Andy’s Man Club: A talking group fighting male suicide

Luke Ambler founded Andy’s Man Club after his brother-in-law’s suicide, and now he’s helping others open up about their feelings so that they don’t suffer the same fate. By David Barnett

It’s OK to talk, says Luke Ambler: the viral campaign took the group to wider audiences (Luke Ambler)

The first rule of Andy’s Man Club is that you definitely do talk about Andy’s Man Club. Word of mouth is how this movement has grown from a small meeting in Halifax, West Yorkshire, to a Facebook support group with a community of more than 37,000 and a series of Monday night meetings across the North, which last week saw attendances rise to more than 430 people.

And the very raison d’etre of Andy’s Man Club is talking. It’s something men traditionally don’t do very well, especially about their feelings, especially about their troubles. And that is what has led to male suicide being the biggest killer of men under the age of 45 in the UK today. In the latest figures, men taking their own lives accounted for 75 per cent of all suicides, with almost 4,400 cases in 2017.

Andy’s Man Club is the brainchild of Luke Ambler of Halifax. Luke has played rugby league for his hometown; at Super League level for Salford City Reds and Leeds Rhinos; and in international competition for Ireland, by dint of his Irish ancestry.