved forward to do his job to the best of his ability.

As always, #itsokaytovent

You can follow Darren on social media here: https://www.instagram.com/darrenplacid/

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In episode 334 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Mike Thompson.

Mike is the Founder of two organisations, Paternity Fraud UK and the Falsely Accused Network. 

Mike founded PFUK in July 2020 and then later set up FAN in May 2023. 

FAN supports men who have been falsely accused of domestic abuse in the family court system and outside of it, and PFUK supports men and families who have been the victim of paternity fraud, which is still not classified as its own unique criminal offence in the UK.

Mike’s desire to start these organisations came from his own experience of being the victim of paternity fraud and being falsely accused of domestic abuse from his marriage to his first wife. 

Mike married his first wife in 2013 but very quickly after the wedding, the relationship became toxic. 

In November 2017, he decided to leave the relationship for good. However, the day he told her he was leaving her, she rang him and told him she was pregnant. 

This child was born in the summer of 2019. Fast forward two years later and in May 2020, after developing suspicions about his paternity and his best friend disclosing to him that he shared his own doubts, he took a DNA test and devastatingly, Mike found out that the child he was raising as his own for two years, was not his. 

In this episode we discuss that journey, his experience of periods of depression at various points in his life, his experience of being a victim of paternity fraud, its prevalence in the UK and the statistics behind it, his experience of the family court system and being falsely accused of domestic abuse. 

We then discuss how he channelled that trauma into setting up PFUK and FAN, the work the organisations do to support men, the safeguards they have in place to determine the genuine men who have been falsely accused and those who are in actual fact abusers looking to falsely accuse their own female victims, and the key achievements the organisation has had since they were created. 

As always, #itsokaytovent

You can find out more about Paternity Fraud UK here: https://www.paternityfrauduk.org/ 

You can find out more about Falsely Accused Network here: https://www.falselyaccusednetwork.co.uk/

You can follow FAN on social media here: https://www.instagram.com/paternityfrauduk/

You can follow PFUK on social media here: https://www.instagram.com/falselyaccusednetworkuk/

TRIGGER WARNING: this podcast contains discussions about paternity fraud, domestic abuse and suicide, which some listeners may find distressing or upsetting, so please listen with caution.

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In episode 333 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Scott Johnson. 

Scott is the Founder and CEO of the Proper Blokes Club (PBC) C.I.C, a community organisation which provides walk and talk groups for men across London and, since we last checked in, outside of London too!

We first checked in with Scott in JCIP #256 in August 2024, where we discussed the origins of PBC, divorce and his experience of the family court system, parental alienation, gambling and alcohol addiction and his subsequent recovery from both.

In the last year, PBC has gone from strength to strength. Scott now runs PBC full-time, and the organisation has 30 walks across the UK!

In Part 1, Scott was also developing a new idea called Talk FC, which in the last year, he has successfully launched. The first team is based in Romford in East London, with 25 lads from the ages of 20-50 years old.

We discuss the ‘Team Talks’ they do at the end of every session, his plans for an employment project through Talk FC, and his plans for a new programme to help young people from the ages of 10-19 too. 

For Scott’s continued mental health journey, we have a check in on his recovery, rediscovering his love for running and his goal to do an ultra-marathon in 2026. 

We also discuss the balance he has to find between finding ‘good addictions’ to replace his old, negative ones but still retain a healthy work-life balance and family life. 

As always, #itsokaytovent

You can find out more about Proper Blokes Club and find a walk and talk near you here: https://www.theproperblokesclub.co.uk/

You can follow PBC on social media here: https://www.instagram.com/the_proper_blokes_club_cic/ 

You can also follow Talk FC on social media here: https://www.instagram.com/talk_fc_uk/

You can listen to Part 1 of Scott's journey here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2595459/episodes/18685899

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In episode 332 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with George from TheTinMen.

We first checked in with George in January 2024 in JCIP #223, where we covered a whole range of issues he covers on the platform, including: male domestic abuse victims, male suicide, working-class boys and boys more generally struggling in education, fatherlessness and sexual abuse in men’s prisons.

In this Part 2, we discuss his views on Netflix’s megahit TV show ‘Adolescence’, the state of play for male domestic abuse victims and men with eating disorders, social media trends like ‘men would rather do X than go to therapy’ and the very problematic ‘would you rather be in a forest alone with a man or a bear’.

