Two men working in construction have joined forces to launch a podcast that encourages others in the industry to share their mental health struggles.

‘Under the Hard Hat, Behind the Mask’ was created by Daniel Crask, Head of Operations at Acorn Analytical Services, and Paul Bone, Managing Director at Kingsley Roofing & Solar, and aims to dive into the real challenges that staff, business owners and subcontractors face whilst working in the UK construction industry.

The duo have both been honest about their own struggles with mental health and believe that talking about them ‘needs to be the new norm’ in construction.

“Daniel and I met for a coffee in December, and the subject of mental health came up as I had had quite a tough year,” said Paul. “The construction industry is hard and very male dominated. We know that many people working in the industry suffer from stress, anxiety and depression and just don’t talk about it. We hit upon the idea of doing a podcast to start those conversations and ‘Under the Hard Hat, Behind the Mask’ was born.”

The first episode, which is now live on You Tube, sees Daniel and Paul talk about their own personal struggles and experiences of working in the industry whilst having families at home. Paul also talks about how he deals with stress as a business owner. He also reveals that his perspective changed when his wife Robyn suffered a cardiac arrest and he was told to ‘say his goodbyes’ before she pulled through. As well as the emotional toll of this, Robyn is Paul’s business partner, so he also had to keep the business running and delegate to his team, which he found difficult.

Paul and Daniel have been joined by Chanelle Bradshaw who will act as producer, filming and editing each podcast episode from their dedicated podcast studio on Moulton Park, Northampton.

“Our first episode is an introduction to our personal battles and experiences in an open and honest conversation about what goes on in the head, under that hard hat, or to the person behind the mask,” said Daniel. “Many people struggle in silence but we want to help change that. These are difficult conversations, but they’re conversations that need to be had.”

Going forward, new episodes will be released monthly and feature guests sharing their own stories openly, honestly and uncensored in a safe space.

The second episode has already been filmed with their first guest, Matthew Abraham of Form Five, who talks openly about his experiences in the industry and reflects on the importance of community and support networks during life’s toughest moments.

The third episode will explore the challenges faced by women in construction to coincide with Women in Construction Week.

The ‘Under the Hard Hat, Behind the Mask’ podcast is available now on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@Underthehardhatbehindthemask and will be released across major listening platforms soon.

For more information on Acorn Analytical Services, see www.acorn-as.com. To find out more about Kingsley Roofing & Solar, go to https://kingsleyroofingsolar.co.uk.