What totalmtb means to me , well I don’t no where to start it’s means so much to me on a personal level totalmtb first dropped me a follow on Instagram and asked me if I wanted to be an ambassador at a very low point in my life I was just coming out from a mental breakdown and struggling with life it’s self but by them talking to me and giving me a reason to put a mtb jersey on it gave me a purpose in life and to jump back on the mtb and with getting out being in the woods and meeting people it’s a huge help for my mental health and continues to help me daily without them giving me a reason to put on a jersey and get out I can honestly say I wouldn’t of got through that stage in my life and be where I am today Without totalmtb

Why I think it’s successful, they communicate to everyone they make sure that there page is open to every rider of all ages and abilities on a bike they take the time to post peoples stories and photos and when I first started Instagram and posted my mtb videos or pictures I felt embarrassed because I wasn’t good on a bike but by them sharing a post it made my day/week that somebody noticed me! It can really boost a persons self esteem plus they talk openly about mental health that most pages or brands don’t like to talk about but they have brought so many people together through this and made me and my friends feel we are not alone and it’s ok to talk about it

What it means to others , this isn’t just a page on social media it’s one big family and everyone is welcome

The future for totalmtb, I definitely believe this is a group/family that is going to continue to grow rapidly they support so many people and charities raise awareness on mental health that effects so many people and gives them a safe place to be on social media for me I can’t wait to see what the future holds for totalmtb I couldn’t be more proud to wear a jersey

Carla Statham @carla.statham

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I found TotalMTB a bit by accident really after creating myself an instagram profile to connect with the mtb community. I started to learn to mountain bike during the early days of the pandemic as many others did. I’d only ridden a standard bike as a child to and from school, and also during my teens just to get out of the house. Learning to mountain bike soon became a way of regularly exercising during this time, trying something new, and giving me some really important headspace as I became quite mentally stressed as a keyworker, plus it was another activity to share with my husband too. Little did I know how important it would become to me as a way of maintaining good mental health and physical health by getting outside and switching off.

I connected immediately with TotalMTB because of the great work that it does taking away the stigma of mental health issues and helping to fundraise for many charities through its work. In a past life I suffered a complete mental breakdown and psychosis, all due to a domestic violence relationship that I was in at the time. It was awful, and I found there was very little support at all, bar being heavily medicated, to help recovery. It was scary, I felt extremely isolated, and I had nobody at all to talk to about it at the time. I was simply labelled unwell in the head, mad even. If I’d have had mountain biking, TotalMTB and the surrounding community in my life at that point, without doubt, I think I would have felt very different. Everything would have seemed less hopeless.

TotalMTB is there for absolutely everyone, no matter what background, what age, what ability, there is no discrimination. They simply support, help and advise without judgement and that’s precious. They talk very openly about mental health taking away any stigma attached, and share their own and other people’s experiences which makes you feel not alone, accepted, and that it’s actually ok to openly talk about these things.

TotalMTB is most certainly not just a social media site, it goes far deeper than that, and is working hard within the mountain biking industry to normalise the discussion about mental health amongst its community which is so important. This is why I will always continue to support Ryan and TotalMTB by wearing their shirts and spreading the word about what they do any why whilst out and about on the trails. #MentalHealthMatters #ItsOkayNotToBeOkay

Philippa Howe – @slow_as_a_sloth_mtb

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I’d like to convey just how much I support the work done by TotalMTB and how much it helped me through a difficult time but I fear that my words won’t do it justice.

I was aware of the work that Ryan was doing as I was just about to feature him in a part of a youtube series I was doing that recognises ‘trail heroes’ i.e those in the mountain bike community who give something back and make a positive contribution to our community.

Just prior to me recording this piece about TotalMTB I lost my mother suddenly to a heart attack. I was my mother’s carer and loved her deeply and was just about to move in with her to take care of her when she passed away. As you might imagine I was devastated and in many ways ‘lost’. I drifted between sad and busy as numerous arrangements had to be made yet any spare moment was filled with depression and despair.