We also discuss the controversy surrounding a dating app called 'Tea', and George’s ground-breaking investigation into men’s mental health charity ‘Movember’ and what he uncovered.

We finish by discussing the recent break he took from advocacy work and why he did it.

As always, #itsokaytovent

You can follow TheTinMen on social media below: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thetinmen/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheTinMenBlog

You can listen to Part 1 of George's journey here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/2595459/episodes/18685941

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In episode 331 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with Colm Brett. 

Colm is now the Founder and CEO of Arctic Event Solutions, which provides towable refrigerated trailers for hire to the live events space, including concerts and festivals. 

In this episode we discuss why he stepped away from the live events space full-time, building the business, and the freedom its given him in still being able to do freelance work in the space whilst having a much better routine and structure. 

We also discuss the benefits and challenges of being an entrepreneur and self-employed, and the new skills it’s given him. 

For Colm’s continued mental health journey, we talk about how he has become a lot better at expressing vulnerability and taking off the mask around people. 

We also talk about the role his long-term partner has played in the progress he’s made, and the joy that’s come into his life with the dog he and his partner decided to adopt! 

As always, #itsokaytovent

You can find out more about Arctic Event Solutions here: https://www.arcticeventsolutions.com/

You can follow them on social media below: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arcticeventsolutions/

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In episode 330 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked back in with journalist Ben Sixsmith. Ben currently works as Online Editor and podcast critic for The Critic magazine, and also has a Substack called The Zone. We first checked in with Ben in November 2022 in JCIP #159, where we discussed his journey into journalism, male stoicism and the pros and cons of meaning and its absence. We also discussed Ben’s experience of an eating disorder, where he had anorexia and bulimia during his university degree, why the EDs forced him to drop out of university altogether, how he overcame them and turned his life around.In Part 2, we discuss a range of issues, including online subcultures and how our identities have become increasingly tied to them, AI and the future of creativity. For Ben’s continued mental health journey, we discuss his agnosticism, the grief of losing his dog Lola, and his decision to get a new dog called Buddy.As always, #itsokaytoventYou can find out more about Ben's writing here: https://www.bensixsmith.com/.You can follow Ben on social media below: X: https://x.com/BDSixsmithYou can listen to Part 1 of Ben's journey here: https://soundcloud.com/venthelpuk/jcip-159-ben-sixsmithSupport Us:Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpukPayPal: paypal.me/freddiec1994?country.x=GB&locale.x=en_GBMerchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shopMusic: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvk

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In episode 329 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Richard Campion. Richard is a Devon-based professional photographer, who specialises in wildlife photography. We came across his work through great friend of the pod and all-round legend William Jones-Warner who recently did a collaborative project with Richard capturing wild otters in the Isle of Mull in Scotland.Richard grew up in Jersey originally and got into photography relatively late.It started when he moved to London in 2015 and he was in a corporate job in The City he deeply disliked. During this difficult period where he experienced symptoms of depression and quite severe anxiety, Richard would try and combat it by going for short walks and looking for wildlife. That summer, his sister visited him and bought him his very first camera, and the rest is history. He began capturing the wildlife he saw on those walks, building that love of nature and animals, and he eventually got himself out of that state of mind. Now, he has built his photography career to the point he can do it for his full-time career. He offers workshops and photography tours to clients, including the chance to see beavers, seals, brown hare and red deer. In this episode we discuss this journey, his career highlights so far, working with Will and their plans for a wildlife podcast in 2026. For Richard’s mental health journey, we discuss his diagnoses of OCD and ADHD. He was diagnosed with OCD and this manifested in rituals, health OCD and intrusive thoughts which his brain told him he needed to do in order to protect his mum and sisters and prevent them from dying. We discuss his journey of self-awareness, acceptance and ownership of both these diagnoses, the tools he’s used to manage them from childhood to adulthood, and where the conversation is for people living with OCD now, vs when he was a child in the 1990s.As always, #itsokaytoventYou can find out more about Richard’s work here: https://www.richardcampionphotography.com/ You can follow him on social media below: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mywildlifeimages/ Support Us:Patreon: www.patreon.com/venthelpukPayPal: paypal.me/freddiec1994?country.x=GB&locale.x=en_GBMerchandise: www.redbubble.com/people/VentUK/shopMusic: @patawawa - Strange: www.youtube.com/watch?v=d70wfeJSEvk

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