Manhood/Brotherhood Documentary Ride,

About the event

Manhood/Brotherhood (Working Title) is a 60-minute documentary film about the state of men’s mental and physical health in the United States and the lack of the tribal-like community that supported men’s long term overall health.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) published the current statistics of men’s mental health in the USA to reveal that a large portion of men in the country suffer from the following mental health problems:

1. Depression: Over 6 million men suffer from depression each year. Male depression often goes undiagnosed. Men are more likely to report fatigue, irritability, loss of interest in work or hobbies, rather than feelings of sadness or worthlessness.
2. Anxiety: Approximately 19.1 million American adults ages 18 to 54 have an anxiety disorder. 3,020,000 men have a panic disorder, agoraphobia, or any other phobia.
3. Bipolar Disorder: 2.3 million Americans are affected by bipolar disorder. An equal amount of men and women develop the illness. The age of onset for men is between 16 and 25 years old, but fewer than 10% of them admit to or seek help for the condition.
4. Psychosis and Schizophrenia: Approximately 3.5 million people in the U.S. are diagnosed with schizophrenia and it is one of the leading causes of disability. Ninety (90%) percent of people who are diagnosed with schizophrenia by 30 years of age are men.
5. Eating Disorders: Males account for an estimated 10% of patients with anorexia or bulimia and an estimated 35% of those with binge-eating disorder. Men with eating disorders are less likely to seek professional help than women.

Since the year 2000, suicide among males has been on a significant rise. 2.2% of all male deaths in 2011 were caused by suicide, making it the 7^th leading cause of death among American men.  Gay and bisexual men are more likely to develop mental health disorders than heterosexual men, and they are at a greater risk for suicide attempts, especially before the age of 25.

More than 4 times as many men as women die by suicide in the U.S. In 2010, a total of 38,364 Americans died by suicide and 79% of these suicides were men.

The biggest risk factors include social isolation, substance abuse, unemployment, military-related trauma, genetic predisposition, and other mood disorders, put men at a much higher risk for suicide when gone undiagnosed and untreated.

Men are less likely than women to seek professional help for depression, substance abuse and stressful life events due to Social Norms, Downplaying Symptoms, and a general Reluctance to Talk.

The purpose of this documentary is to provide a roadmap for men to seek help, fellow men to speak to, understand there is no shame in finding professional help and to show that through brotherhood, men are stronger.

Documentary Objective

Through interviews and the use of current statistics, photos, and other archival material, Manhood / Brotherhood depicts the current epidemic of mental and physical health affecting men in the United States of America and challenges the age-old tradition of “strong silent men” not seeking help.

Following a brief overview of the state of men’s mental and physical health in the country, the documentary follows a 5200 mile cross-country ride, exploring the nation’s willingness to let men’s issues go untold until tragedy strikes.

Using interviews from mental health professionals, physicians, and industry leaders, as well as blue collar workers, entrepreneurs and everyone in between, the documentary is a vehicle for standing up and speaking out about the mental and physical health related issues plaguing men.

The film showcases men’s mental and physical health organizations in the USA, such as the Movember Foundation and acts as a gateway for men to seek help and brotherhood among other men.

Day one of the documentary will start with an organized event in Boston, with the Movember Foundation's support, to raise awareness about the health issues concerning men. Ten weeks later, another event will be held on the west coast in Los Angeles to wrap up the shoot and to continue the powerful message.

Overall, the objective of the film is to bring to light the overwhelmingly grim standards of men’s mental health in the U.S. and to galvanize a positive change in the nation. The film’s production value as well as its content bring an ever-green quality of storytelling, something that statistics show that men respond to more favorably than direct one-on-one conversations, enough to encourage men to seek the help they need.

Many men respond to the catharsis of the open road, the “life journey” of setting out on a quest, which starts and ends the documentary’s main story arc. Beginning in Boston, Massachusetts, Justin Kincaid  takes to the road in a soul baring ride to, not only raise the awareness about the mental health issues of the nation, but also to come to grips with his own battles of depression and social anxiety.

Connecting visual media with social media is a powerful tool for change and the documentary, as well as the cross-country ride, is deeply connected with social media. With daily updates, sharing of stories on Twitter and Facebook, as well as photos on Instagram, the objective is to start conversations on as many platforms as possible while encouraging positive discussion and change among the men who suffer from mental and physical health related problems.

Why should you sponsor?

Sponsors looking to increase their outreach into communities of households with men from the age of 15-55 will be put in front of said demographic across a host of platforms, from social media, to film festivals, and traditional media spots.

We have access to the Movember Foundation's entire global audience as well as continued support from their staff, which provides an outstanding opportunity for growth along both male and female sectors.

The cross-country route will take our team through Boston, New York, Philadelphia, DC, Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis, Dallas, Houston, Austin, Denver, San Diego, Orange County, Los Angeles, San Jose, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle. With 3-4 days at each location, along with a massive social media campaign and local news, radio, and media coverage, the exposure opportunity for a sponsor is significant.

More so, aligning to the cause of men's mental health in the USA provides ongoing awareness and brand loyalty to sponsors who are looking to maximize sponsorship and marketing dollars across multiple platforms.

Justin Kincaid

Justin Kincaid will be taking this ride on, from start to finish, and will be doing so to raise awareness and funds for the Men’s Mental and Physical Health. Justin has always had problems with depression, even from a young age. Being born in the 80’s and home schooled his entire life, Justin fought with constant depression and, of course, Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity (Honestly, 80’s kids were all diagnosed with ADD/ADHD) but the depression was something that he always suffered.

In the year 1999, Justin weighed over 550lbs and his doctor told him that he was going to die and continually see his health deteriorate in rapid order unless he lost the weight. It was then that Justin first decided that he wanted to join the US Armed Forces and he sought to lose the weight in order to join up. By the time the year 2000 rolled around, Justin was down to 300lbs and feeling great. He was constantly walking, working out, and controlling his diet in order to meet the weigh-in for the military.

After working with the local Army Recruiter’s, he lost enough weight to meet the minimum and went to take his aptitude test. Doing extremely well on the test, he thought he was a shoe in for the military he so desperately wanted to belong to. Sadly, he never got the chance. His physical revealed that a severe neck injury he suffered as an infant, the doctor let his head drop when he was born and broke his neck, causing his parents to have to do years of intense physical therapy to allow him to have movement of his head, disqualified him from serving in the military.

Years later, Justin had some entrepreneurial successes and life was going fairly well until his father, Randal became ill with cancer. Justin, having survived a cancer scare himself, knew that there was a major mental hurdle to overcome with the fight but Randal just gave up. He slowly withered and died in the family apartment because of a mental health issue and there was nothing his family could do about it. Randal didn’t want treatment; he refused to eat, refused to get out of bed, and refused to do anything to change his life. He died of complications, due to his depression and negative mental state.

From that tragedy, Justin became impassioned to ensure that men across the United States get the help they need to overcome their mental struggles, find brotherhood with other men, and open up about the problems they are facing in their lives, rather than to allow that darkness to consume them.

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