WEBVTT

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Hello and welcome to The Purpose Brief. This

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episode is our long -awaited conversation with

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Matty Lewis who's a social entrepreneur and change

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maker working across York and North Yorkshire.

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We explore three things, men's mental health

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and mindfulness, his work on delivering corporate

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social responsibility and what it takes to build

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a career in the social good space. The context

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of this really matters. Men's mental health remains

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one of the most under -addressed challenges that

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we face. And in the UK alone, around three quarters

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of suicides are amongst men. And globally, there

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are 700 ,000 people who die each year from suicide.

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So this is not a marginal issue. It's a public

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health priority. I'll be really honest with you.

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This is deeply personal to me. I lost a friend

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in his mid -twenties and decades on, the thought

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of this stays with me. At the time, we didn't

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talk about mental health 25 years ago. And that's

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why work like Matty's and all the associated

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charities in that space really makes a difference.

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And it creates a space for conversation, for

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reflection and for support. Many men are still

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less likely to seek help. shaped by expectations

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around resilience and self -reliance and masculinity.

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So the idea of mindfulness and safe spaces is

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not a luxury. It is necessary. And perhaps the

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simplest takeaway for me is just be kind. You

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rarely know what someone else is carrying with

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them. So Matty brings a perspective grounded

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in lived experience. He's working directly with

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people. He's building trust and he's responding

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to gaps in the system. It's been a real privilege

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to get to know him over the past 18 months. This

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is a clear example to me of what purposeful place

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-based leadership looks like. Matty, welcome

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to our next episode of The Purpose Brief. Thank

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you for joining us today. It's a pleasure. Let's

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talk first and foremost about your purpose and

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the work that you do. I feel my purpose is...

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is to help people as cliched or cheesy as that

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sounds that's that's how i feel surrounded by

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great people that help me to do that but i feel

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like my purpose is to help people i think about

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I have four roles in life. You know, one of them,

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I have a son, I am a father, you know, and I'm

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very fortunate for that. But the three kind of

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hats that I wear on a day -to -day basis are

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with the Fortis Foundation, so head of foundation,

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and we give away grants to small charities and

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community groups. We're helping people. In my

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spare time, me and four mates run a men's mental

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health charity called Menfulness. reducing suicide

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amongst men where we're helping people. And another

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voluntary role with the York Knights, looking

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after the lads' play welfare. So just encouraging

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the players to speak about challenges on and

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off the field. And there I'm helping people as

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well. So it never feels like a burden to do that.

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It's very rewarding. It's empowering as well.

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But yeah, that's my purpose, helping people.

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And how did you get into that line of work? Is

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that just because you... created this serendipitous

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kind of engagement with people because of the

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work you do and you're you're somebody who likes

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to go and fix things yeah tell me a little bit

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about that yeah i mean part of it might be because

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i i'm a yes kind of a guy if someone says this

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isn't great and i'd love us to fix it i'll say

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yes and worry about whether we can or not later

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on and but i suppose that all the roles have

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happened quite organically i think The first,

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you know, I spent eight years on frontline policing

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and then I went into what I would call a normal

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job. I was a commercial manager up at the York

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Knights Rugby Club, actually. And over that period

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of time, from about 2018 onwards, that's when...

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myself and my four mates started Menfulness and

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my inspiration for involvement was that I'd lost

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a friend to suicide he'd just become a new dad

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and and whether that had an impact or not Yorkie

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Dads was kind of there for that reason for new

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and existing dads to get together and give kind

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of like -minded support and influence and and

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create an environment where New dads, existing

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dads would feel safe to say they're struggling

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and we started breaking the stigma there and

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then we created Menfulness, which was the umbrella

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over the top of Yorkie Dads to help every man

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that we could and reduce that stigma and reduce

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suicide in men. The experience of building Menfulness

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from what was a very, very small, it wasn't even

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a community group, it was just five mates trying

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to do a bit of good in the world, all the way

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through community group, registered charity status

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and to today where we're helping thousands of

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men every single week. So then be asked to use

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that experience to start, strategise and run

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the Fortas Foundation and take away those barriers

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and hurdles that I'd felt as an unskilled volunteer

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in the early days with Menfulness. Now that's

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very, very full circle and we give grants to

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these little guys, the small charities and community

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groups all across Yorkshire. How did I get involved

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in it? Well, it started as something very, very

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small from a personal experience and quite a

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sad event in losing a friend. But a lot of the

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time that is the case with people that work in

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the charity sector is that it starts with something

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that actually isn't great and it inspires them

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and motivates them to make sure that that doesn't

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happen again. And that certainly was the case

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with me. And credit to you and the founders for

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going through that route and setting up a charity

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is not easy to do. Can you say a little bit about

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why North Yorkshire and York, why this is a big

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thing for this region of the country? And we

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know that suicide in men is one of the biggest

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killers in men under the age of 50. So what has

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inspired you and how has that grown in this region

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in particular? Yeah. Why Minton? I don't know

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that we really knew. the kind of beast within

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yorkshire that when we first started out i think

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when we first started out it was just we all

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lived in york and let's do something on our doorstep

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that helps fellas out and we all had our own

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networks that we could go you know let's come

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along to this and see what it's all about and

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it was and that was the easiest and most organic

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way to do it i think what we found is that now

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The foundation supports charities and community

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groups all across Yorkshire, but from a mindfulness

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point of view, we've just grown out to Scarborough.

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We've demonstrated a hell of a lot of impact,

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and you can kind of firmly say that we are saving

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lives on a daily basis, and we can demonstrate

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that through academic research that's been done

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by York St John's University. We've grown out

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to Scarborough because the need is in Scarborough,

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and however much we sit there and thought...

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Well, we're never going to grow. Mental illness

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is never going to grow. It's just going to be

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a York -based thing. What we've found is that

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coastal towns statistically struggle with suicide

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and mental health. Huge geographical influence

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on that. And what I mean by that is if you drop

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a pin in the middle of York and draw a 10 -mile

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radius... Think about the amount of support you

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get there. If you drop a pin in the middle of

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Scarborough, a 10 mile radius, well, half of

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that's the sea. So there isn't a lot of support

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there. So geographically, it lends itself to,

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it's always going to struggle. When you kind

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of look at York and North Yorkshire as a whole,

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mental health wise, and you think about the industries

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that statistically are struggling, you firstly

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got the fact there's a coastal town or Scarborough

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is an example of a coastal town. You've then

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got... Agriculture, which statistically suicide

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rates are horrendous in, and the construction

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industry, which can be said for anywhere in the

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UK, obviously. But when you've got all three

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of those demographics in York and North Yorkshire,

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there's a clear need, and we're here to do it.

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And how much we never dreamt that we would kind

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of grow out outside York, if we stop what we're

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doing now, it will be to the detriment of many

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in our area. And Menfulness has been down to

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Downing Street and it's been supported by the

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York Regional Mayor. That's a really good endorsement

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for you. Is that going to open up more opportunities

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to grow? I mean, this is something that's not

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going to change in terms of service that has

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to be provided. Yeah, well, I think when you

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look at statutory services that are out there,

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they're just stretched. And every decision at

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the moment is finance related. So I think what

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we've delivered is five fellows doing some good

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in the world. This isn't our job. You know, we're

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not doing it to hit a KPI or because we're paid

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to do it. We do it because we care. We genuinely

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care about the blokes that we support. And because

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we've kind of learned. Along the way, we were

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talking about becoming a registered charity even.

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Four of the five of us would have no idea how

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to look at kind of charity regulation and design

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policies and structure. But one of us is really

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good at that. So all the way through lockdown,

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when we were going through that process, one

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of the trustees, Sam, is brilliant with stuff

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like that and has the patience for it. And he

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used to drop in, they were called Sam's Nuggets,

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and he used to drop in two or three. points of

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process and things that we had to read understand

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and acknowledge and then we kind of move on so

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when we talk about learning things kind of step

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by step that that's what we've done you know

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we're not sitting here as professionals today

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saying we're brilliant at running a charity but

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what we are saying is that while we have learned

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and we have upskilled and we've got experience

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we're delivering through passion and i think

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when you look at what the mayor David Scaife

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is trying to deliver across York and North Yorkshire,

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it's with people at the heart of everything.

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I think the most highly trained individual will

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do a great job, but I think if you've got people

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who've got lived experience and passion and care

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in their hearts, I think they're always going

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to deliver something that's super impactful and

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on a level that's pretty tangible as well. What

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are the things that inspire you most about the

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work that you do with mindfulness? You know,

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someone asked me recently... You run a charity

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foundation as your day job, and it's not just

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a day job, but you've then got menfulness, which

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you run in your spare time, which is significant.

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You then look after the night's lads with player

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welfare, and that's a 24 -7 job. You've got a

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son, you've got your own life. How do you recharge

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your batteries, or what recharges your batteries?

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And the answer was relatively simple to me, and

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that is... when you receive some form of feedback

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that says you're making a difference. So for

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me, there are things that I remember. I remember

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in quite early days, I think we were maybe a

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year into the Menfulness as a registered charity,

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and we received an email from a mum of a fellow

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that we'd supported through the process who had

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reached out, come to our events and activities,

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accessed the counselling. become a volunteer.

