It was while watching the 2017 British & Irish Lions Tour of New Zealand that Rob Shotton hatched the idea for LooseHeadz.
Sat in Wilmslow RUFC talking about teammates past and present experiencing difficult periods in their lives, Rob, his father Mark and Dave Nicoll noticed a need for greater mental health support among grassroots rugby clubs.
On a mission to place a mental health lead at every rugby club around the world, the charity provides volunteers with a free toolkit to educate people to spot signs of someone struggling and help #TackleTheStigma.
Currently working with 1056 clubs in 23 different countries, LooseHeadz were unveiled as one of The British & Irish Lions Trust Official Charity Partners in 2024.
“It is under 500 days until the Tour and we want to work alongside the Lions to spread that message and spread our mission,” Shotton said.
“We have got this worldwide mission. We want to go to Australia and leave a bit of a legacy.
“We want to use this partnership to do three things; to engage and do more of the same in the UK and Ireland, really push on with the message of signing up these rugby clubs to our mission and work with rugby clubs in Australia.
“We are really excited for what is in store.”
Shaun Edwards, defence coach on the 2009 Tour of South Africa, is a patron of LooseHeadz, while former Lions Manu Tuilagi and Ugo Monye are both ambassadors.
In the United Kingdom, recent figures show that one in four people struggle with their mental health each year and suicide remains the biggest killer of men under 50.
Since launching LooseHeadz, Shotton has seen first-hand the impact that greater awareness of mental health has had in rugby clubs across the world.
Receiving numerous messages from people that have been saved by Shotton’s efforts, there is even a band of supporters who have had the charity’s logos tattooed on themselves.
Working closely with a rugby and mental health panel, Shotton and LooseHeadz are currently planning to establish the most comprehensive support system in grassroots sport.
“We are building a platform that allows us to give the toolkit in a user-friendly format,” Shotton added.
“We also want to build a network where we can talk to the rugby clubs, the clubs can talk to us and each other.
“We want to deliver and roll out a first of its kind mental health solution for rugby clubs, so that the rugby community can get free support right now.
“We want to launch a gold standard clinical support programme for the rugby community, which is backed by experts to provide emergency interventions and ultimately save lives.”
To learn more about LooseHeadz and The British & Irish Lions Trust Official Charity Partners, click here.
