6 June 2014
"Men don’t know s*** about dealing with s***” – Real men get personal for Men’s Health Week risk campaign
”Sometimes I just think men are wired to not do what’s best for them. We bottle things up, don’t seek help when we need
to and pretend everything is fine. And when our culture tells us to man up, harden up or grow a pair, it just reinforces
the fear we have of facing up to our issues,” says Ed.
How is New Zealand going to combat the alarming rates of physical and mental illness, stress and financial worry that
are silently killing men across the country? Talking about it frankly is a start.
To get men to recognise and act to address the risks they face, the Know Risk Network is running Men Know Risk Week (9-15 June 2014). Throughout the Week, male contributors will write about their
experiences with mental and physical health risks, money stress, family issues and dealing with social expectations.
“Men Know Risk Week is about starting the conversation about taboo subjects and the things most blokes are too scared or
ashamed to talk about. We are a culture built on being tough as nails and that mentality is literally killing us,” said
Know Risk spokesperson Thomas Wills.
The Know Risk Network is an award-winning, independent and non-profit tool that covers practical and financial risk
management on everything from health to holidays to money. It works like this:
1. find out the risks you face based on your gender, age, demographics and lifestyle through the My Risk online checklist
2. get informed and take action to manage the risks in your life through the Know Risk website and social media featuring up-to-date risk warnings, articles, videos and checklists
3. store insurance policies and take photo inventories of possessions and receipts and set reminders to renew policies with the Insurance Tracker™ phone app.
About Know Risk
Know Risk is an independent, non-profit community network aimed at increasing awareness of risk and under-insurance
among individuals, families, businesses and the community. Know Risk is supported by the insurance industry and
community groups. It maintains a commitment to independent reporting to provide information and practical tools to help
people manage financial and everyday risks.
ENDS