This year, from June 14-20, health services, community groups, publications and brands alike will take the opportunity to celebrate Men’s Health Week. But the average Australian who identifies as male won’t - and it's an opportunity that, all too often, is tragically missed.
Because in his lifetime, the Australian male will experience a higher incidence of illness and accident, as well as a significantly shorter life expectancy than his female counterpart. He’ll be statistically less likely to seek help for any grievances relating to his health, physical or mental, and the numbers paint a sobering picture – Australian men take their own lives at four times the rate of women – one that’s significantly worse for marginalised demographics.
In light of a year that has prompted a radical shift in thinking about ideas of health – of the individual and as it relates to the greater public good – how do we talk about the health of men?
Of its physical, mental, interpersonal and spiritual manifestations; of its relationship to work and productivity; of its relationship to constructs of masculinity, ageing, self-care and the body?
For the Melburnian co-founder of Grown Alchemist, Jeremy Muijs, it’s evident that internal health is inseparable from external beauty. Muijs, who founded his business with his brother over a decade ago, bases every element of his business practice on that central tenet. From the “ultra-purified air” of their “raw, industrial bio-lab retail space” to their 100% natural, certified toxic-free, cruelty-free products bottled in 100% recyclable glass and premium PET plastic, there’s no distinction for Muijs between the importance of the interior and exterior self.
Herewith, Muijs reflects on his radical new approach to health - one that mightn’t be so new after all.