Latest news with #OwenWood
Fashion Network
3 days ago
- Health
- Fashion Network
JD Foundation and The Mix launch new mental health support scheme for men
JD Sports ' UK's charity arm JD Foundation has picked upcoming Men's Mental Health Week to team up with The Mix, the digital service for young people offering 'ongoing, meaningful support to young men across the country'. Together, they're launching a raft of new informative and supportive resources 'designed to tackle the mental health crisis among young men and provide a safe, supportive space to open up'. Live from Monday (9 June), the new partnered content will feature a JD Foundation-sponsored discussion board, where men can join and discuss any issues they're facing with other peers 'in a supportive, anonymous space'. Alongside the discussion boards, The Mix will also be releasing a special episode of its podcast, the 'Mix Six ix', hosted by Owen Wood, winner of BBC's Race Across The World in 2024, and featuring JD Sports team members opening up about their own mental health journeys. The organisations are also hitting the streets across the UK with a series of street interviews, capturing what mental wellbeing means to young men today. There will also be partnered social media content and articles focused on real life stories from young people. This will all be hosted on The Mix's newly relaunched website, offering content, community, coaching and crisis support, with a broad range of integrated services. This initiative marks the first step in a wider, long-term collaboration between The Mix and JD Foundation, with ongoing campaigns and joint content planned 'to keep mental health at the heart of youth culture'. Recent data from The Mix shows that 58% of young men identify anxiety and depression as their biggest mental health challenges. Yet stigma remains high, and asking for help is still one of the toughest steps, it says. Encouragingly, 82% of young men say they would consider using peer support if they needed help with their mental health – 'a clear call to action that this new raft of support is answering'. Aaron Probert, charity manager for the JD Foundation, said: 'These new resources are about creating meaningful content and support that is accessible, inclusive and reflective of the real conversations young men want and need to have.'
Fashion Network
3 days ago
- Health
- Fashion Network
JD Foundation and The Mix launch new mental health support scheme for men
JD Sports ' UK's charity arm JD Foundation has picked upcoming Men's Mental Health Week to team up with The Mix, the digital service for young people offering 'ongoing, meaningful support to young men across the country'. Together, they're launching a raft of new informative and supportive resources 'designed to tackle the mental health crisis among young men and provide a safe, supportive space to open up'. Live from Monday (9 June), the new partnered content will feature a JD Foundation-sponsored discussion board, where men can join and discuss any issues they're facing with other peers 'in a supportive, anonymous space'. Alongside the discussion boards, The Mix will also be releasing a special episode of its podcast, the 'Mix Six ix', hosted by Owen Wood, winner of BBC's Race Across The World in 2024, and featuring JD Sports team members opening up about their own mental health journeys. The organisations are also hitting the streets across the UK with a series of street interviews, capturing what mental wellbeing means to young men today. There will also be partnered social media content and articles focused on real life stories from young people. This will all be hosted on The Mix's newly relaunched website, offering content, community, coaching and crisis support, with a broad range of integrated services. This initiative marks the first step in a wider, long-term collaboration between The Mix and JD Foundation, with ongoing campaigns and joint content planned 'to keep mental health at the heart of youth culture'. Recent data from The Mix shows that 58% of young men identify anxiety and depression as their biggest mental health challenges. Yet stigma remains high, and asking for help is still one of the toughest steps, it says. Encouragingly, 82% of young men say they would consider using peer support if they needed help with their mental health – 'a clear call to action that this new raft of support is answering'. Aaron Probert, charity manager for the JD Foundation, said: 'These new resources are about creating meaningful content and support that is accessible, inclusive and reflective of the real conversations young men want and need to have.'
Fashion Network
3 days ago
- Health
- Fashion Network
JD Foundation and The Mix launch new mental health support scheme for men
JD Sports ' UK's charity arm JD Foundation has picked upcoming Men's Mental Health Week to team up with The Mix, the digital service for young people offering 'ongoing, meaningful support to young men across the country'. Together, they're launching a raft of new informative and supportive resources 'designed to tackle the mental health crisis among young men and provide a safe, supportive space to open up'. Live from Monday (9 June), the new partnered content will feature a JD Foundation-sponsored discussion board, where men can join and discuss any issues they're facing with other peers 'in a supportive, anonymous space'. Alongside the discussion boards, The Mix will also be releasing a special episode of its podcast, the 'Mix Six ix', hosted by Owen Wood, winner of BBC's Race Across The World in 2024, and featuring JD Sports team members opening up about their own mental health journeys. The organisations are also hitting the streets across the UK with a series of street interviews, capturing what mental wellbeing means to young men today. There will also be partnered social media content and articles focused on real life stories from young people. This will all be hosted on The Mix's newly relaunched website, offering content, community, coaching and crisis support, with a broad range of integrated services. This initiative marks the first step in a wider, long-term collaboration between The Mix and JD Foundation, with ongoing campaigns and joint content planned 'to keep mental health at the heart of youth culture'. Recent data from The Mix shows that 58% of young men identify anxiety and depression as their biggest mental health challenges. Yet stigma remains high, and asking for help is still one of the toughest steps, it says. Encouragingly, 82% of young men say they would consider using peer support if they needed help with their mental health – 'a clear call to action that this new raft of support is answering'. Aaron Probert, charity manager for the JD Foundation, said: 'These new resources are about creating meaningful content and support that is accessible, inclusive and reflective of the real conversations young men want and need to have.'