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And he was empowered by being a volunteer and

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was suddenly, you know, he's back. He's in a

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much better place. And his mum just sent this

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email saying how she'd kind of accepted she was

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going to lose him at some point. And the sign

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off to this email was, thank you for giving me

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my son back. Now, for us, we used to laugh and

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say, we're just five. We're just five guys trying

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to do a bit of good in the world and we're not

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experts. But you kind of look at that and you

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think, oh my God, that's our motivation. That's

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why we do what we do. And it makes you hungry

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for more. And there's a sad reality that every

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now and again, and thankfully with a lot less

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frequency as there was in York. But every now

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and again you hear about another suicide in York

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and we think, oh, my God, how have we not reached

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that person or how have they not reached out

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to us or what more can we do? And, again, that

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motivates us as well. So, yeah, we receive a

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lot of feedback. There's guys that say quite

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openly in the talk group, they say, you know,

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I wouldn't be here without this event once a

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month. I know I wouldn't be here. I've made friends.

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loneliness and isolation piece that that so many

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actually do struggle with quite quietly you know

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we're we're getting rid of that as well because

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we've got such a supportive loving network of

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thousands of men in one city that are all looking

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out for each other whether they're complete strangers

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or know each other really well and i think driving

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that culture even in that group of men that's

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a diverse group of audiences really with different

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needs and different likes yeah you're doing everything

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from interventions for younger people work with

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dads and their children yeah and arts groups

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all those as well as sport and yeah boxing and

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things like that yeah so the the idea being is

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that if we just had a retro gaming night which

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is a multitude of old kind of games consoles

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and all games and your mario cats and stuff like

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that you're not going to get someone who is sport

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upset you might but you're not going to get someone

00:13:21.200 --> 00:13:23.600
who's sport obsessed who's going to sit down

00:13:23.600 --> 00:13:25.559
with his consoles may not know what he's doing

00:13:25.559 --> 00:13:28.559
but that's the diversionary activity there's

00:13:28.559 --> 00:13:30.299
not going to be much common ground between him

00:13:30.299 --> 00:13:32.899
and the bloke sat next to him so the idea is

00:13:32.899 --> 00:13:34.940
while we have the dad's daughter's hair school

00:13:34.940 --> 00:13:36.740
this isn't about a dad learning to plait his

00:13:36.740 --> 00:13:39.240
daughter's hair although you get that skill while

00:13:39.240 --> 00:13:42.100
you're doing it You can talk to a like -minded

00:13:42.100 --> 00:13:43.960
fellow right next to you and you might be able

00:13:43.960 --> 00:13:45.919
to validate how he's feeling or he can validate

00:13:45.919 --> 00:13:48.200
how you're feeling. And you might be going through

00:13:48.200 --> 00:13:49.960
a certain struggle or a certain point in your

00:13:49.960 --> 00:13:52.179
journey that they've been through that. This

00:13:52.179 --> 00:13:53.940
is what worked for me. Why don't you try this?

00:13:54.080 --> 00:13:57.139
And it's immediate support if you're not in a

00:13:57.139 --> 00:13:59.799
great place from a like -minded fellow. So all

00:13:59.799 --> 00:14:01.740
we're doing is creating an environment where,

00:14:01.759 --> 00:14:03.840
you know, we're reaching out to very specific.

00:14:04.440 --> 00:14:07.820
demographics and very specific interests but

00:14:07.820 --> 00:14:10.360
then we're broadening the kind of we always used

00:14:10.360 --> 00:14:14.019
to be 18 plus so if you're a man age 18 or above

00:14:14.019 --> 00:14:16.960
then come along to these events now we've started

00:14:16.960 --> 00:14:19.659
something called next gen menfulness and that

00:14:19.659 --> 00:14:22.159
is essentially working with another charity called

00:14:22.159 --> 00:14:25.480
next all but one they use the arts as a diversion

00:14:25.480 --> 00:14:28.919
activity so really harnessing talent within so

00:14:28.919 --> 00:14:31.519
on giving them belief and confidence for teenagers

00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:35.340
now we're working alongside them to deliver a

00:14:35.340 --> 00:14:39.580
program of support that is co -designed by the

00:14:39.580 --> 00:14:41.720
teenagers themselves so being able to sit in

00:14:41.720 --> 00:14:44.639
front of a teenager and say why is life tough

00:14:44.639 --> 00:14:47.799
as a teenager right now And the answers can be

00:14:47.799 --> 00:14:50.580
things, anything from kind of, ah, well, social

00:14:50.580 --> 00:14:52.620
media you can see on so -and -so's platform.

00:14:52.759 --> 00:14:54.919
This is where they are. They've clearly got loads

00:14:54.919 --> 00:14:57.679
of money and they're saving a deposit for their

00:14:57.679 --> 00:14:59.259
house and they drive this car and they've got

00:14:59.259 --> 00:15:02.440
this watch on. And I'm not there. And why aren't

00:15:02.440 --> 00:15:05.659
I there? Am I a failure? So you get those kind

00:15:05.659 --> 00:15:08.039
of comments and they're the pressures as a teenager

00:15:08.039 --> 00:15:11.049
on top of... Pressures that I remember as a teenager

00:15:11.049 --> 00:15:14.330
a long time ago, which was around kind of dating

00:15:14.330 --> 00:15:18.049
and relationships and identity around careers.

00:15:18.230 --> 00:15:20.610
Well, what am I passionate about? What do I want

00:15:20.610 --> 00:15:23.210
to do for a career? And we're dialing into that

00:15:23.210 --> 00:15:25.309
through Next Gen Menfulness now. So really like

00:15:25.309 --> 00:15:28.090
co -designing survival guides with teenagers.

00:15:28.289 --> 00:15:31.049
So we know that actually they're the things that

00:15:31.049 --> 00:15:32.990
matter to them. They're the things that are going

00:15:32.990 --> 00:15:35.190
to resonate with them. And then using the arts

00:15:35.190 --> 00:15:38.649
to kind of harness those. those negative behaviors

00:15:38.649 --> 00:15:41.090
and turn things into a positive so we it's something

00:15:41.090 --> 00:15:43.110
that we've just started and yesterday we were

00:15:43.110 --> 00:15:46.169
down at number 10 you know talking some very

00:15:46.169 --> 00:15:48.629
influential individuals and the mayor was down

00:15:48.629 --> 00:15:51.889
there and the local mp luke was down there and

00:15:51.889 --> 00:15:54.129
and you're having these conversations and suddenly

00:15:54.129 --> 00:15:56.110
you find that actually although we're not highly

00:15:56.110 --> 00:15:59.129
trained professionals they are coming to us for

00:15:59.129 --> 00:16:00.789
guidance and support on how to have a broader

00:16:00.789 --> 00:16:04.210
impact as a local government and so anybody in

00:16:04.210 --> 00:16:09.419
york can utilize your services and access it

00:16:09.419 --> 00:16:13.179
straight within a few days, essentially, which

00:16:13.179 --> 00:16:15.460
is quite groundbreaking for this kind of thing.

00:16:15.480 --> 00:16:18.580
It is. Yeah, and there's no membership. There's

00:16:18.580 --> 00:16:20.840
no fee. There's no sign -up. We don't need personal

00:16:20.840 --> 00:16:25.049
details. It is as simple as turn up. Some of

00:16:25.049 --> 00:16:27.250
the events, like the Fireside Football, we use

00:16:27.250 --> 00:16:30.970
the Meetup application or webpage, and that enables

00:16:30.970 --> 00:16:33.070
us to list all our events and activities. It's

00:16:33.070 --> 00:16:35.350
a go -to place that's accessible via our website.

00:16:36.049 --> 00:16:39.750
Although for the Fireside Football, we have to

00:16:39.750 --> 00:16:41.389
get someone to sign on to say they're attending

00:16:41.389 --> 00:16:44.730
because there's a limit to how many. We have

00:16:44.730 --> 00:16:46.129
three sessions a week and they're always fully

00:16:46.129 --> 00:16:48.860
booked, so we have to do that. But we don't need

00:16:48.860 --> 00:16:51.179
people's personal details in order for them to

00:16:51.179 --> 00:16:54.000
come along to the walk and talk or the breakfast

00:16:54.000 --> 00:16:57.360
club or X, Y, and Z. And it's really important

00:16:57.360 --> 00:16:59.840
that we do that because what we're trying to

00:16:59.840 --> 00:17:02.440
do is take away any barriers to any bloke accessing

00:17:02.440 --> 00:17:05.019
support. So when you look at the counselling,

00:17:05.160 --> 00:17:07.339
so the private counselling, we got to a point

00:17:07.339 --> 00:17:10.259
where there were guys going to the GP asking

00:17:10.259 --> 00:17:13.799
for help. The GP was saying, well, there's a

00:17:13.799 --> 00:17:16.839
year -long waiting list there. But in the meantime,

00:17:16.980 --> 00:17:19.019
check these guys out. And then we didn't want

00:17:19.019 --> 00:17:20.859
to be signposting them back if they were really

00:17:20.859 --> 00:17:23.299
struggling. So what we did was set up a partnership

00:17:23.299 --> 00:17:25.380
with Serendipity Counselling where we can have

00:17:25.380 --> 00:17:27.579
a bloke sat in front of a counsellor within 48

00:17:27.579 --> 00:17:30.180
hours of referral and pay for a full block of

00:17:30.180 --> 00:17:34.440
six sessions. So there's no barriers between

00:17:34.440 --> 00:17:36.819
a bloke who's really struggling and accessing

00:17:36.819 --> 00:17:39.180
the support he needs, whether that's through

00:17:39.180 --> 00:17:41.880
our proactive events activities or accessing

00:17:41.880 --> 00:17:44.420
the counselling directly. And these are professional...