After several days of this I was in an unhealthy spiral and getting more and more depressed. This is when I noticed the TotalMTB t-shirt I had bought some weeks earlier, ready for my short film, draped over the back of a chair.

I looked at it and remembered some of the messages that Ryan had been communicating over the website and other social media channels …. I.e. get out and ride your bike! Get out in the fresh air, get your legs pumping and lungs working and take in some of the wonderful countryside.

I didn‘t particularly feel like going out and I had no-one to ride with but somehow, looking at the t-shirt I felt like I should.

I rode a few miles up to the top of a hill, figuratively if not literally distancing myself from my depression as my aching legs and bursting lungs took all of my attention.  When I reached the top I got off my bike and, well. I had a bloody good cry!

I was sitting under the tree and a torrent of emotion I had been bottling up inside just came out and I instantly felt better for it. I sat there for a while, appreciated the surroundings and took some deep breaths. After about thirty minutes I composed myself, like every stoic Englishman is taught to, and rode home.

This one ride didn’t ‘solve’ any problem or change my circumstances but I felt more able to deal with the situation, my feelings and my mental health.  This was a very precious gift at the time! I knew that to feel better or banish some demons and depression I just needed to get on my bike and get out into the fresh air.

I didn’t know Ryan personally and he had absolutely no idea I had bought the tshirt or benefited so heavily from the message that he was putting out into the mountain bike community.  

And that’s why I wholeheartedly support the work that he does with TotalMTB so others can continue to benefit the way I did.

I’ve been lucky enough to meet Ryan (over skype) and get to know him and importantly thank him for the work that he does. I’m sure that there are countless other people he has helped that he will never know about.

I think that the work that Ryan and TotalMTB does is wonderful and I would encourage anyone in a position to be able to support the work he does to seize the opportunity.

Thank you for reading this.

Kind regards

Richard Hurst

This is the video i recorded about TotalMTB _ https://youtu.be/X-pfni9iHb0

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What it means to me 

I actually started my mountain biking journey in the midst of depression. I had biked as a child and I was looking for a way to get me out of the house. I needed a fun way so I wouldn’t let my anxiety hold me back. You see what people don’t really understand about mental health issues is they are not only in the mind they manifest in the body too. I felt isolated like the world was too scary a place to be out in and my body showed the physical signs of depression. 

Finding my passion for mountain biking changed my life in all the right ways. I got not only physically stronger but mentally stronger. I grew in ways I never believed was possible.

Total MTB is a place to share experiences good and bad and make mental health a priority. 

Why I think it is successful 

Total MTB is a place for people to come together and help and support each other and share their mental health journey. We all have mental health issues in our lives and we need to normalise it in all communities. Total MTB is pioneering the way forward in mental health and mountain biking. It is imperative we help and encourage the work of total MTB. The stats speak for themself. depression in adult males, in particular, can go untreated until it is too late. Total MTB work to normalise and help people understand and accept mental is so important that it can not be overlooked. We all have a responsibility to help other where we can and total MTB is doing this. 

What it means to others 

This is a hard question to answer it means different things to different people but mostly it’s a safe space to share mental health and mountain biking. It is so important that we normalise mental health and we remove the stigma attached to it. In the mountain biking community, we are all used to physical injuries but mental health is not really discussed. So to have a place where we can be open and honest is so important and I don’t say this lightly life-changing. 

The future for total Mtb 

TotalMTB is growing and reaching a new audience every single day. It is encouraging people to be honest and show their true selves. It is encouraging children to learn about mental health in the biking community and show that it is all part of life to go through dark times. But there are places to help you Just like total MTB. The further TotalMtb message goes the better. Let’s teach people it is ok to not be ok and most importantly it is ok to ask for help. 

Laura Martin – @MissLJBeauty

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My name is Justin Yates.

I found TotalMTB by complete accident. 

