If you’re in or around central Werribee on a Saturday morning, you’ll no doubt see plenty of people walking up and down Wyndham’s busiest shopping strip.
But if you look closely, you might notice a group of men pounding the pavement a little more purposefully than everyone else.
As the name suggests, the Man Walk is a group of men who get together for weekly walks as way of providing a supportive, positive and inclusive environment for exercise conversation and fellowship.
The Werribee chapter started in June 2021 and members have been spending their Saturday mornings walking along Watton Street and the surrounding area ever since.
Werribee Man Walk organiser Nicholas Trigg got involved at the start of last year.
“It is essentially a place that men can get exercise, have a chat, make friends and support each other if need be,” Mr Trigg said.
“With the loneliness epidemic and male suicide rates being so high it is an excellent way to counter these spectres of society.”
Unsurprisingly, the Werribee Man Walk proved especially popular during Covid lockdowns, with as many as 50 men making the most of their rare time outside to stretch their legs and hang out with other blokes.
But as society slowly opened up and got back to normal, numbers dropped and Mr Trigg is trying to encourage past members to come back and new walkers to join.
“They can make good friends in this group,” he said of the benefits.
“We have lots of laughs during the walk. We talk pretty much from the time we start until we finish,”
The Werribee Man Walk starts each Saturday at the Wedge Street Piazza in central Werribee, near the Watton Street roundabout.
Details: themanwalk.com.au
Cade Lucas