00:17:44.650 --> 00:17:47.329
private counselors and we hear so many success

00:17:47.329 --> 00:17:50.849
stories from that as well so hopefully all encompassing

00:17:50.849 --> 00:17:53.289
support that's really great it's really great

00:17:53.289 --> 00:17:56.569
to see it's a great role model for services across

00:17:56.569 --> 00:17:58.670
the country do you see that growing and presumably

00:17:58.670 --> 00:18:02.099
this need is not going to go away Yeah, we don't

00:18:02.099 --> 00:18:04.200
think the need is going to go away. I think when

00:18:04.200 --> 00:18:06.880
you kind of turn the clock back and you look

00:18:06.880 --> 00:18:09.799
at the stigma and men's mental health, and it

00:18:09.799 --> 00:18:11.920
probably feels like it's just getting worse and

00:18:11.920 --> 00:18:13.440
worse and worse and louder and louder and louder.

00:18:13.920 --> 00:18:16.500
I actually think it's just as bad as it was 20

00:18:16.500 --> 00:18:19.299
years ago. But because it's being spoken about,

00:18:19.460 --> 00:18:22.660
it probably feels louder. Now, don't get me wrong.

00:18:23.599 --> 00:18:26.299
In some respects, it's a more... challenging

00:18:26.299 --> 00:18:29.339
world and you think of examples around inheritance

00:18:29.339 --> 00:18:31.880
tax in agriculture in the farming industry and

00:18:31.880 --> 00:18:34.019
stuff like that there's there's certain financial

00:18:34.019 --> 00:18:36.400
decisions made and the country is struggling

00:18:36.400 --> 00:18:38.519
and and of course that has a negative impact

00:18:38.519 --> 00:18:42.380
on people but i still don't think it's spiraling

00:18:42.380 --> 00:18:44.339
out of control i think because we're speaking

00:18:44.339 --> 00:18:47.259
about it more but surely that means that we're

00:18:47.259 --> 00:18:49.099
breaking the stigma you know the stigma behind

00:18:49.099 --> 00:18:50.880
mental health because it's been spoken about

00:18:50.880 --> 00:18:53.670
and guys are reaching out for support and For

00:18:53.670 --> 00:18:57.690
us, we look at kind of suicide rates is a measure.

00:18:57.910 --> 00:19:00.950
Part of the academic research meant that we could

00:19:00.950 --> 00:19:04.930
see that over that previous 12 months, suicide

00:19:04.930 --> 00:19:07.029
rates at the start of the research and suicide

00:19:07.029 --> 00:19:09.069
rates at the end of the research. And at the

00:19:09.069 --> 00:19:11.630
start of the research, every talent in the UK

00:19:11.630 --> 00:19:14.190
going up. At the end of the research, every talent

00:19:14.190 --> 00:19:18.089
in the UK going up, except York, which was decreasing.

00:19:18.670 --> 00:19:21.410
Not only decreasing, but the rate had decreased

00:19:21.410 --> 00:19:25.910
by 10%. So that's not insignificant. Now, we're

00:19:25.910 --> 00:19:27.309
not going to take full credit for that. We're

00:19:27.309 --> 00:19:29.690
certainly not. The NHS is still doing their job.

00:19:29.769 --> 00:19:31.269
There are other amazing charities and community

00:19:31.269 --> 00:19:33.450
groups doing their jobs. The stigma is being

00:19:33.450 --> 00:19:35.109
broken. We've got loads of partners that shout

00:19:35.109 --> 00:19:37.109
about mental health and men talking and stuff

00:19:37.109 --> 00:19:40.849
like that. We're doing our job in York. We've

00:19:40.849 --> 00:19:42.390
expanded out to Scarborough. We're trying to

00:19:42.390 --> 00:19:47.059
do the job out there. I think that... It's working.

00:19:47.240 --> 00:19:50.200
I think our model does work. We never dreamt

00:19:50.200 --> 00:19:52.039
that we would need to expand or grow out somewhere.

00:19:52.400 --> 00:19:54.900
But if someone tells us, apply for this part

00:19:54.900 --> 00:19:56.680
of funding, you'll get it, and we need you out

00:19:56.680 --> 00:20:00.299
there, we're never going to say no. And the thought

00:20:00.299 --> 00:20:02.519
that we would stop doing what we're doing now,

00:20:02.700 --> 00:20:06.579
it would have a detrimental effect on thousands

00:20:06.579 --> 00:20:08.619
of men across York and North Yorkshire, and so

00:20:08.619 --> 00:20:12.039
we're not going to stop. What should people who

00:20:12.039 --> 00:20:15.099
are listening look out for? In terms of the signs

00:20:15.099 --> 00:20:20.660
and the responses, if somebody's got a relative

00:20:20.660 --> 00:20:23.460
or their partner, what are the kind of things

00:20:23.460 --> 00:20:25.000
that we should be looking at? There's obvious

00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:28.119
ones that people would know around someone becoming

00:20:28.119 --> 00:20:30.279
more and more secluded and shutting themselves

00:20:30.279 --> 00:20:31.980
in the bedroom at night or not going out and

00:20:31.980 --> 00:20:35.140
socialising. But there's less obvious ones. Essentially

00:20:35.140 --> 00:20:37.460
what I tell people is any change in behaviour.

00:20:37.799 --> 00:20:40.920
So if it's a colleague in the workplace, are

00:20:40.920 --> 00:20:43.500
they turning up late consistently? Are they turning

00:20:43.500 --> 00:20:45.700
up early consistently? If they turn up early,

00:20:45.960 --> 00:20:48.240
what's going on at home for them to want to be

00:20:48.240 --> 00:20:50.920
at work earlier? Is it a body language thing?

00:20:51.140 --> 00:20:53.460
Is it physical health? Are they quieter? Are

00:20:53.460 --> 00:20:56.759
they louder? You know, it's not always what you

00:20:56.759 --> 00:20:59.200
would class as kind of stereotypical or they

00:20:59.200 --> 00:21:01.599
must be struggling because they are putting on

00:21:01.599 --> 00:21:04.140
weight. They look tired. They're not talking

00:21:04.140 --> 00:21:05.859
as much. They're not socializing. It can be the

00:21:05.859 --> 00:21:07.940
complete opposite. They could be spending loads

00:21:07.940 --> 00:21:10.609
of time in the gym. They could be in the best

00:21:10.609 --> 00:21:12.690
physical shape of their life, but why are they

00:21:12.690 --> 00:21:15.150
spending most of their life in the gym? They're

00:21:15.150 --> 00:21:16.730
isolating themselves. Why are they doing that?

00:21:17.150 --> 00:21:20.009
Essentially, it's any change in behavior is worth

00:21:20.009 --> 00:21:22.630
asking the question. And I know there's a lot

00:21:22.630 --> 00:21:25.150
of fear and apprehension around asking the question.

00:21:25.390 --> 00:21:27.670
It's understandable because the answer could

00:21:27.670 --> 00:21:30.490
be quite scary, but you don't need to be a professional

00:21:30.490 --> 00:21:32.750
to ask the question. Essentially, you need to

00:21:32.750 --> 00:21:35.730
have a pair of ears. And yeah, you have to grit

00:21:35.730 --> 00:21:39.330
your teeth to say, are you all right? generally

00:21:39.330 --> 00:21:41.289
you're going to get a, yeah, I'm fine, mate,

00:21:41.390 --> 00:21:42.869
how are you? That's the go -to answer, isn't

00:21:42.869 --> 00:21:45.309
it? But then to go for that second time and say,

00:21:45.470 --> 00:21:48.410
are you sure you're all right? Because I've noticed

00:21:48.410 --> 00:21:51.150
that you're turning up to work really early and

00:21:51.150 --> 00:21:52.609
I'm just checking everything's all right at home.

