Bear Grylls and Alex George team up to launch world's first 'mental fitness' app for men

British adventurer Bear Grylls has teamed up with the UK Ambassador for Mental Health, Alex George, to launch a first-of-its-kind ‘mental fitness’ app designed especially for men. 

Whilst there is a wide variety of wellness apps available, and you should read our list of the best wellness apps to have on your phone if you're interested, there are hardly any tailored specifically to men. Built from the ground-up and co-designed with Imperial College London, Mettle is AI-supported and has been created specifically to address the lack of mental health apps available to men. 

With meditation, breathwork and hypnosis at its core, Mettle is evidence-based and science-backed. The app has a plethora of mental fitness support and content provided by the likes of Bear Grylls, Dr. Alex George, hypnotist and behavioural scientist Paul McKenna, stress and burnout coach Chibs Okereke, and breathwork coach Jamie Clements. 

Research commissioned by Mettle and carried out by Imperial College London has provided the brand with the evidence and scientific backing that highlights why this app is needed for men today. It was found that men are less likely to access psychological therapies or self help compared with women. Instead, approaches designed specifically for men are likely to be more effective. 

It's why Mettle has focused on specific techniques surrounding meditation, breathwork and hypnosis, all supporting men’s mental fitness. Evidence from Imperial found that breathwork interventions improve stress, as well as anxiety and mood symptoms. Whilst hypnosis improves anxiety and depression symptoms and can encourage behaviour change. Meditation was found to improve wellbeing and can help to train focus.

The app is personalised for each user and includes gamification elements to encourage habitual use, improving the user’s mental fitness over time. Upon downloading the app, users take an initial assessment that determines their mental fitness score out of 100. This is calculated across five categories including ‘Rested’, ‘Calm’, ‘Thriving’, ‘Happy’, and ‘Strong’, with Mettle then tailoring a mental fitness plan designed to help users address any issues highlighted in the initial assessment. Alongside this, the ‘Mettle Bot’, an AI chatbot within the app, asks users how they feel each day and makes unique recommendations on what they could be doing to help with their mental fitness. 

The app is available to download on the Apple App Store now with Google Play Store coming soon. Users get a 14 day free trial, thereafter subscriptions are available for £12.99 a month or £99.99 annually. 

To celebrate the launch, all Mettle users that sign up before Tuesday 5th December get 50% off their subscription, for life.

Bear Grylls, Co-Founder of Mettle, said: “However strong we might think we are, life will repeatedly throw us tough challenges and emotional curve balls. I believe that the pressures and struggles men encounter nowadays are greater than ever, but there are effective ways to thrive if you have the right support and tools at your disposal. 

"We all need help in becoming the best version of ourselves but it can be really hard to know where to start - I see a lot of people struggle with choice paralysis. Mettle is completely outcome focussed - it is designed to guide and provide men with the ability to build up their mental resilience, to deal well with change and to thrive in complex life situations.”

 Dr Alex George, UK Ambassador for Mental Health & Mettle Mental Fitness Coach, commented: “It is no secret how important mental health awareness is to me. As an ambassador and activist, advocating for the importance of building mental fitness and resilience is a huge part of my work."

"Improving mental fitness is crucial and Mettle is meeting a need in providing evidence-based mental fitness tools and techniques that men can use everyday in day to day life.”

“The power of having these tools in the palm of your hand is something that cannot be understated. I am excited to be playing a part in the launch of Mettle and I can’t wait to see how we help change men’s lives all over the world.”

Neil Smith, Co-Founder & CEO of Mettle, commented: “Over the years, I noticed that a lot of men in my circle looked after their physical health but really neglected their mental wellbeing and the research has clearly demonstrated that this has been echoed in the current mental health crisis amongst men. 

“That is why, with the support of countless people and institutions, we have launched Mettle, the world’s first mental fitness toolkit built for men. The app is completely outcome based and a one-stop shop of AI-supported, personalised tools to help men become happier, healthier and more successful.” 

Interested in more? Check out these 3 subtle health symptoms men should never ignore.