We have been talking about this for a long time, mostly in car parks and kitchens and on the walk back from the pub. Today it exists properly. The first gear is up, the mission is written down, and anyone who wants in can join.
The Plucky Herd started from a fairly ordinary observation. A lot of men we know are doing alright on paper and not doing alright underneath. Work is busy, the family is fine, nobody has asked a real question in months. It is not dramatic. It is just quiet, and quiet has a habit of getting heavier.
We are not experts. We are not therapists and we would not pretend to be. What we do have is a simple idea that has worked for us: move a bit, talk a bit, take the mickey out of each other, repeat. That is the whole method. Walks, coffees, a group chat that is more useful than it looks, and gear that reminds you that you said you would show up.
The name comes from three animals on our crest. The honey badger, because it is small and refuses to be intimidated. The wren, because it sings far louder than its size suggests. The terrier, because it does not let go. None of them are the biggest animal in the field. All of them are hard to shift.
Here is what we are not doing. We are not selling a transformation. We are not going to tell you that a hoodie fixes anything, or that six weeks of anything will make you a new man. Most of what helps is boring and repeatable, and it usually involves another person.
What we are doing over the next few months: monthly walk-and-talks in a handful of UK towns, a podcast where men talk plainly about work, health, money and grief, and a small run of well-made gear that pays for the rest of it. If you want to help us pick the next town, reply to the newsletter. We read them all.
One thing worth saying clearly on day one. If things are bad right now, we are not the right first call. There are people trained for that, they are free, and they are used to talking to men who open with I am probably fine. Some of them are listed below. Ringing one of them is not a failure of pluck. It is the plucky thing.
Thanks for being here early. Come for a walk.