Rural quiz puts fun first in wellbeing conversation

BetterMan founders Ryan Astle, Todd Astle and Ged Robinson are taking their popular Quiz and Some Other Shizz format rural, with the first Rural Edition being held at Terrace Downs in partnership with Mid Canterbury and North Canterbury Rural Support Trusts.

Mid Canterbury  and North Canterbury Rural Support Trust is teaming up with men’s wellbeing charity BetterMan for a different kind of rural mental health event, one built around quizzes, competition, humour and a good night out.

The BetterMan Quiz and Some Other Shizz: Rural Edition will be held at Terrace Downs on August 28, giving farmers and rural families a chance to get off farm, catch up with others and have some fun.

Former Black Cap Todd Astle, who co-founded BetterMan with his brother Ryan Astle and former professional rugby player Ged Robinson, says that is exactly the point.

Rather than asking people to attend something labelled as a mental health seminar, BetterMan creates events people genuinely want to go to, then naturally weaves wellbeing messages and conversations into the night.

“There was just that need to bring farmers together to have fun,” Astle says.

“That’s what we do.”

BetterMan’s approach is based around what the organisation calls BYC: Betterment, Yarns and Competition.

Competition and humour help break the ice, yarns create connection, while the “betterment” element introduces practical ideas around relationships, resilience and wellbeing.

Astle says farming communities are a natural fit for the concept.

“There can be that stoic, ‘she’ll be right, just get on with it’ mentality,” he says.

“We want to challenge that and create environments where guys can come together in their own spaces, where stories can be told and people can have fun.”

While BetterMan was originally created with men in mind, women are also welcome at its events.

Astle says its quiz nights are deliberately designed to feel very different from a traditional wellbeing workshop.

The title itself carries a hidden message. “Some Other Shizz” becomes SOS, reflecting the importance of checking in on mates.

Alongside a bespoke quiz, the nights include unusual games, plenty of banter and speakers who share some of their own experiences.

Previous BetterMan events have featured well-known New Zealand personalities including Scotty Stevenson, Matt Heath and the team from the Between Two Beers podcast.

“You want people to leave at the end of the night thinking, ‘I had so much fun, but I also took away some really key messages’,” Astle says.

“And you’re experiencing it with your mates.”

He says BetterMan sees its role as helping build the “fence at the top of the cliff”, focusing on positive psychology and giving people practical tools to support their wellbeing before they reach crisis point.

That philosophy struck a chord during discussions with Rural Support Trust.

Astle says farmers may already be carrying significant pressure when they walk into a mental health event, and confronting stories do not necessarily work for everyone.

“Our approach is about fun, engagement and interaction,” he says.

“Then you’re able to take that positive approach and look at, how can I maintain or improve my wellbeing? What can I put in place? What strategies and tools are going to support me to be at my best?”

Connection is a particularly important part of that.

Astle knows from personal experience how quickly circumstances can change the networks people rely on.

After nearly 20 years in professional cricket, leaving the Canterbury team meant losing not only the sport but much of the structure and camaraderie that had surrounded his adult life.

“I guess the hardest thing for me was leaving the WhatsApp group with the Canterbury cricket team, which had basically been my family for close to 20 years.”

He believes the same sense of transition can happen in rural communities, whether someone stops playing rugby, leaves Young Farmers, takes over a farm, becomes a parent or simply moves into a different stage of life.

“Our identities can become very wrapped up in those things,” he says.

“We’re all going through transitions at different stages of our lives.”

The Terrace Downs event will be BetterMan’s first Rural Edition, and Astle hopes it may lead to further opportunities to work with farming communities.

“We haven’t spent a lot of time in farming communities before, so it would be really cool to see this come to life and do it well.”

Register for the quiz at https://www.rural-support.org.nz/events/quiz-some-other-shizz-windwhistle-canterbury