JCIP #296 - Dan Foreman

In episode 296 of The Just Checking In Podcast we checked in with Dan Foreman.Dan is the Co-Founder of ‘Chaps for Chaps’, which he started alongside five of his friends. It started when they were working out in the gym he owns, Built by Novo Fitness in Bexhill. They had put some country music on whilst working out and they wondered if it would be a good idea to do workouts in country outfits as a fundraiser for men's mental health.They decided to go through with it, and for their first event in August 2024 they did 24 workouts in 24 hours, with a 400m weighted run also every hour.However, whilst they were completing the workout, they were not just dressed in country outfits but also budgie smugglers!They raised £5k for the first event and the majority of the money went to two men’s mental health organisations. Most of it went to Movember, and a small chunk went to Embers Woodcraft, the organisation set up by friend of the pod Jason Reeves, who also happens to be Dan’s half-brother.Their second event is planned for Saturday 26 July 2025 where they will all walk from Brighton cross-country to Bexhill in the same attire of country outfits and budgie smugglers. In this episode we first discuss Dan’s mental health journey, which is framed around two key relationships, his first marriage to a woman called Liz and his second marriage to his now wife, Vicki. We will let you the listener dive into this story without spoiling it! We also discuss shoulder surgery Dan went through in December 2022, a near-death experience on Scafell Pike mountain doing the Three Peaks challenge and the highs and lows of his marriage to Vicki. We then explore how he owned his mental health and accessed therapy, being diagnosed with high-functioning depression, and the importance for Dan of having a male therapist. As always, #itsokaytoventYou can donate to the next Chaps for Chaps fundraiser here: https://donorbox.org/chaps-for-chaps-wormathonYou can follow Chaps for Chaps on social media below:Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chapsforchaps/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=d70wfeJSEvkSupport Us:PatreonPayPalMerchandise