I was riding with friends at Leeds urban bike park and bumped into the TotalMTB ride out. 

I like helping people out and I ended up helping a few of the TotalMTB riders. 

Ryan reached out to me and asked me to be involved. 

This led me to research TotalMTB and find out what it was all about. 

I was amazed at the professionalism and the message they wanted to portray.

Mental health has always been a taboo topic but promoting it through mounting biking is a great idea. The benifits to mental health through exercise is overlooked. 

The mountain biking community is so warm and friendly the two go hand in hand. 

I have been directly affected by mental health with family and a past partner. The subject is close to my heart. 

Since joining with TotalMTB I’ve been proud with the message and more so with Ryan’s approach to dealing with the subject. 

I’ve not only met people through TotalMTB I’ve also made friends. 

The team the message and the movement is gathering pace and is finally getting the recognition it deserves.

I’ll support TotalMTB for as long as I can. I enjoy racing in their colours and telling people what it’s all about.

Any help and assistance people can give to this cause will be well rewarded. 

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We all need to belong. Our brains have not evolved at the pace of our society… we still have cave-brain! We need to be in our packs so we survive and breed. TotalMTB is that pack. It’s somewhere to share, to be welcomed, to not be judged or sidelined. TotalMTB raises awareness, reminds us all daily of common struggles, brings us together with bikes. Our brains reward our belonging with positive chemicals and there is no better place to belong than with your bike people.

I got into riding for fitness and social. I soon got the adrenaline buzz and kept pushing myself. I was in the process of divorce and establishing a life reboot. Bikes was the catalyst, my life is all bikes now, all my friends are bike related and I can’t think what I did before bikes or what I would do without it. But I still have my days and being introverted Id rather be alone. Its important that I still belong even then when I choose to be alone, because TotalMTB is my pack.

Lisa Conway

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“As someone who’s struggles with anxiety and depression hearing about other peoples similar struggles through TotalMTB has helped me realise that I am not alone. The community that TotalMTB has created is so supportive and friendly.
Getting outside is such a major benefit to mental wellbeing and I think that TotalMTB is doing an amazing job of showing this in such a positive way. It doesn’t matter whether you have a mental health issue or not, everyone feels included and welcomed into this community.”

Kitty Clarkson

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I love the Total MTB page/community. They remind us what’s important about mtb and what it can do for us & our wellbeing – having fun with our mates & on our own, getting outside in all the weathers (who doesn’t love a photo of themselves laughing, covered in mud riding through a river?!), seeing the squirrels and the trees and riding because we need to burn off the crazy/to stop us killing people!

The work they do raising awareness of mental health and wellbeing is fantastic and a timely reminder for us all to look out for ourselves and our riding buddies. I also love the mix of funny videos and photos to help us get through the week until our next ride.

And portraying real riders of all abilities, genders, ages, shapes and sizes makes a refreshing and real life change from some of the traditional mtb pages. Representation is so important to inspire everyone – if you can see it, you can be it!

Thanks for reposting some of my pics. When I ride with mates my aim is just to have as much fun as possible and I think we’re pretty much nailing that.

Emma D

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Unfortunately in the October off 2021 my youngest son Phoenix was diagnosed with rare bone cancer not long after my oldest son started downhill racing and we had the great pleasure of meeting the wonderful family the trail rippers on finding out what was happening with the family they have supported us through out are cancer journey and still do to this day half way through phoenix’s chemo treatments he attended Birmingham childrens hospital to undergo life saving surgery to remove his bone in his arm with the cancer and graft his leg bone into his arm in this period in hospital.

Ryan had found out what was happening to Phoenix and offered his support and said he would like to do a surprise when Phoenix was ready I can’t really put into words what things like this means it not the fact someone wants to do something for you when you as a family are going through something like this and support and having something that Phoenix can focus on that things are going to get better and better times are ahead are so important and Ryan gave us that a couple of months after surgery Phoenix decided he would love to have a custom helmet, like his heroes, Ben Deakin I asked Ryan if this would be possible as there were several different things to organise Ryan went about doing the amazing job of getting this fantastic surprise off the ground. A helmet was donated by 661.

