The Brawd BluePrint

How did the Brawd Blueprint come about?

Well let’s start from the top.

Regardless of their background or how they found us, we started noticing a set of values inherent within the members at our Local Lifestyle Centre in the Vale of Glamorgan.

We thought it was coincidence at first and maybe it wouldn’t last, but over time we found that only the “good guys” out there were joining our local Brawd community

Our members showed a certain set of values that flowed through everything we did inside and out of Brawd… and it was contagious.

So over a protein shake (beer actually) the coaches sat back and thought…………….

B– Brave

Most, in fact its fair to say all of our members face challenges in their lives in some way and to make the initial decision to do something different with their lives and join Brawd was the first “Brave” moment we encountered.

Let’s be honest, as a man (or woman of course) we like to have our group of friends but rarely go out to meet new ones or join new groups and this can be very intimidating.

One thing was for certain – once the first step was made our members continued to surprise us by challenging themselves in a variety of ways (More on this through subsequent Brawd Journal posts)

R– Respect

A bit like a Rugby team, football team or maybe a unit in the Army, we also found that no matter how much camaraderie (piss taking) and sometimes competition in the group – every one of our members had the utmost respect for each other as a man.

Each man respected every other man in the group. No Silverbacks and chest beating dominace allowed.

A– Adventure

Doing the same thing every day is not an adventure.

Whilst we all have and need routine, doing the same thing every day and expecting things to change is madness and there is a real, alive sense of adventure in everything we do within Brawd. Just take a look at the pictures, feel the vibe… We just love adventure.

W – Wisdom

Does this conjures up images of Gandalf ( Lord of the rings) or maybe your grandparents/parents giving you some key advice on life?

Maybe Yoda?

As a man of the world, even if you don’t know it – you have wisdom of just living.

On it’s own it’s powerful but shared in a group it can be life changing and our members actively do this…. exchange knowledge and wisdom (of course with a great deal of light-heartedness most of the time)

D – Diversity

From body shape to personalities, profession to goals, our members see diversity as one of the most interesting parts of Brawd.

In life you generally stick with people you know, of the same profession, circle of family and friends.

At Brawd you get the opportunity to meet guys you probably wouldn’t otherwise – and this is really really powerful for our community, both local and online.

“Be yourself; everyone else is already taken” – Oscar Wilde

So we had a set of values as a man. But how do we use them?

Well we then looked at how we lived out our lifestyles and the bigger picture.

What we found was that it wasn’t just fitness that would keep this comminuty going and make us better men… it was much more…

Enter our concept of the BRAWD ELEMENTS of Lifestyle.

BODY | ADVENTURE | MIND

Have these 3 elements in your lifestyle and we believe you’ll be a long way to being healthy, happy and content (with a fair bit of excitiment in the mix too)

BODY

“The male body is the best picture of male soul”

The BODY attribute of FITNESS

Our Body is the presentation of ourselves to the external world and for some of you that’s why you may be reading this?

Whether its to lose fat, build muscle, run 10km in 40 minutes or experience less pain, your aspirations for being fit and healthy usually translate to external visible change in your body or tangible results.

Basically your body doesn’t lie – hence why the male body is quite often the best picture of the male soul.

The BODY attribute of NUTRITION

So your body represents your lifestyle and it doesn’t lie and it’s a wonderful forgiven thing ?– up to a point.

Looking fit and healthy for most men at Brawd is where they thought they would stop, however with most of us being on the wrong side of youth at some point as men we need to look at what’s going in as well as going out

The BODY attribute of LONGEVITY

So we need to pay attention to what’s going on inside with the many systems of the body that well….. just make us work?

Its probably not enough for you to “worry about it when you’re older” anymore or when you ”have kids” as most of you are probably there now.

So at Brawd we also look at your health inside, along with mobility and movement.

ADVENTURE

“Our Adventure as a man at Home, Work & Play”

The ADVENTURE attribute of LAND

When did life stop being an adventure?

Remember going on holiday as a kid?

You probably never went on holiday with the family to the Amazon Jungle or ran an ultra Marathon with dad.

So why was it so exciting?

Maybe it was the unknown? Maybe your dreams weren’t clouded with doubt of being stuck in a traffic jam or being put off by a snotty Trip Advisor review?

Maybe you lived a little bit more in the moment?

At Brawd we just started going on adventures again… and we ABSOLUTELY LOVE IT…

We went out trail running together but didnt just stick to trails or well known routes or pavements… we ran through streams, rivers and into the sea just because it’s great fun

The ADVENTURE attribute of WATER

We get out on the water together and share a huge passion for the sport of Stand Up Paddleboarding (SUP).

The sheer versatility of the sport and the fact that ANYONE can do it, allows us to paddle together but more importantly adventure and explore together.

The ADVENTURE attribute of LIFE

And of course not forgetting our adventure as a man through Life. By this we simply mean taking the family to the beach or the forest for a picnic instead of a Retail Park for a drive through fast food lunch as the highlight of the week.

MIND

“ Whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right” – Henry Ford

The MIND attribute of HAPPINESS

Typically we struggle with third and possibly most important Brawd element of all – the mind.

No matter how wealthy, how “ripped”, how powerful…. behind all this comes a desire as a human to be happy and content with life.

The MIND attribute of DEVELOPMENT

In adult life we may see development and education in a completely different light .

If your not learning or developing, then what’s your legacy? We don’t just mean a list of qualifications or merits but your development of emotional and social intelligence.

The MIND attribute of SOCIAL

We have our family and our friends and this is so important to our lifestyle.

A recent poll of our members put “family” and “companionship” at the top of their “3 favourite things in life”.

If you take a look at any cultures in the world that live the longest and happiest lives – they all have a huge social support networks too.

We know this is so important to our Brawd Members

So there you have it – a run through of the parts that make up the Brawd Blueprint.

And we didn’t just make it up… well we did, but we made sure it wasn’t just a copy and paste from somewhere else out there and we took our time to make it.

So why does this Blueprint work?

Well for one, we have the best evidence out there. Themembers at our local lifestyle centre in the Vale of Glamorgan.

Maybe spend 10 minutes, if you have time looking through the photos on our facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/brawdhealth/

Does this seem like a good place to be? A good community to be part of?

Put it all together with a bit of blood sweat and tears…… and you have the BRAWD BLUEPRINT