The Manalogue was born out of a want and a need for an outlet for everyday men to have a safe place to talk. Man has been stereotyped for centuries, branded with this sense of toxic masculinity which just doesn’t bear up. Man is strong, man is the provider, man is in charge, man knows best, man knows all the answers, man is not weak, man does not show emotion. We know all these to be false in their own ways, but mankind still tries to perpetrate this on the outside while secretly wanting help to navigate everyday life.

I experienced this for myself recently when suffering a bereavement with my father passing suddenly. He was what we all considered to be a ‘man’ and we often grow up thinking this way about our fathers. I was lucky enough to access some free counselling through the NHS and it was during this that I realised bottling things up is not the way forward, and that men really need a safe space to talk. It extends so much more into life too; when we talk, we connect on different levels and who knows what the opportunities might be. The more I talked to my friends (both male and female), the more obvious it became that men just don’t talk.

It was from this I wanted to create the Manalogue. You don’t need to look far to understand that man has always had the upper hand, but I have always been about female empowerment (having worked in a female dominated industry my entire working life full of amazing female role models in leadership). The Manalogue is not about us and them, but is simple about a platform to men to connect in all matters of their life.

These fit into four broad categories; inner self, outer self, home & work. The Manalogue brings together thought leaders, entrepreneurs and everyday men into a digital (and eventually physical) space to inspire and discuss everything from social etiquette to relationships, and from how to dress to how to deal with bereavement.

The Manalogue is here to facilitate a safe space for conversation, to meet with like-minded individuals and professionals and to be our best selves. Let’s talk.

Jay Collins-Down, Founder