A group of leaders at Tauranga Boys' College are putting their physical endurance to the test doing a 40-hour physical challenge to raise money for men's mental health
Dubbed the Fortress 40, the six boys will be doing 40 hours of continuous extreme physical activities which include lifting weights, running, cycling, swimming, Waka Ama and cold-tolerance training.
The students are raising money as a part of Movember, an annual movement to fundraise for men's mental health focusing on prevention, early intervention and health promotion.
They said as a school of more than 2000 young men we feel it is our duty to destigmatise and raise awareness around men's mental health.
"Put simply, the Fortress 40 itself is a metaphor for mental health issues and how they can be overcome by coming together and supporting one another."
Appearing on AM, Tauranga Boys' College head boy Kane McBrydie said the challenge will push them mentally.
"We have had mates, uncles, dads, brothers, we all know people who have suffered from men's mental health issues and we thought that it would basically be silly to not use our position as leaders of the school to try and change that," McBrydie said.
"As corny as it does sound, we are brothers at Tauranga Boys' College. We care for the other students and especially the younger boys as well and we want to start destigmatising talking about mental health."
Watch the video above for more.
