Former NFL player Ryan Mundy believes mental health is a facet of life that should be at the forefront.
His circumstances, when navigating life away from the league, brought him closer to this realization as he battled with anxiety and depression.
His struggle was shared by other athletes who recognized there were few spaces that tended to mental health, particularly for the Black community.
“I started to notice things going on with me that I knew required help and support beyond myself,” Mundy told AfroTech in an exclusive interview. “Also, I was having a lot of conversations with my friends and noticing very similar patterns and talking about what we were feeling, doing, and experiencing – and the common thread was that there weren’t many spaces that served our mental wellness effectively.”
Alkeme Health
Mundy took the initiative and founded the mental health startup Alkeme Health in 2020. The platform prides itself in being accessible to the culture.
In addition, users are provided resources that include “Labs (therapy modules), Waves (guided meditations), and Live Labs (live therapist discussions) with a principal focus on Black culture,” according to the company website.
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“Over the last few years I think it’s fair to say that the majority of us have realized the importance of our mental health and wellness,” Mundy explained. “During this time we’ve realized that caring for our mental health and wellness is much easier said than done. The lack of spaces designed to help us actually care for our mental health and wellness, financial cost, provider shortage and other barriers prevent our community from getting what they need. We are building Alkeme to support the community in an accessible, authentic, and engaging way in an effort to create generational health.”
Alkeme Health Club
Finding new ways to tend to its community, users will be introduced to the Alkeme Health Club podcast to stir conversation centered on the topics of mental, physical, and spiritual wellness led by professional athletes, Fortune 500 business leaders, celebrities, politicians, and more.
“More times than not, we only see the outputs of healthy living, business success, and life accomplishments but we rarely talk about what enabled that success through the lens of health & wellness. Listeners can look forward to being able to get a full picture of what it takes to truly live an exceptional life and leaving an episode with tangible tools they can use to improve their daily lives. Our guests are going to be real, raw, helpful and inspirational in the process,” Mundy said.
The podcast kicks off on Nov.14 and will be available wherever you listen.