00:21:53.309 --> 00:21:54.609
Sometimes you're going to hear an answer you

00:21:54.609 --> 00:21:56.900
don't want to hear. well yeah actually i'm really

00:21:56.900 --> 00:21:58.940
struggling well then what do you do well you

00:21:58.940 --> 00:22:01.660
just be a good mate and listen let him talk get

00:22:01.660 --> 00:22:04.400
off your chest tell me about it you know tell

00:22:04.400 --> 00:22:06.420
me about tell me about that why are you feeling

00:22:06.420 --> 00:22:08.559
how you're feeling talking about making time

00:22:08.559 --> 00:22:12.880
for for those people yeah those kind of conversations

00:22:12.880 --> 00:22:16.380
should never be rushed you know essentially you

00:22:16.380 --> 00:22:20.890
you you have to be in a good environment this

00:22:20.890 --> 00:22:23.789
isn't while you while you kind of walking out

00:22:23.789 --> 00:22:26.130
of the office this is a i want to grab you for

00:22:26.130 --> 00:22:29.410
half an hour today and you know one of the fears

00:22:29.410 --> 00:22:31.690
around having that conversation is that someone

00:22:31.690 --> 00:22:33.509
might be pissed off at you they might be like

00:22:33.509 --> 00:22:35.250
really annoyed at you and go what do you mean

00:22:35.250 --> 00:22:36.890
what do you mean i'm struggling what do you mean

00:22:36.890 --> 00:22:38.309
i've turned up to work here what do you mean

00:22:38.309 --> 00:22:40.589
i'm putting on weight like they could be offended

00:22:40.589 --> 00:22:43.049
by that but the reality off the back of that

00:22:43.049 --> 00:22:46.400
is how long can someone stay in order another

00:22:46.400 --> 00:22:49.140
person when they've just shown kindness and yet

00:22:49.140 --> 00:22:51.180
you know you're never going to rule out the fact

00:22:51.180 --> 00:22:52.819
that someone might be a bit annoyed at you for

00:22:52.819 --> 00:22:55.539
asking that question but generally speaking they're

00:22:55.539 --> 00:22:57.000
going to come around and i think you know what

00:22:57.000 --> 00:22:58.480
mate thank you very much for looking out for

00:22:58.480 --> 00:23:02.299
me there so it's checking in on your mates yeah

00:23:02.299 --> 00:23:06.119
and your friends it's that community connection

00:23:06.119 --> 00:23:08.940
as well which is part of the the offer for mindfulness

00:23:08.940 --> 00:23:12.700
yeah but more broadly i think how we engage as

00:23:12.700 --> 00:23:15.730
communities is important The thing I find most

00:23:15.730 --> 00:23:18.390
interesting about that is that it's almost like

00:23:18.390 --> 00:23:22.390
this opinion that if somebody has a platform,

00:23:22.589 --> 00:23:26.390
then they can't struggle. So, for example, Sonto

00:23:26.390 --> 00:23:30.250
plays for the York Knights. He's a player of

00:23:30.250 --> 00:23:33.009
the season, top point scorer. I mean, look at

00:23:33.009 --> 00:23:35.769
him go. He's living the rugby league dream. He

00:23:35.769 --> 00:23:37.950
can never struggle, can he? When the reality

00:23:37.950 --> 00:23:40.210
is that, generally speaking, if someone's got

00:23:40.210 --> 00:23:43.589
a platform... So let's use a rugby league player

00:23:43.589 --> 00:23:48.329
as an example. They have concerns around a career

00:23:48.329 --> 00:23:50.769
after rugby, because let's be honest, there's

00:23:50.769 --> 00:23:52.950
not much money in rugby, so you're going to need

00:23:52.950 --> 00:23:55.390
to continue working after retirement. A sense

00:23:55.390 --> 00:23:57.309
of purpose and direction, if that's the case.

00:23:57.670 --> 00:24:00.630
Injury, both through the season or career -ending

00:24:00.630 --> 00:24:03.990
injuries. Contracts, selection. There's all these

00:24:03.990 --> 00:24:08.269
challenges and concerns and worries that the

00:24:08.269 --> 00:24:11.480
players can face. on top of challenges that you

00:24:11.480 --> 00:24:14.799
or I could face around relationships, physical

00:24:14.799 --> 00:24:20.119
health, jobs, careers, all the regular challenges

00:24:20.119 --> 00:24:22.420
that we can, if I can use the phrase, regular

00:24:22.420 --> 00:24:24.039
challenges that you and I can face, they've got

00:24:24.039 --> 00:24:25.759
all those other challenges on top of that as

00:24:25.759 --> 00:24:28.680
well. Pressure. Yeah, it's added pressure. And

00:24:28.680 --> 00:24:31.319
what we can't do here is sit here and put people

00:24:31.319 --> 00:24:32.859
on pedestals and think, well, they can't struggle

00:24:32.859 --> 00:24:36.359
because... and that's the that's the beauty around

00:24:36.359 --> 00:24:38.640
a lot of the mindfulness events is that you've

00:24:38.640 --> 00:24:40.759
got such a vast range of people in the room so

00:24:40.759 --> 00:24:43.380
the talk group's a great example of that okay

00:24:43.380 --> 00:24:45.960
you can have a multi -million multi -millionaire

00:24:45.960 --> 00:24:49.500
sat next to someone that's borderline going to

00:24:49.500 --> 00:24:52.039
be homeless but they're showing so much love

00:24:52.039 --> 00:24:54.079
and care to each other and this common ground

00:24:54.079 --> 00:24:56.359
because they're both human beings and i think

00:24:56.359 --> 00:24:59.240
that actually culturally i think if we all had

00:24:59.240 --> 00:25:02.019
a better mindset on that and actually we're just

00:25:02.019 --> 00:25:04.359
looking out for each other instead of looking

00:25:04.359 --> 00:25:07.599
in which is what we so often do and we can all

00:25:07.599 --> 00:25:10.200
be guilty of it and the world would be a better

00:25:10.200 --> 00:25:14.099
place how does positive mindfulness show up in

00:25:14.099 --> 00:25:17.740
high performing teams such as rugby players and

00:25:17.740 --> 00:25:20.279
other athletes well there's science behind it

00:25:20.279 --> 00:25:24.069
but i think if you if you apply a sports person

00:25:24.069 --> 00:25:26.490
into regular life. So I'm going to use an example

00:25:26.490 --> 00:25:29.789
of me as a dad, right? I've got a son, he's nine

00:25:29.789 --> 00:25:32.930
years old. And if I'm not looking after myself

00:25:32.930 --> 00:25:35.289
physically and mentally, I'm never going to be

00:25:35.289 --> 00:25:37.769
the best version of me for him. So I'm never

00:25:37.769 --> 00:25:41.210
going to be the best dad. Now, our mindfulness

00:25:41.210 --> 00:25:44.349
CEO, Jack Woodhams, always uses the example of

00:25:44.349 --> 00:25:47.369
when he accessed counselling. So he speaks very

00:25:47.369 --> 00:25:49.630
openly, amazingly about his daughter's health

00:25:49.630 --> 00:25:54.329
issues and the fact that She has really severe

00:25:54.329 --> 00:25:56.869
seizures that need medicating there and then.

00:25:57.289 --> 00:26:02.109
So what Jack, his outputs used to be that she

00:26:02.109 --> 00:26:04.710
would have a seizure, they'd medicate her, she'd

00:26:04.710 --> 00:26:06.349
come round, and then he'd spend the rest of the

00:26:06.349 --> 00:26:08.849
day feeling angry at the world, like anger would

00:26:08.849 --> 00:26:13.599
be his output. Throughout that is not being the

00:26:13.599 --> 00:26:15.339
best version of himself. You know, you can't

00:26:15.339 --> 00:26:18.140
see clearly. It sits heavy on you for the rest

00:26:18.140 --> 00:26:21.880
of the day. You're not being the best dad, husband,

00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:25.900
friend in the meantime. Whereas after he accessed

00:26:25.900 --> 00:26:29.700
counselling, the outputs, he was trained for

00:26:29.700 --> 00:26:31.539
his outputs to be different. So actually what

00:26:31.539 --> 00:26:34.259
happens now is... medicates his daughter after

00:26:34.259 --> 00:26:36.859
a seizure and his output is sadness he's showing

00:26:36.859 --> 00:26:38.380
his emotions there's nothing wrong with that

00:26:38.380 --> 00:26:40.680
that is a great example to set to his to his

00:26:40.680 --> 00:26:43.720
kids and to his wife so for 10 minutes it's arms

00:26:43.720 --> 00:26:46.819
around and hugs and he's crying and everyone

00:26:46.819 --> 00:26:49.319
and but they come together and then it's like

00:26:49.319 --> 00:26:52.200
right come on let's let's make the best of the

00:26:52.200 --> 00:26:54.700
rest of the day and let's attack it he's been

00:26:54.700 --> 00:26:57.579
the best version of himself then so i think when

00:26:57.579 --> 00:27:00.660
you talk about high performing athletes And you

00:27:00.660 --> 00:27:03.240
talk about them being the best finishers on the

00:27:03.240 --> 00:27:06.420
field. That has to start off the field. If they

00:27:06.420 --> 00:27:09.420
are within a team with an absolutely shocking

00:27:09.420 --> 00:27:11.859
culture and they don't feel safe when they're

00:27:11.859 --> 00:27:14.119
there and they're getting the mick taken out

00:27:14.119 --> 00:27:17.099
of them and they're coming in and they've just

00:27:17.099 --> 00:27:19.059
got their head down all the time and they don't

00:27:19.059 --> 00:27:20.559
have many friends or there's little cliques in

00:27:20.559 --> 00:27:22.769
the team or anything like that. They're not going

00:27:22.769 --> 00:27:24.210
to be the best version of themselves on the grass

00:27:24.210 --> 00:27:26.490
are they? So actually when they are away from

00:27:26.490 --> 00:27:28.750
rugby and home life is good and they're healthy

00:27:28.750 --> 00:27:31.869
and they've got a positive outlook, they are

00:27:31.869 --> 00:27:34.569
going to be the best version of them on the field

00:27:34.569 --> 00:27:37.490
as well. So in a way, through elite athletes

00:27:37.490 --> 00:27:41.390
and their conditioning and their well -being,

00:27:41.410 --> 00:27:45.549
mindfulness, there's something that we can all...

00:27:45.950 --> 00:27:48.450
Learn a lesson there about how we live our lives.

