A few years ago, when my wife, Ashley, told me she was creating a platform for women about wellness and non-toxic living, I said, “I wish I had something like that. Men don’t really have any resources like that.”
And it’s true: “Wellness” is almost exclusively marketed toward women. Why is that?
As a man, I’ve always been told I need to maintain some level of healthy hygiene, and take care of myself as much as is necessary to be a productive, civilized member of society. But what does all that even mean? And is that enough?
We talked about how we could begin reaching out to men about wellness and living a “non-toxic lifestyle.” We want to find ways we could open up a space for conversations about self-care, grooming, and mental health—but how could we ignore the obvious topic of toxic masculinity itself?
Truthfully, I’m not sure I actually know what “masculinity” even is. Everyone seems to have a different relationship with it. And I really don’t know how to make it less toxic. But if we want to be real and honest, we should be at least willing to talk about it! Frens(he) is a men’s wellness vertical with the goal of promoting balanced, healthy living, mental health support, and exploring masculinity with the help of experts.
Come along as we dive into this strange new world of men’s wellness. Let’s start to figure out ways we can live a less-toxic lifestyle and see if we can detoxify masculinity itself—together. —Chris French, creative director