The Sun
07-05-2025
- The Sun
Two bucket list trips cheaper than a holiday to Majorca, reveals winner of Race Across The World
RACE Across the World contestant Alfie Watts has advice for any keen travellers heading across the globe. The 22-year-old has been on the move since winning last year - and reveals that you can get to Brazil for less than going to Majorca. 4 Alfie Watts won the 2024 series of Race Across the World with his friend Owen Wood. Since winning the series and the £20,000 prize pot that comes with it, Alfie has backpacked to 78 of the 195 countries. And along the way, he's picked up some handy travel tips. Talking to MailOnline, Alfie advised travellers to compare the total price of holidays against each other, rather than just the price of flights and accommodation. He said: "You'll find that sometimes going long haul is actually better. Sure, flights to Thailand are £600-700, while Spain can sometimes be around £300. "But if you look at the price of accommodation in Thailand, it can be £20 a night for luxury, and you can get meals for £2. Owen and I spent less on a week in Brazil, all-in, than a week in Majorca - even though our flights were 750 quid." The cheapest month to fly from the UK to Brazil is usually in March. But you can get other good deals in February, November and October. Those months are also the best times to visit Brazil as it's summer where temperatures sit between 27C and 33C. Another tip that Alfie has is not relying on a debit or credit card. He said to always exchange money at home and carry cash. ATMs abroad sometimes come with a fee to use a foreign card. Race Across the World Experience Comes to London 4 During his series of Race Across the World, Alfie ventured from Japan to Indonesia. Now that he gets to travel wherever he likes, Alfie is hoping to visit as many countries as possible. Two of his favourites are Jordan and Malaysia. Alfie said: "I took my Nan to Petra because she'd wanted to see it for her whole life, so that was really nice, and the whole feeling around the trip was just really positive. The people in Jordan are just so friendly as well." He added that Malaysia is a "cheap paradise" but that his favourite place in the world is Angel Falls in Venezuela which are "completely off grid, and a nightmare to get to." Fans of the show can now immerse themselves in a Race Across the World experience. It has come to London this spring with tricky puzzles and no phones allowed. The game is a foot race across London where players will navigate around city landmarks to reach the checkpoints. Just like in the show, you'll have to find your bearings without modern technology - which means no mobile phones or maps. There's no public transport allowed either and the adventure stretches across 3.1 miles. Here's everything you need to know about the Race Across the World experience and how to play. And one Sun Travel writer went to Rio de Janeiro and found it to be one of the friendliest cities. 4
Daily Mail
07-05-2025
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE I won Race Across The World and these are my best hacks for travelling on a budget - I even holidayed in Brazil for less than Majorca
If there's one person who knows a thing or two about travelling on a budget, it's Alfie Watts. On last year's series of Race Across the World, the 22-year-old from St Albans and his pal Owen Wood were given a budget of just £1,100 each to make their way from northernmost Japan to the idyllic Indonesian island of Lombok. Since winning the show and the £20,000 prize pot, Alfie has made it his mission to visit every country – and has backpacked to 78 of the 195, on a shoestring budget. And now, in an exclusive interview with MailOnline, he has revealed his best hacks for saving money while travelling – as well as the biggest mistakes he and Owen made on Race Across the World. Alfie's first tip is to make sure you don't rely on your debit or credit card when you're abroad – especially when outside of Europe. 'Exchange money while you're at home and always carry cash,' the travel content creator says. 'In the West, we're quite used to everything being card, but that's not the case in a lot of countries – basically as soon as you get out of Europe - and ATMs, abroad, will fleece you.' Alfie also recommends comparing the total price of holidays against each other, rather than just the price of flights and accommodation. He explains: 'You'll find that sometimes going long haul is actually better. Alfie (left) and Owen Wood (right) were only given £1,100 each and challenged to make their way from northernmost Japan to the idyllic Indonesian island of Lombok on last year's series of Race Across The World 'Sure, flights to Thailand are £600-700, while Spain can sometimes be around £300, but if you look at the price of accommodation in Thailand, it can be £20 a night for luxury, and you can get meals for £2. 'Owen and I spent less on a week in Brazil, all-in, than a week in Majorca - even though our flights were 750 quid. 'The money can quickly add up when you go to Spain in peak season.' Having now become an experienced traveller since he took part in Race Across The World, Alfie thinks he and Owen 'could have saved so much money in so many different places' if they did the trip again, He says: 'I hate haggling at street markets because, you're haggling over three or four dollars, which means nothing to us, but a lot to them. 'But, on Race Across The World, haggling is essential, and I just don't think we haggled well enough. I also don't think we looked to hitchhike enough. I don't think we braved crappy accommodations enough. I don't think we did enough hostels. 'We could have saved money by sacrificing a little bit of comfort. 'Travelling can be really easy and cheap, but us having that inexperience at the time, is what makes the show.' Alfie recently revealed his favourite countries of those he has visited - as well as his most overrated country. When it comes to his favourites, Alfie has two - Jordan and Malaysia. He said: 'I took my Nan to Petra because she'd wanted to see it for her whole life, so that was really nice, and the whole feeling around the trip was just really positive. 'The people in Jordan are just so friendly as well. 'And Malaysia is also a favourite, because it's just a cheap paradise. 'But my single favourite place in the world has to be Angel Falls in Venezuela. 'They're the tallest waterfall in the world, but they're completely off grid, and a nightmare to get to.'