00:27:48.569 --> 00:27:51.210
Is there something about positive masculinity

00:27:51.210 --> 00:27:53.950
in that sense, sort of the opposite of what everyone

00:27:53.950 --> 00:27:58.009
drags up around, you know, these kind of stereotypes

00:27:58.009 --> 00:28:00.809
around, particularly for young men? Yeah. Yeah,

00:28:00.829 --> 00:28:04.210
well, I think at the end of last season, the

00:28:04.210 --> 00:28:06.450
York Knights captain, Liam Harris, he had...

00:28:06.680 --> 00:28:08.400
an incredible season. He kicked the winning drop

00:28:08.400 --> 00:28:11.519
goal at Wembley in golden play extra time to

00:28:11.519 --> 00:28:14.380
win the trophy. And he captained the side all

00:28:14.380 --> 00:28:16.900
the way into the Super League. He got player

00:28:16.900 --> 00:28:19.000
of the season awards and top point score awards

00:28:19.000 --> 00:28:23.700
and a season of his life. And what he did at

00:28:23.700 --> 00:28:25.859
the end of his kind of speech at the very end

00:28:25.859 --> 00:28:29.220
of the awards night in front of younger players,

00:28:29.380 --> 00:28:33.160
current teammates, sponsors, families, fans,

00:28:33.539 --> 00:28:37.410
you know, media. What he said there was far more

00:28:37.410 --> 00:28:39.309
impactful than any kind of marketing campaign

00:28:39.309 --> 00:28:43.130
for mindfulness would achieve. And that is, he

00:28:43.130 --> 00:28:46.690
said, there's a reason why I've been able to

00:28:46.690 --> 00:28:48.930
perform the way I've been able to this year.

00:28:49.089 --> 00:28:51.150
And I can speak on behalf of lads and say the

00:28:51.150 --> 00:28:54.029
same. And that is with the support of Matty Lewis.

00:28:54.269 --> 00:28:59.789
Now that is not me flexing. It's nice, of course,

00:28:59.789 --> 00:29:02.670
to get positive feedback. Incredible. And it

00:29:02.670 --> 00:29:05.390
will stick with me for the rest of my life. But

00:29:05.390 --> 00:29:07.710
the broader impact of that comment is that what

00:29:07.710 --> 00:29:10.490
he's essentially said to every single person

00:29:10.490 --> 00:29:12.130
in that room, hundreds of people in that room

00:29:12.130 --> 00:29:14.289
is, it's all right to reach out and ask for help

00:29:14.289 --> 00:29:17.089
if you need it. So you talk about that kind of

00:29:17.089 --> 00:29:20.250
positive masculinity, that's positive masculinity

00:29:20.250 --> 00:29:23.390
right there. It takes a real man to say, I'm

00:29:23.390 --> 00:29:25.269
struggling. It takes a real man to reach out

00:29:25.269 --> 00:29:29.519
for support. It's good leadership. Oh, 100%.

00:29:29.519 --> 00:29:32.180
Makes a big difference across a team. Of course,

00:29:32.240 --> 00:29:34.380
yeah. Because then they know they could go with

00:29:34.380 --> 00:29:37.599
their skipper and ask for some support and advice

00:29:37.599 --> 00:29:39.619
and go, I just need to tell you that I've got

00:29:39.619 --> 00:29:42.319
this going on. And then it's not just about sport,

00:29:42.380 --> 00:29:46.559
is it? And that's very special. Tell us more

00:29:46.559 --> 00:29:49.980
about Fortas Foundation and the backstory to

00:29:49.980 --> 00:29:52.339
that. And you're doing some really impressive

00:29:52.339 --> 00:29:55.200
work with communities across Yorkshire. But talk

00:29:55.200 --> 00:29:58.430
about... how that came around and your role there?

00:29:59.009 --> 00:30:02.230
Again, I mean, I think I've used the word organically

00:30:02.230 --> 00:30:04.230
on far too many occasions so far, but I think

00:30:04.230 --> 00:30:06.529
it did come around very, very organically. And

00:30:06.529 --> 00:30:09.630
I was working for the commercial team up at the

00:30:09.630 --> 00:30:12.369
York Knights while running Menfulness in my spare

00:30:12.369 --> 00:30:15.950
time. And the senior leadership team at Fortis,

00:30:15.950 --> 00:30:18.170
Fortis were a sponsor of the Knights, so I got

00:30:18.170 --> 00:30:20.029
to know them and built a relationship with them.

00:30:20.109 --> 00:30:22.829
And they'd offered a load of support for Menfulness

00:30:22.829 --> 00:30:24.210
and said, you know, if you ever need anything

00:30:24.210 --> 00:30:25.990
from us, we're here. We think what you're doing

00:30:25.990 --> 00:30:28.490
is great. So I knew they were good folk. And

00:30:28.490 --> 00:30:31.470
then Craig Herbert, the Fortis CEO, picked up

00:30:31.470 --> 00:30:32.849
the phone one day and said, I want you to swing

00:30:32.849 --> 00:30:35.490
by the office. We want to talk charity. I thought

00:30:35.490 --> 00:30:37.890
it'll be mindfulness -related, so I swung by.

00:30:38.809 --> 00:30:43.250
And he said, Matty, I've got this amazing business,

00:30:43.490 --> 00:30:45.730
a very successful business, and that's all well

00:30:45.730 --> 00:30:47.009
and good, but I don't feel like we've done any

00:30:47.009 --> 00:30:49.630
good in the world. Some humility in that statement,

00:30:49.650 --> 00:30:53.089
isn't there? And he said, I want you to use your

00:30:53.089 --> 00:30:56.329
experience. with the growth of Menfulness, taking

00:30:56.329 --> 00:30:58.470
it from a very small community group as an unskilled

00:30:58.470 --> 00:31:01.450
volunteer to the trustee of a very successful

00:31:01.450 --> 00:31:05.089
registered charity. Use that experience. I want

00:31:05.089 --> 00:31:08.150
you to strategize the foundation and create something

00:31:08.150 --> 00:31:10.069
that removes all the barriers and hurdles that

00:31:10.069 --> 00:31:13.430
you felt along the way. And there was something

00:31:13.430 --> 00:31:16.569
very special in being given the autonomy to do

00:31:16.569 --> 00:31:19.089
that. And I think it shows how good a leader

00:31:19.089 --> 00:31:22.259
he was to say, I don't know what I'm doing with

00:31:22.259 --> 00:31:24.319
this. I know I want us to do it because we want

00:31:24.319 --> 00:31:26.960
to do some good in the world. Over to you. And

00:31:26.960 --> 00:31:29.160
that's something that not many leaders do. And

00:31:29.160 --> 00:31:32.920
so we strategized the foundation in a way that

00:31:32.920 --> 00:31:37.140
I thought, actually, let's turn the clock back.

00:31:37.519 --> 00:31:39.779
What were my biggest challenges as a trustee

00:31:39.779 --> 00:31:41.440
of mindfulness? What were our biggest challenges?

00:31:43.580 --> 00:31:46.440
Really, that was around funding being available

00:31:46.440 --> 00:31:49.799
for the little guys, as I describe them. So these

00:31:49.799 --> 00:31:52.420
small charities and small community groups. So

00:31:52.420 --> 00:31:55.079
straight away, it was making grants available

00:31:55.079 --> 00:31:57.099
for charities and community groups all across

00:31:57.099 --> 00:32:00.299
Yorkshire. These grants are between £500 and

00:32:00.299 --> 00:32:04.160
£10 ,000. and small charities and community groups

00:32:04.160 --> 00:32:06.819
defined by under an annual financial turnover

00:32:06.819 --> 00:32:09.740
of £100 ,000. So the little guys, the guys that

00:32:09.740 --> 00:32:11.420
make the least noise, but still have just as

00:32:11.420 --> 00:32:13.619
big an impact as the bigger national charities.

00:32:14.059 --> 00:32:16.160
So I wanted to make them available, but then

00:32:16.160 --> 00:32:19.960
kind of diving into it deeper, the main barriers

00:32:19.960 --> 00:32:22.519
and challenges that I felt as an unskilled volunteer

00:32:22.519 --> 00:32:24.240
was sitting there at nine o 'clock at night,

00:32:24.319 --> 00:32:27.609
opening my laptop. I've put my lad to bed to

00:32:27.609 --> 00:32:30.849
do a grant application and seeing page one of

00:32:30.849 --> 00:32:34.430
32 and thinking, oh, my Lord. And then going

00:32:34.430 --> 00:32:36.269
back to it three nights in a row to get it done.

