Kenny Santucci wants to get more guys talking about their feelings

Growing up, there was never a question about what it meant to be masculine. In the fitness world it was all about aesthetics. There was Schwarzenegger, Stallone, and the Ultimate Warrior – larger than life and pumped up meatheads who embodied what was traditionally considered peak masculinity. Those shredded guys weren’t supposed to talk about how they felt, their feelings, or anything that would make them look less masculine. It just wasn’t a thing. It was a stereotype as old as time that men didn’t talk about their feelings let alone their mental health.

Over the course of my fitness journey – as an athlete and coach – I’ve always wanted to break down walls and stereotypes. Fitness is more than just being jacked. It’s about being strong mentally and physically, being the best version of you right now. If you change what’s going on inside you will change what’s going on on the outside and that means being able and open to talk about how you feel. Go figure a guy would want to talk about his feelings, but I quickly realized I was not the only one who felt that way (pun intended).

At a recent dinner with a bunch of guys and unprompted by the whiskey we were drinking we got to talking about our relationships. Some were married, some were happily married, others were still trying to figure it out. It shouldn’t be shocking to hear that a bunch of dudes drinking whiskey were talking about their emotions, but for some reason it still is. I want to change that. I created Strong New York as a health and wellness series to bring together the top minds from around the strength world to present and share knowledge under one roof. Bringing together my buddies over dinner and whiskey and talking, sharing, listening, and being able to create a safe space to just BE seemed similar to what I did with Strong New York. There was camaraderie, support, mental and physical strength, and a common feeling of all wanting to feel better after we left. That shouldn’t be so difficult to mimic in our day-to-day lives, right? Even if we didn’t raise over $10,000 for Movember like we did with the first Strong New York event, we were continuing to break down traditions that need to be broken and make men’s mental and physical health a more normal point of conversation.

As a coach I have dedicated my life to helping others become the best version of themselves. If that means getting more guys to talk about their feelings with or without weights and dumbbells in hand – sign me up.