No mountain too big.
No problem too small.
Note: Trigger Warning this post discusses mental health and suicide.
On the surface Joe's Giants help to reconnect people with the outdoors and promote the benefits it plays on our lives and mental health. Yet, it's so much more than that. Joe's Giants was formed after Alex Fitz, the founder lost his best friend to suicide. A tragedy that inspired Alex to join forces with a small crew (Hi, Billy) of outdoor enthusiasts and instructors to help others and offer people an alternative to suffering in silence.
Suicide represents the largest cause of death for men under 50. Through 2017, the year that the founders suffered a great loss and the movement began, 5,821 suicides were recorded in Great Britain, of which, 75% were males. A grim statistic but a foundation in which JG started to build.
`'If you are faced with a mountain, you have several options: You can climb it and cross to the other side. You can go around it. You can dig under it. You can fly over it. You can ignore it and pretend it’s not there. You can turn around and go back the way you came. Or you can stay on the mountain and make it your home.”
A mountain and mental health have a lot in common. Mountains, like problems, can feel daunting. You’re knackered and the climb is so steep. Yet you keep putting one foot in front of the another and when you reach the top or come out the other side, you are welcomed with the sense of achievement. You made it. The JG motto - no mountain too big, no problem too small.
The movement
The aim of the group is to reconnect people with the outdoors and promote the benefits it plays on our lives and mental health. This is done by creating and organising safe and enjoyable events specifically designed by Joe’s Giants.
The team are a friendly, approachable group of individuals looking to connect people with the outdoors. Welcoming everyone from beginners to hardened outdoor enthusiasts - the team aren't asking you to talk (unless you want to), this society is about leaving those problems behind, tackling an achievement that stands in your way, overcoming obstacles and challenging the mind and body to what is possible when you persevere, carry on and do not give up.
Check out their events and website, here.