00:32:36.450 --> 00:32:38.470
And it could be for quite a nominal fee, like

00:32:38.470 --> 00:32:41.809
£500. That has a very little impact on your operation,

00:32:41.869 --> 00:32:45.130
but you've got to go for it, haven't you? There's

00:32:45.130 --> 00:32:47.490
very little out there. And then if you're successful

00:32:47.490 --> 00:32:50.559
enough to receive that grant. You've then got

00:32:50.559 --> 00:32:52.019
the impact reporting that comes off the back

00:32:52.019 --> 00:32:54.019
of it. And the impact reporting, traditionally,

00:32:54.279 --> 00:32:56.960
very data -heavy documents, tells the postcodes

00:32:56.960 --> 00:32:58.460
and the demographics and the number of people

00:32:58.460 --> 00:33:01.539
here and the number of this there. Important,

00:33:01.740 --> 00:33:03.500
impact reporting is very, very important. You

00:33:03.500 --> 00:33:05.099
want to know that the money has gone to the cause

00:33:05.099 --> 00:33:07.700
and the impact that that cause has had. At the

00:33:07.700 --> 00:33:09.380
foundation, we've gone very, very against the

00:33:09.380 --> 00:33:11.759
grain, and that is us taking the impact reporting

00:33:11.759 --> 00:33:14.500
on behalf of the recipient. So we invest in a

00:33:14.500 --> 00:33:17.839
videographer, and we tell the story of each one

00:33:17.839 --> 00:33:20.180
of these projects we've funded through a video

00:33:20.180 --> 00:33:23.079
in a series called The Power of One. So we'll

00:33:23.079 --> 00:33:25.599
do an episode about a specific project. So as

00:33:25.599 --> 00:33:28.559
an example, Coastline Sight and Hearing, a very

00:33:28.559 --> 00:33:30.799
small charity out in Scarborough supporting adults

00:33:30.799 --> 00:33:33.700
who are blind or partially sighted, and we funded

00:33:33.700 --> 00:33:36.460
a year's worth of... dance sessions essentially

00:33:36.460 --> 00:33:38.279
something they never thought they'd be able to

00:33:38.279 --> 00:33:40.799
do and they did that these sessions every other

00:33:40.799 --> 00:33:43.539
week we go out with a videographer we get some

00:33:43.539 --> 00:33:45.579
b -roll of the session itself we interview the

00:33:45.579 --> 00:33:47.640
service users and they tell us how special it

00:33:47.640 --> 00:33:50.160
is to them the positive impact it's had to them

00:33:50.160 --> 00:33:52.880
and then we use that video as an asset to shout

00:33:52.880 --> 00:33:55.079
about the work that we've done the work that

00:33:55.079 --> 00:33:57.119
that charity do so it's free marketing for them

00:33:57.119 --> 00:33:59.640
so it's far more than just a grant but we also

00:33:59.640 --> 00:34:01.940
use that as an asset to give to our funders as

00:34:01.940 --> 00:34:05.619
well So yeah, all encompassing support. It's

00:34:05.619 --> 00:34:07.779
a really, I've said it before, but it's a really

00:34:07.779 --> 00:34:10.199
innovative way of delivering corporate social

00:34:10.199 --> 00:34:12.780
responsibility. And we know that there's not

00:34:12.780 --> 00:34:17.360
enough businesses doing that heavy lifting for

00:34:17.360 --> 00:34:20.880
small voices in voluntary and charity sector.

00:34:21.019 --> 00:34:24.639
So we take our hat off to you for that. Thank

00:34:24.639 --> 00:34:27.760
you. And for Fortis and for Craig for having

00:34:27.760 --> 00:34:30.500
that kind of foresight. But it's also about encouraging

00:34:30.500 --> 00:34:33.000
other partners to come in on board. Do you want

00:34:33.000 --> 00:34:36.219
to say about Go Give One? Yeah, so it's essentially

00:34:36.219 --> 00:34:40.320
where the funding comes from. And I suppose that's

00:34:40.320 --> 00:34:41.880
the other part of the strategy, isn't it? Is

00:34:41.880 --> 00:34:44.659
that we sat and thought, well, okay, how are

00:34:44.659 --> 00:34:46.679
we going to fund these projects? Where's the

00:34:46.679 --> 00:34:49.719
money going to come from these grants? For these

00:34:49.719 --> 00:34:53.440
grants, I should say. And I put a survey out

00:34:53.440 --> 00:34:55.440
to my network of business owners and decision

00:34:55.440 --> 00:34:59.389
makers and said, stops you from engaging with

00:34:59.389 --> 00:35:02.630
charities and the reasons where everything from

00:35:02.630 --> 00:35:04.969
does it affect productivity and efficiency of

00:35:04.969 --> 00:35:06.590
the business just do we have to take someone

00:35:06.590 --> 00:35:08.710
out of the business for 10 hours a month to work

00:35:08.710 --> 00:35:10.670
with and communicate and liaise with and set

00:35:10.670 --> 00:35:13.150
up fundraisers and all that kind of stuff they

00:35:13.150 --> 00:35:15.050
get asked by so many charities for support they

00:35:15.050 --> 00:35:16.949
can't say yes to everyone so they say no to everyone

00:35:16.949 --> 00:35:19.210
do they feel connected with the charity they're

00:35:19.210 --> 00:35:22.530
supporting so do they do the three peaks with

00:35:22.530 --> 00:35:24.469
all their employees and raise three grand for

00:35:24.469 --> 00:35:26.409
a national charity and make the donation and

00:35:26.409 --> 00:35:29.610
that's great they get the csr and the publicity

00:35:29.610 --> 00:35:31.829
off the back of that but then where does the

00:35:31.829 --> 00:35:35.449
money truly go and a couple of weeks later it's

00:35:35.449 --> 00:35:37.730
done and dusted you know and so where's the longevity

00:35:37.730 --> 00:35:41.230
and the connection in that so kind of went away

00:35:41.230 --> 00:35:44.739
and thought about a campaign and what we Ask

00:35:44.739 --> 00:35:46.900
is for a financial commitment. Obviously, that's

00:35:46.900 --> 00:35:48.920
where the funding comes from, through a campaign

00:35:48.920 --> 00:35:50.960
called Go Give One. And that's asking a business

00:35:50.960 --> 00:35:53.179
to give 1 % of the profits into the foundation.

00:35:53.639 --> 00:35:56.019
And then, as I say, we go off and do all the

00:35:56.019 --> 00:35:58.860
legwork. So we support a vast range of charities

00:35:58.860 --> 00:36:01.619
all across Yorkshire, all different kinds of

00:36:01.619 --> 00:36:03.840
charities and community groups. We're doing all

00:36:03.840 --> 00:36:05.800
that administrative burden. It doesn't affect

00:36:05.800 --> 00:36:07.500
the productivity of the business. We're doing

00:36:07.500 --> 00:36:10.179
it all. But then the CSR side of things and the

00:36:10.179 --> 00:36:12.710
connection side of things. They're feeling connected

00:36:12.710 --> 00:36:15.570
because those impact reporting videos are given

00:36:15.570 --> 00:36:17.590
to them as an asset. So they're going, there

00:36:17.590 --> 00:36:19.789
you go. Go shout about what you've contributed

00:36:19.789 --> 00:36:22.429
to. Use that video on your own social media,

00:36:22.489 --> 00:36:24.090
on your own LinkedIn, on your website, however

00:36:24.090 --> 00:36:26.630
you want to do it. Go shout about that because

00:36:26.630 --> 00:36:28.929
you've contributed towards it. And there are

00:36:28.929 --> 00:36:32.190
some 1 %ers who do it for the CSR because they

00:36:32.190 --> 00:36:34.909
know that that ticks a box. They know they're

00:36:34.909 --> 00:36:36.769
good folk. They're doing some good in the world

00:36:36.769 --> 00:36:38.949
and they want to shout about it. And that's fine.

00:36:39.190 --> 00:36:41.909
There's also 1 % that aren't bothered about that.

00:36:42.110 --> 00:36:44.530
They don't use those videos. They don't use them.

00:36:45.079 --> 00:36:46.699
But they sleep better at night because they know

00:36:46.699 --> 00:36:49.079
they're supporting so many different kinds of

00:36:49.079 --> 00:36:51.659
projects all around Yorkshire as well. So if

00:36:51.659 --> 00:36:54.119
it's a business that's got an office in Leeds,

00:36:54.119 --> 00:36:55.840
York and Scarborough, they don't have to worry

00:36:55.840 --> 00:36:57.679
about selecting a charity that's on the doorstep

00:36:57.679 --> 00:36:59.920
because we're supporting charities and community

00:36:59.920 --> 00:37:02.440
groups everywhere all around Yorkshire. So it

00:37:02.440 --> 00:37:04.579
feels like we're really taking away all those

00:37:04.579 --> 00:37:07.960
kind of concerns and barriers and it's easy and

00:37:07.960 --> 00:37:11.119
it's enjoyable. And the amazing thing is that

00:37:11.119 --> 00:37:14.369
for us themselves, commit 1 % of their profit

00:37:14.369 --> 00:37:16.610
and 1 % of their turnover into the foundation.

