At Saturdays home game against Huddersfield Town the players from Leeds United will be wearing Andys Man Club t-shirts in the warm up.
Andy Roberts was 23 years old when he killed himself. The resultant devastation that hit his family was also followed by something more positive – his brother-in-law, professional rugby player Luke Ambler, became determined to prevent as many families as he could from going through such a trauma.
He formed a men’s group called Andy’s Man Club, which in almost 4 years has become one of the most important organisations working to help men today – their group sessions are changing the lives of hundreds who have hit rock bottom and are continuing to grow in number at a remarkable rate, with 28 clubs across the UK and upwards of 850 men attending weekly. Their success shows the depth of the problems out their for men, that they are crying out for such a place in which to share their issues, something which has traditionally been frowned upon.
With Luke and his growing band of Andy’s Man Club members, the word is getting out there that we no longer need to keep our struggles to ourselves, and that true male bravery is about daring to open up, not burying your feelings away.