The fantastic artist Lee Morgan art painted the helmet and the surprise combinative with the helmet being handed over by Ben Deacon at the movie Classics. All I can say is a happier boy you will never see It was the first day since his concert, it was the first day since his cancer diagnosis where we seem to have our boy back where we seem to have our boy back laughing joking and in love with his surprise we will be forever grateful to Ryan total mtb for the love support he’s shown us and for giving us that wonderful day this charity such fantastic work driven by a wonderful human being Ryan

All our love the McMahon family xxx

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Total MTB is the driving force behind me not giving up with life and having the support there to ride it out of the darkest points of my life.

TotalMTB has grown from an idea of inclusion and sport for all into one of the strongest independent brands in the sport of Mountain Biking. It has become synonymous with promoting the benefits and positives of mountain biking with regard to mental health, friendship, and inclusivity. TotalMTB has had and will continue to have an impact on the lives of people it will never meet but who want to be part of something positive and supportive, a community that doesn’t judge, and understands that it really is okay to not be okay. That’s what I love about TotalMTB, long may it continue.

All the best,

Andy.

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I feel that I should write a few words about TotalMTB to help you to understand what it can bring to you and what it brings to me.

Firstly its a supportive group for everyone, the members are a variety of decent supportive folk each with a positive outlook..

We all have a common interest in pedalling mtb and enjoy the outdoors and all that fresh air, we are respectful and supportive of each other.

I found the group by accident and I liked what’s contained so have remained engaged…this is against a world of short attention spans, limited loyalty or community spirit.

Also to the credit of this group TotalMtb found me and recognised a passion that I have to clear our hedgerows of litter, here I actively lead our local community to clear litter and move ever forward to take pride in our neighbourhood, which I commonly share online. Without any prior awareness on my part I was rewarded with some mtb related gifts as a thankyou for all that I do …How nice is that !!!

Our attention to good mental and physical health is a critical one, we have one life to live and to partner with this supportive group helps not only us individually but others around us, saying thankyou and being supportive goes such a long way and has more value than most can understand ..

Join, support and share and you’ll see the worth, the group needs your value too…

Thanks for reading

Andrew James

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In what can only be described as a hectic world, looking after your mental and physical health is very important. Riding my MTB is what helps me, and Total MTB encourages people to ride more and talk more.

Whenever you meet fellow riders, it always seems to be a great community feeling

Keep up the good work

@sbow1975

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Total MTB has been a huge help to me mentally. I had a MTB accident 7 months ago which left me paralysed and since then Total MTB have been a huge support to me and my partner, offering works of advice and kindness and even sent me a really thoughtful gift!

I am really grateful for their #mentalhealth matters campaign as somebody who has suffered with mental health for as long as I can remember, their campaign has helped me hugely! 

They do so much for mental health and the environment which are two huge causes I am passionate about.

Casey Gemma – @Casey_Gemma

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I’d like to say that TotalMTB are a fantastic organisation who are involved in the community helping with mental health matters and also environmental concerns. They give so much of their time and energy to do good for others and are very professional in doing so.

They are regularly engaged online and out in the field so to speak. Totalmtb are great for the biking community and encourage learners of all ages and abilities.

I can highly recommend their clothing too which is excellent quality.

Gemma Dudas-Smith

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TotalMTB is about more than folks riding bikes together. It’s more than a club. It’s a movement; bringing together people from all walks of life, of all backgrounds. It’s about spreading happiness, health and friendship. To me, it’s a group of people looking to help others through cycling and, in doing so, helping themselves.

Lewis Bell

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What Total mtb means to me… I found Total mtb on social media, and since following, I’ve found it a really nice and friendly community. They do a massive job helping and raising awareness and funds in something so close to me, and that’s mental health.