00:37:17.130 --> 00:37:18.889
And that means that they're covering all the

00:37:18.889 --> 00:37:21.289
running costs of the foundation plus putting

00:37:21.289 --> 00:37:23.230
money in the pot. And I think there's a real

00:37:23.230 --> 00:37:25.489
nice transparency piece around that for me to

00:37:25.489 --> 00:37:27.750
be able to say that any penny that goes in for

00:37:27.750 --> 00:37:30.250
our 1 % as our fundraisers is going directly

00:37:30.250 --> 00:37:32.889
to these causes. Then everybody knows where the

00:37:32.889 --> 00:37:35.269
money's going and the impact reporting shows

00:37:35.269 --> 00:37:37.170
them where it's going as well. Do you have a

00:37:37.170 --> 00:37:41.570
favourite impacts story that... You're happy

00:37:41.570 --> 00:37:43.530
to share? Yeah, do you know what? It was probably

00:37:43.530 --> 00:37:45.750
the most recent one. I think it was the most

00:37:45.750 --> 00:37:49.989
rewarding, enjoyable moment or wow moment for

00:37:49.989 --> 00:37:51.750
me in the last couple of years because we only

00:37:51.750 --> 00:37:54.829
launched sort of 18 months ago. The project was

00:37:54.829 --> 00:37:57.969
for a charity called Sensors out in Scarborough

00:37:57.969 --> 00:38:03.110
and it's for children who are mute or have speech

00:38:03.110 --> 00:38:05.449
impediments and often that comes with physical

00:38:05.449 --> 00:38:08.969
disabilities as well. We kind of received the

00:38:08.969 --> 00:38:10.489
grant application. We looked at it and go, do

00:38:10.489 --> 00:38:13.329
you know what? We're funding a year's worth of

00:38:13.329 --> 00:38:15.809
music therapy sessions for these kids. And there

00:38:15.809 --> 00:38:18.230
was science behind why that's beneficial to these

00:38:18.230 --> 00:38:20.909
children and for their own development. But I

00:38:20.909 --> 00:38:23.230
didn't really realize the scope and the true

00:38:23.230 --> 00:38:25.650
impact that that would have on these kids until

00:38:25.650 --> 00:38:28.119
we went to film. the impact reporting video.

00:38:28.619 --> 00:38:31.539
And the first 30 minutes of these sessions, it

00:38:31.539 --> 00:38:34.860
was kind of open play and there was this kind

00:38:34.860 --> 00:38:36.980
of beautiful little two -year -old girl and she

00:38:36.980 --> 00:38:39.000
never said a word. She didn't make a single noise,

00:38:39.099 --> 00:38:41.659
but every time she made eye contact with anyone,

00:38:41.800 --> 00:38:44.349
she had this beaming smile on her face. There

00:38:44.349 --> 00:38:46.909
was this girl who was a bit older and she just

00:38:46.909 --> 00:38:49.230
wanted to kind of run right around the room.

00:38:49.289 --> 00:38:51.750
So much energy in there. But again, I wasn't

00:38:51.750 --> 00:38:53.909
communicating with anyone. There was a little

00:38:53.909 --> 00:38:57.469
boy with severe physical disabilities with involuntary

00:38:57.469 --> 00:39:00.150
body movements. So you look around the room and

00:39:00.150 --> 00:39:02.429
they're all very complex, very complex needs.

00:39:02.889 --> 00:39:05.429
And the mums are all there with them. And then

00:39:05.429 --> 00:39:07.909
the music therapist comes in and she sits down

00:39:07.909 --> 00:39:09.469
and she starts playing this song on this guitar

00:39:09.469 --> 00:39:12.000
that... She'd obviously played in previous sessions.

00:39:12.239 --> 00:39:15.199
And every single one of these children just sat

00:39:15.199 --> 00:39:20.519
locked in, fully engaged. The little girl who'd

00:39:20.519 --> 00:39:23.440
never made a sound was singing along. Not the

00:39:23.440 --> 00:39:26.179
words, but the noises she was singing along.

00:39:26.539 --> 00:39:28.579
The little boy with the involuntary body movements,

00:39:28.880 --> 00:39:31.440
there was very little involuntary movements.

00:39:31.659 --> 00:39:35.380
He was dialed in. The girl that was running right

00:39:35.380 --> 00:39:37.980
around the room, she was sat and she was engaged.

00:39:39.159 --> 00:39:41.219
and it gave me goosebumps and it made me very

00:39:41.219 --> 00:39:44.840
very emotional because for that hour or so the

00:39:44.840 --> 00:39:46.860
parents that were in the room were able to just

00:39:46.860 --> 00:39:50.300
kind of sit back and enjoy their child being

00:39:50.300 --> 00:39:54.559
a child you know without all those negative feelings

00:39:54.559 --> 00:39:57.960
around like why is why is why my child you know

00:39:57.960 --> 00:40:00.880
why I want to give them the best quality of life

00:40:00.880 --> 00:40:03.000
and I want them to be, I don't want them to be

00:40:03.000 --> 00:40:05.500
the odd one out. And they weren't. Like all those

00:40:05.500 --> 00:40:08.619
children were just there together enjoying it.

00:40:08.699 --> 00:40:11.639
And actually the grant application on paper told

00:40:11.639 --> 00:40:14.320
its story and obviously we said yes and we funded

00:40:14.320 --> 00:40:17.559
it. But then to go and see it in person was just,

00:40:17.579 --> 00:40:21.400
yeah, amazing. Do you think impact is bigger

00:40:21.400 --> 00:40:24.800
than just the metrics that we, or the videos

00:40:24.800 --> 00:40:27.800
that we produce? I mean, these stories that...

00:40:28.000 --> 00:40:31.099
We're both familiar with them about impact, but

00:40:31.099 --> 00:40:34.380
it's the longitudinal impact, isn't it? Yeah,

00:40:34.420 --> 00:40:37.539
yeah. And I'll use an example. The first project

00:40:37.539 --> 00:40:41.760
we ever funded was installing a defib at a children's

00:40:41.760 --> 00:40:46.099
respite care centre. And on the tin, it was,

00:40:46.239 --> 00:40:49.659
that's great. Hopefully it's never needed. If

00:40:49.659 --> 00:40:52.699
it's needed, there's nothing more amazing than

00:40:52.699 --> 00:40:56.280
saving a life, right? So defib on site. when

00:40:56.280 --> 00:40:58.360
we went down and we met the staff and we looked

00:40:58.360 --> 00:41:02.699
around the facility suddenly it became the staff

00:41:02.699 --> 00:41:05.659
team the members of the team there were relieved

00:41:05.659 --> 00:41:09.699
there were levels of anxiety about losing a child

00:41:09.699 --> 00:41:13.130
on site that they no longer had The families

00:41:13.130 --> 00:41:16.389
and all the kids that come, like the reassurance

00:41:16.389 --> 00:41:18.849
that there's a DFIB on site, you know, and statutory

00:41:18.849 --> 00:41:21.130
services said no to funding this DFIB, by the

00:41:21.130 --> 00:41:24.550
way. So suddenly we've come along with our superhero

00:41:24.550 --> 00:41:26.769
capes on and we've installed this DFIB and that's

00:41:26.769 --> 00:41:29.969
amazing. But we paid for the servicing and the

00:41:29.969 --> 00:41:32.610
pads for this DFIB for another 10 years. So that

00:41:32.610 --> 00:41:36.150
means for the next 10 years, there's less concern

00:41:36.150 --> 00:41:39.849
and anxiety around the possibility of losing

00:41:39.849 --> 00:41:43.400
a child on site. suddenly it's not just a defib

00:41:43.400 --> 00:41:46.000
is it you know the broader impact of that so

00:41:46.000 --> 00:41:48.159
yeah we talk about impact and of course there's

00:41:48.159 --> 00:41:50.440
there's the obvious bits that you can talk about

00:41:50.440 --> 00:41:53.900
but you don't know how much of a difference it

00:41:53.900 --> 00:41:56.699
makes intrinsically to people that are part of

00:41:56.699 --> 00:41:59.280
that organization and we'll never quantify that

00:41:59.280 --> 00:42:01.139
but that's all right because we know we're doing

00:42:01.139 --> 00:42:05.329
it do you see all your work weaving together

00:42:05.329 --> 00:42:08.429
i mean there's lots of sort of themes and shared

00:42:08.429 --> 00:42:11.789
partnerships yeah oh definitely without a doubt

00:42:11.789 --> 00:42:15.489
i mean the foundation is strategized off my experience

00:42:15.489 --> 00:42:17.949
running mindfulness we're taking away barriers

00:42:17.949 --> 00:42:21.289
and we're making it easier the funding mechanism

00:42:21.289 --> 00:42:24.539
is put together the way it is Because of when

00:42:24.539 --> 00:42:25.940
I work with the York Knights and the commercial

00:42:25.940 --> 00:42:27.480
team and the network that I've got there and

00:42:27.480 --> 00:42:29.280
the business side of things and taking away all

00:42:29.280 --> 00:42:31.900
those barriers, we're trying to make life easier.

00:42:32.179 --> 00:42:34.539
And when I kind of take a step back and I think,

00:42:34.599 --> 00:42:39.059
mindfulness inspired the foundation. The foundation

00:42:39.059 --> 00:42:42.039
is inspiring businesses to kind of do their bit.

00:42:42.179 --> 00:42:44.679
It doesn't have to be difficult. It doesn't have

00:42:44.679 --> 00:42:46.699
to cost a load of money. It's 1 % of the profits.

00:42:46.980 --> 00:42:49.440
A lot of the time, that's their bar tab at the

00:42:49.440 --> 00:42:52.800
weekend. And it's... businesses don't need to

00:42:52.800 --> 00:42:54.639
feel trapped by that either. You know, there's

00:42:54.639 --> 00:42:57.079
no contractual agreement. It's completely flexible.

00:42:57.300 --> 00:42:59.460
If they need to cancel a direct debit after month

00:42:59.460 --> 00:43:01.159
three because there's national showing sites

00:43:01.159 --> 00:43:03.860
of the budget, so be it. That's fine. You've

00:43:03.860 --> 00:43:06.239
still done some good for a few months, haven't

00:43:06.239 --> 00:43:08.719
you? So, you know, when I kind of take a step

00:43:08.719 --> 00:43:12.380
back, I think, yeah, it's massively interwoven,

00:43:12.400 --> 00:43:14.719
isn't it? And mindfulness, we've just grown out

00:43:14.719 --> 00:43:17.340
to Scarborough and we've navigated that. There's

00:43:17.340 --> 00:43:19.219
projects that the foundation's funded out there.

