The founders of a free mental health support group for men are themselves appealing for help from the wider community.

Men Making Miles was created by Duncan Lyons and Eruera Piwari who realised a need for a more casual forum for men to open up.

'Like most Kiwi guys, I was raised as a bloke,” says Duncan.

'The attitude was: ‘harden up, bro' and to be honest, it did me some damage over the years.

'About five years ago, I started fitness training with Eru and realised that having someone as strong as him also needing to talk about life made it feel acceptable and healthy. He motivated me to talk about the challenges of life.”

They opened fortnightly sessions to others, combining a group chat with free combat sports training.

Men are invited to have a yarn about life challenges and then to let out some much-needed energy with a cardio workout.

'The outcome has been nothing short of awesome!” says Eruera.

'We started out training in Duncan's driveway and as word has spread, we've moved to a local park.”

'We can see that taking part in a tough sport like boxing breaks down that perception that opening up is weak,” says Duncan.

'We have guys coming along from all walks of life; from men who sit behind a desk all day to labourers.”

They're seeing how beneficial it is.

'We love it when guys return and talk about great things happening. Their lives have flipped around and they're fizzing about it. That feeling is contagious."

The number at each session varies from four or five to up to 20.

'We don't claim to be counsellors,” says Eruera. 'We're just giving men the opportunity to talk if they want to.”

'Some guys find counsellors intimidating, so we're providing a place to share their stress. Some guys, though, are really doing it tough, so we're now asking for financial support so we can subsidise counselling sessions for our lads,” says Duncan.

To donate, visit: givealittle.co.nz/cause/men-making-miles

For more information, email: [email protected]