Q&A with Darien Resident Nate Checketts, Co-Founder/CEO, Rhone
Mind Set |
When Nate Checketts felt the entrepreneurial pull to leave his job at the NFL and build a business of his own, he was compelled to create a company that stood for something. He wanted a brand that centered on a mission that mattered. Around that time, a friend sent him an article detailing the alarming trend lines surrounding men’s mental health. Combined with Nate’s own lived experience, including losing two friends to suicide when he was in his 20s, a spark caught, igniting the purpose he sought. He aligned his company with mental health, committing to advance what he calls mental fitness with the same vigor he devotes to growing the Rhone line of activewear. We sat down with Nate recently to explore his thoughts on mental health, particularly as it relates to men.
Q: While Rhone is committed to mental wellness for both men and women, why the extra emphasis on men?
A: It’s not that women’s mental health doesn’t matter, it’s that they’re just much better generally, statistically, at managing it than men have been in this new era.
Q: What makes now different from the past?
A: In general, there have been some very healthy societal shifts in terms of dual-income families, and finding more gender equality in the workplace, but men have struggled with a sense of identity, of being a provider or a protector. Also, it’s become easier and easier societally to self-isolate. All of these things have contributed to an increasingly troubled trend line around mental health outcomes.
Q: What are some of the more alarming stats on men and mental health?
A: Men are four times more likely to die by suicide. They’re almost 40% more likely to have addiction challenges.
When they go to therapy, more than 80% of the time, they won’t go back for a second session.
Q: Is that across all demographics?
A: Yes.
Q: Why do men turn away from therapy?
A: Men want to feel capable, they want to feel powerful, in general. And so the idea of sitting in a chair or laying on a couch and telling everything that’s wrong, that makes men feel vulnerable. It makes them feel weak. I believe in traditional therapy. I think there are so many benefits to it. But it’s not surprising to me that men go and don’t return.
Q: So what’s the alternative?
A: Preparation. There are things you can do to ensure that you’re going to have more good days than bad days. And being proactive about it helps. You don’t know when something’s going to throw you. By practicing mental fitness, you’re developing a toolkit so that when you get into these situations, you are able to bounce back.
Q: Can you explain what you mean by mental fitness?
A: When I say physical health, you don’t immediately think I’m talking about cancer or obesity or diabetes. But when I say mental health, people generally think about bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, suicide or schizophrenia. (At Rhone), we wanted to reframe it. So from the beginning, we focused on this term that we call mental fitness. All of us have physical health and all of us have mental health. And by turning it into fitness, it becomes a daily practice, something to be mindful of and take care of.
Q: So are you saying just like you work out for your physical fitness, there are workouts for mental fitness too?
A: Right. You know how you take care of your body. You need to take care of your mind too, to keep it strong and resilient so that when the challenges come, you’re able to handle them. Mental fitness is a way of taking control of your mental health.
Q: What are things you can do for mental fitness?
A: We developed what we call the 12 Pursuits at Rhone (see sidebar). They are practices and principles of well-being; six are more physically focused, and six are more mental focused. Almost all of them positively contribute to both. We do them internally and externally. Each one of them has a month of the calendar year. Because when people want to develop any kind of well-being practice, they can get overwhelmed. This helps with that.
Q: Do you have challenges? How do you deal with them?
A: I’ll be honest with you: I’ve had moments during building this business where I have felt completely burned out, overwhelmed and stressed and (the Pursuits) have helped me so that I’ve been able to navigate those feelings of depression and anxiety and bounce back more quickly. For some, medication can be incredibly helpful, and I’m certainly not anti-medication, but I think developing healthy habits is your first mainline defense. Also, it is very hard to say to someone, ‘Hey, here’s the recipe for a happy life’. You can’t. But you can say, these practices are going to help you build resilience for things that are going to come.
Q: Can you speak to the importance of fathers embracing their mental fitness as role models for their children?
A: It’s so interesting you bring that up because that is a huge motivation. When you look at the research on a generalized basis, that thought resonates deeply with men. Because again, men want to feel capable, they want to feel powerful. I think part of being raised by really good parents is they pattern very healthy, good behaviors in terms of taking care of yourself, how you eat, how you sleep, expressing gratitude, finding joy in service and showing that being emotional or emotionally vulnerable doesn’t make you weak but is a sign of courage and strength.
The Rhone 12 Pursuits
• Perspective • Sleep • Hydration • Breath Work • Nutrition • Movement • Outdoors • Learn • Social Connection • Self-Care • Gratitude • Service
For more on all Rhone is doing to champion mental fitness, visit rhone.com/pages/mental-fitness/.
