filmmaker and entrepreneur Luke Adams Freedive under an iceberg in 28-degree Fahrenheit waters in Greenland to raise awareness for men’s mental health. The project he plans to complete in July 2022, Movemberis a month-long men’s health charity event held around the world each November.
Adams saw an iceberg – its ice tip was the largest 300 feet above sea level In Greenland, about 90% of the total mass is hidden under water. It serves as a visual metaphor for the invisible (and often silent) mental health battles men go through. 80 percent According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the suicide rate is male.Adams movie Men confidently share their mental health journey, Men usually face stigma when talking about mental health.
Adams swam under the iceberg without an oxygen tank, mask or wetsuit and documented the experience in a short film. “I wanted to do something unprecedented to empower men to share their mental health journey with confidence,” Adams writes in his book. Movember article in July.
Adams is currently Creative Director at Story Real Studios. Story Real Studios is based in Connecticut and creates video content strategies for purpose-driven brands. He detailed his own experiences with anxiety and self-doubt over the past 25 years in his Movember. “I was always under the impression that to look ‘man,’ you had to hide your hardships beneath the surface,” Adams writes. The stress of running a business, financial pressures, and isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic led to him going through the darkest 12 months of his life.
“That’s when I learned that asking for help doesn’t make you weaker,” he said.
Adams and his team faced transportation difficulties during the project due to sea ice. Also, the water was colder than they expected, with Adams training in “subzero water” in preparation for the dive.
“Months of training, tens of thousands of dollars, and a team of people counting on me, and I [was] I’m ready to throw in the towel on day one,” Adams recalled thinking after experiencing the cold water for the first time.
Luke Adams, Daan Verhoeven, Tim Emmett Courtesy Luca Malaguti
On the second day, Adams had second thoughts when he submerged face first and started diving down the line. “But I remembered my purpose and pulled myself in deeper,” he said. Once I reached the bottom of the dive line, I took off my mask and swam towards the iceberg, holding on to the glacier for what felt like minutes until time slowly stopped. rice field.”
Luke Adams touching an iceberg (Courtesy Daan Verhoeven)
he remembered hearing a click Daan Verhoeven‘s camera reminded him to return to the surface. And he dived again and again. A total of 12 dives were made over the next few days to record all the footage needed for the short film.
Luke Adams before the dive courtesy of Luca Malaguti
Adams’ short film was also sponsored by men’s fashion brand Sheath Underwear, which pledged to donate 25% of all sales of the underwear line worn in the film to Adams’ Movember fundraiser. hereMovember raises funds for mental health and suicide prevention, prostate cancer and testicular cancer.
