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The Meaning

Every day, men everywhere carry a weight no one else can see. Santos Rodriguez wants to make it visible.

This November he is taking on the Carry the Weight challenge. From 1st November to the end of the month, he will wear a 20kg weighted vest every waking moment, from the minute he wakes up to the minute he goes to sleep. It goes on for the 5am PT sessions, the walk across town, coffee with a friend and his own training.

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TWO KINDS OF STRENGTH

Strength training has carried Santos through some of his hardest moments. Whenever things get emotional, he trains, and he always comes out of it feeling better. To him, strength works on two levels. Physical strength moves weight. Mental strength gets you through the real stuff.

The vest connects the two. Mental health is complex and hard to see, but 20kg strapped to a man's chest is impossible to miss. It turns something people rarely talk about into something they can picture, and gives them a way into a harder conversation.

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The Reason Why

Santos knows the challenge will test him. Some mornings it will be 5am, he will have a session to get to, and he won’t want to strap in. What gets the vest on is the thought of the men carrying far more, with no way to put it down.

What he wants in return is simple: talk more. Talk about the weight you’re carrying, and if you can see someone else struggling, help them unload theirs.

He also wants to show that a challenge doesn’t need a special kind of person. “I’m not anything special. I don’t particularly like being on camera, or being online. I just decided to do this challenge, and here I am doing it. If I can do it, anyone can do their own challenge too.”

If you’re carrying something heavy, you don’t have to carry it alone. Samaritans are available day or night on 116 123.

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