By MARCUS STEAD
A SUPPORT network for fathers with a shared passion for heavy metal music will be holding a six-month festival of events in Barry after they obtained a grant from Comic Relief.
‘METALIDADS’ began during the pandemic and has evolved into a group where men gather virtually (and in real life) to discuss heavy metal music, the challenges of parenthood and issues around mental health.
The Comic Relief grant will enable the group to run the #LetThereBeTalk festival from March to September, which will consist of a series of small-scale events.
Co-founder Huw Clarke, known as ‘Daddy Huw’ said: “I was a very lonely dad. I didn’t have a friendship network whatsoever and I remember once going to an NCT meeting for fathers – they were all obsessed with football, and while I’m into all sports, I don’t just focus on one.
“This gave me the realisation that for men to click with other blokes, they need to like the theme of the escapism, and football just didn’t work for me.
“METALIDADS is aimed at the ‘alternative’ dads, for example the gamer, the comic book collector, the skateboarder, the metalhead, someone who likes chess or Dungeons and Dragons, in other words, the sort of person who wouldn’t necessarily go to the football club or the running club.
“Heavy metal is the theme we’re going for, and most of our merchandise is inspired by AC/DC songs, including our hashtag #LetThereBeTalk after their track Let There Be Rock,” he said.
The group currently meets on Wednesday evenings at Barry RFC for ‘Crap Darts Club’ and on Saturday mornings at the Awesome Wales Zero Waste Shop in Barry for coffee.
They also gather for ad hoc events, such as a Halloween film festival and meet-ups to watch the Six Nations rugby.
METALIDADS also run a signposting service where they provide businesses in Barry with literature to enable them to help customers who appear to be experiencing mental health difficulties and guide them towards sources of support including Samaritans and the CUBE Centre on Broad Street.
The events during the #LetThereBeTalk festival include a cinema trip for a preview session of Metallica’s new album 72 Seasons, which will be released in April. Also in the pipeline is a meet and greet with veteran British thrash metal band Acid Reign.
Among the light-hearted events planned is ‘Would I Lie To Huw?’ which is loosely based on the Rob Brydon game show ‘Would I Lie To You?, and a monthly ‘Bad Film Club’, where a notoriously-dreadful film will be selected for the group to sit through.
A separate grant from the National Lottery has allowed several members of the group to receive mental health first aid training, and with suicide being the biggest cause of death of males under the age of 50 in the UK, Huw is encouraging anybody who feels they would benefit from joining the group to come forward: “We poke fun at ourselves a bit, and I suppose we’re all geeks but we wear our rawness on our sleeves.
“Life isn’t lived through an Instagram filter, life has its ugly times and we are open about things if we’re having a bad day. The most important point is we look out for each other and see the signs when we need help,” he said.
Further information about METALIDADS can be found by visiting: www.metalidads.org
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