UK-based esports apparel company Raven hopes to get men talking and interacting together in support of a charity that supports men’s mental health: Movember.
Raven (aka Raven GG or Raven.GG) will be launching a new channel on its Discord, ‘join party chat’, that will be a space where members of the community can chat with no judgement and get whatever they need off their chest.
There will be a month-long set of challenges that will encourage members of the online server to team up with each other, complete objectives and raise awareness for men’s mental health. Furthermore, Raven will be inviting professional players and popular content creators to take part in the initiative to help those who struggle with burnout and the pressures of being a streamer.
“We have created a culture at Raven where my colleagues can open up and talk about what’s going on in their lives. We want to capture that and create the same environment in our Discord where we will be setting challenges and encouraging members to party up to raise awareness for mental health.”
Sam Wells, Raven
Sam Wells, Raven MD Sam Wells said: “We wanted to support an important cause that we feel is very significant in our industry.
“We have created a culture at Raven where my colleagues can open up and talk about what’s going on in their lives. We want to capture that and create the same environment in our Discord for the new ‘join party chat’ channel where we will be setting challenges and encouraging members to party up to raise awareness for mental health.”
Recognising the struggles content creators face and having a positive impact
Fans of streamers might often see the smiling faces of their favourite content creators and think all is well at face value, but content creation can be a lonely, difficult job that can take its toll on people’s mental health.
Video game streamers across Twitch, TikTok, YouTube and other live streaming platforms are burning out and logging off. Raven says that unlike many other workers, they don’t always have benefits or structured resources to fall back on.
Raven says this can result in a downward spiral with streamers having fewer breaks and holidays, with some not always taking the important time they need to regenerate their system.
“The concern for streamers is that they can’t always rely on paid vacation or sick leave since they are self-employed. Streamers are worried that they may lose viewers if they take much needed breaks and this leaves them wondering how to navigate making an income without employee benefits when a holiday is needed. This can result in significant stress and exhaustion,” read a Raven press release.
“Statistics show that globally, on average, 1 man dies by suicide every minute of every day. This is why it’s crucial that there are coping mechanisms in place that focus on prevention, early intervention and health promotion. Raven has utilised their Discord group as a way of getting people engaged and talking, one of the categories is focused on mindset and wellbeing which gives inspirational daily quotes, podcasts and a place to celebrate and share your wins.”
The charity Movember also posted about the importance of men establishing social connections on its website.
“The issue of suicide is incredibly complex. But we know this: improving overall mental health and helping men establish better social connections can reduce the risk of suicide,” Movember says. “And so that’s our mission. To get there, we’re uniting experts, funding bold new approaches and embracing fresh perspectives.
“Men need to be able to access support in their communities and where they’re comfortable. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution.”
What other Movember esports activities are happening?
ESEA is running Season 4 of its ‘Mustache Masters’ 5v5 charity tournament to benefit Movember.
OpTic Hitch, Jorge and 6lake also raised more than $65,000 recently for Movember as part of their Team Summertime two-day off-season festival.
There was a $25,000 Call of Duty tournament and $25,000 Smash Bros tournament as part of the event, with fans able to buy tickets to attend the festival at Esports Stadium Arlington in the US.
Are you involved in esports and are doing something for Movember? Please let us know in a Twitter DM and we’ll update this article.
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