And when I’ve had down days they have always been there with very supportive messages and it just lifts spirits instantly.

Mental health is no joke and having that community that’s there to help you get by day by day is awesome They are always active and there, even if it’s just a friendly message or 2.

It’s not one of them pages set up and run by bots. It’s real people, real riders who are just genuine really nice, and supportive guys  And most importantly they make Mental Health a priority and normalise it to a point where you can actually say “ITS OK NOT TO BE OK” And know there’s friendly people out there in this world that will be there for you and help in any way  #mentalhealthmatters #ItsOkNotToBeOk #TotalMTB

Ashly Talbot

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This Community is a place which is close to my heart. 2020 during the Lockdowns in the UK of the Covid19 pandemic found me very isolated and spending a lot of my free time on my own. Luckily my old Mountain bike was in the shed and I used MTB as an escape for a couple of hours each day, like a lot of people.

It was only when I started getting back into it properly and bought a new 29er hardtail. I realised how much it had a positive effect on my outlook on life in general. And positive effects on my physical Health. I’ve struggled with anxiety for years but I really notice That having the ability to get outside, increase the heart rate, have some fun by setting some goals, gave me a lot of my own self confidence back.

I found TotalMTB towards the middle of 2021, I was real nervous coming out of the lockdowns meeting up with new people, and getting out to Ride busier places. And felt really silly for feeling this way.

Discovering the TotalMTB community and realising that everybody else has a Story also showed me that it was Okay to share these less positive emotions. That so many people have struggles but use their bikes to create focus and generate motivation. Having decent goals to chase means people grow within themselves.

Changing the stigma around being able to have conversations about mental health really opens up the sport to a wider range of people, it gives everyone that space to express themselves through their riding and the confidence to meet up with new people and get out of the house for a few hours.

Something which has held me back for years, and could easily grab me back.  I’m able to manage so much better because I’m more able to be open when I’m not feeling 100% on it, then I can give myself permission to take smaller steps, rather than none at all as I’m able to remain accountable to Friends and Followers.

The Fund Raising I feel is incredible, and I would love to be able to help towards this at some point in the not to distant future as a way of giving back to the community as a whole.

It takes a lot of time and hard work, but it’s bringing more people into the sport and building the community into a more diverse and Empowering place to be.

Keep up the Great Work Everyone.

Thomas Cornes.

@mrthomascornes

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What TotalMTB means to me, they are an amazing community doing so much for others, with supporting mental health and the environmental concerns. 

They do so much fundraising also which this all must take up a lot of their own time. 

It’s great to see such a positive and selfless act being done in the community, and I hope that it keeps on growing and growing! 

☺️💚

@gem_cha.93

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@totalmtb has been incredible in supporting my charity project @freebikes4kids

Not only fundraising but also connecting me to the incredible online mtb community.

As an anxiety sufferer the mental health aspect of Totalmtb has been very helpful.

I now feel I can share things with the online community and not get overwhelmed.

An incredible resource that makes a huge difference to a lot of people.

Mike Jones (Freebikes4kids)

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We have been associated with Total MTB and Ryan for several years. Ryan’s vision to create an inclusive , caring community around mountain biking, wellbeing, mental health and giving is not only inspired, it’s visionary and it feels like Total MTB is scratching the surface of what’s possible.

With Ryan’s humble attitude I feel sure he would achieve far above average when it comes to the potential return on any size investment.

Total MTB is a movement, a way of being and we are very proud to continue our support.

Ian – Elliot Brown Watches

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Unlike many charities, TotalMTB has been around for long enough now for it to be considered more than a flash in the pan. TotalMTB has been raising awareness and funds for mental health causes for years. It’s run by Ryan, a really sound guy who manages to put himself out there and promote the cause, despite suffering from anxiety issues himself. Probably because of this, TotalMTB understands the effects of mental health problems and is able to provide support and awareness to the mountain bike community more effectively than other organisations. Keep up the great work!

Tom – Broken Riders