00:43:19.320 --> 00:43:22.380
And ultimately for me, If I could just have a

00:43:22.380 --> 00:43:25.219
big drum and just bash it every hour ago for

00:43:25.219 --> 00:43:26.860
doing some good in the world and how good it

00:43:26.860 --> 00:43:28.900
feels and how much of a difference it truly makes,

00:43:29.059 --> 00:43:31.780
yeah, I just want to make people listen. Bang

00:43:31.780 --> 00:43:35.340
the drum, but also I guess we need more funding

00:43:35.340 --> 00:43:37.460
behind it to make those things happen. Correct.

00:43:37.880 --> 00:43:40.860
Presumably from your perspective and your experience.

00:43:41.679 --> 00:43:45.219
There's still a demand. It's never really going

00:43:45.219 --> 00:43:47.380
to go away. Yeah, and in the first 18 months

00:43:47.380 --> 00:43:50.260
of the foundation, we gave away just over 35

00:43:50.260 --> 00:43:52.760
grand. And that's amazing. Across 12 different

00:43:52.760 --> 00:43:54.400
projects, and you think about the impact that

00:43:54.400 --> 00:43:57.139
that's had. And we've started the impact reporting

00:43:57.139 --> 00:43:58.940
videos, and we're plowing through them now, and

00:43:58.940 --> 00:44:01.280
that's amazing. It's a start. And when you think

00:44:01.280 --> 00:44:03.840
you've gone from zero to that, that's a good

00:44:03.840 --> 00:44:07.340
start. But what plays on my mind is that I open

00:44:07.340 --> 00:44:10.000
a dashboard where all the grant applications

00:44:10.000 --> 00:44:12.739
have come in. gone through due diligence so there's

00:44:12.739 --> 00:44:15.280
a really good project that if the money was there

00:44:15.280 --> 00:44:17.559
we'd have said yes there's half a million pounds

00:44:17.559 --> 00:44:19.500
worth of projects that we've had to say no to

00:44:19.500 --> 00:44:22.000
just because the money isn't there so there's

00:44:22.000 --> 00:44:25.800
very much a reality piece of we need your help

00:44:25.800 --> 00:44:28.760
you know going to businesses who haven't engaged

00:44:28.760 --> 00:44:30.400
with charities because of all the reasons we

00:44:30.400 --> 00:44:33.539
mentioned earlier okay now's your time like we've

00:44:33.539 --> 00:44:37.039
made it easier use us use us for whatever reason

00:44:37.039 --> 00:44:39.750
you want to use us for but use us that 1 % of

00:44:39.750 --> 00:44:42.369
profits or just standalone donations or whatever

00:44:42.369 --> 00:44:44.570
it is, that's going to enable us to just say

00:44:44.570 --> 00:44:47.630
yes more and more and more and more. And we won't

00:44:47.630 --> 00:44:52.190
stop until the day comes where there isn't an

00:44:52.190 --> 00:44:54.590
application that's good that we have to say no

00:44:54.590 --> 00:44:57.409
to. Matty, how do people get in touch with you

00:44:57.409 --> 00:44:58.949
if they want to make a difference through their

00:44:58.949 --> 00:45:01.429
business? Yeah, so it's a variety of different

00:45:01.429 --> 00:45:04.610
ways, but my email address is always a good place

00:45:04.610 --> 00:45:07.440
to start because... I never want it to be transactional.

00:45:07.440 --> 00:45:08.860
I want to be able to have conversations with

00:45:08.860 --> 00:45:10.960
people and get to know them and explain more

00:45:10.960 --> 00:45:12.880
and more. I want it to be personal. I want them

00:45:12.880 --> 00:45:16.300
to dial in to us as people. So my email address

00:45:16.300 --> 00:45:18.860
is a great starting point, which is matty .lewis

00:45:18.860 --> 00:45:23.619
at fortisfoundation .co .uk. Our website has

00:45:23.619 --> 00:45:26.159
a contact form on it, which is fortisfoundation

00:45:26.159 --> 00:45:30.000
.co .uk. But all social media channels. except

00:45:30.000 --> 00:45:33.980
x great on social media lots of inspiration i

00:45:33.980 --> 00:45:38.719
try i try um no so instagram we're on there fortis

00:45:38.719 --> 00:45:41.139
foundation facebook we're on there and linkedin

00:45:41.139 --> 00:45:43.860
i use use my linkedin a fair bit and i know for

00:45:43.860 --> 00:45:45.920
businesses that makes it more accessible as well

00:45:45.920 --> 00:45:49.139
thank you how do you define success what does

00:45:49.139 --> 00:45:51.900
success look like for you that's a great question

00:45:51.900 --> 00:45:55.760
yeah you have do you know what success for me

00:45:55.760 --> 00:45:59.329
is is and we kind of touched on it earlier It's

00:45:59.329 --> 00:46:01.369
when someone tells you how much of a difference

00:46:01.369 --> 00:46:06.110
that has made, that success. Some people, and

00:46:06.110 --> 00:46:07.929
I dare say the majority of us, and I've been

00:46:07.929 --> 00:46:09.889
guilty of it as well, it's how much money is

00:46:09.889 --> 00:46:12.809
in the bank account, isn't it? Success is defined

00:46:12.809 --> 00:46:17.949
by cash. For me, I could live in a cardboard

00:46:17.949 --> 00:46:20.170
box on Coney Street, but if people come into

00:46:20.170 --> 00:46:23.130
me every day and go in, well done, mate, you've

00:46:23.130 --> 00:46:26.179
done a great job today, well done. That fills

00:46:26.179 --> 00:46:29.300
your cup, doesn't it? And I absolutely love that.

00:46:29.340 --> 00:46:32.000
I live for that. We all love a pat on the back

00:46:32.000 --> 00:46:34.860
from time to time, but success is someone saying,

00:46:35.000 --> 00:46:38.320
you've made a positive impact on my life or saved

00:46:38.320 --> 00:46:41.280
my life. And I'm very blessed to have the boys

00:46:41.280 --> 00:46:44.099
at Menfulness around me. And there's four incredible

00:46:44.099 --> 00:46:46.639
mates for life there. And I know they would say

00:46:46.639 --> 00:46:49.920
the same. Success to them is saving lives. And

00:46:49.920 --> 00:46:52.579
there's incredible four lads that I get to work

00:46:52.579 --> 00:46:57.199
with there. You have a real kind of camaraderie,

00:46:57.260 --> 00:47:00.920
I think, and you've really, all of you have driven

00:47:00.920 --> 00:47:03.500
forward something that's making a big difference

00:47:03.500 --> 00:47:06.579
across the region. So congratulations on that.

00:47:06.619 --> 00:47:08.920
Thank you. Keep doing good work. And I've always

00:47:08.920 --> 00:47:11.099
said that you are, we've had many discussions

00:47:11.099 --> 00:47:14.340
over the past year, but you're a real case study

00:47:14.340 --> 00:47:16.820
of somebody who just gets on with it and connects

00:47:16.820 --> 00:47:20.760
and brings a lot of fun and joy to the proceedings

00:47:20.760 --> 00:47:24.440
as well. So, you know, thank you. for the work

00:47:24.440 --> 00:47:27.420
that you do long may it flourish the final question

00:47:27.420 --> 00:47:30.260
matty is the fun one which we've sort of hashed

00:47:30.260 --> 00:47:32.719
this around a little bit if your life was a hollywood

00:47:32.719 --> 00:47:37.219
film what would it be it would be it would be

00:47:37.219 --> 00:47:40.599
hitch but instead of it being romantically connecting

00:47:40.599 --> 00:47:44.659
people it will be connecting people through doing

00:47:44.659 --> 00:47:48.090
good things good people. So yeah, I'm going to

00:47:48.090 --> 00:47:50.550
say hitch, but not for romance. I could never

00:47:50.550 --> 00:47:53.050
give out romance tips because I've been single

00:47:53.050 --> 00:47:55.309
for six years. So that wouldn't be so good, would

00:47:55.309 --> 00:48:01.550
it? Maybe. Who knows? Who knows? Matty, thank

00:48:01.550 --> 00:48:03.269
you very much. Thank you for having me. Always

00:48:03.269 --> 00:48:07.469
good to see you. Pleasure. Thank you. So there

00:48:07.469 --> 00:48:10.900
you go. Head to the show notes to explore links

00:48:10.900 --> 00:48:13.980
to mindfulness services, opportunities to engage

00:48:13.980 --> 00:48:16.880
with the Fortis Foundation and ways to link up

00:48:16.880 --> 00:48:20.079
with Matty. And for anything else, he's always

00:48:20.079 --> 00:48:22.960
open to a conversation, especially if it involves

00:48:22.960 --> 00:48:25.199
country music, coffee and a bit of downtime.

00:48:25.739 --> 00:48:28.880
So please follow us at The Purpose Brief on your

00:48:28.880 --> 00:48:32.619
preferred podcast platforms and subscribe to

00:48:32.619 --> 00:48:36.239
the newsletter at thepurposebrief .org .uk.