Luke Ambler and Jonny Mason are the lads who need you to search out your “Mission Potential,” to make small adjustments that ultimately result in massive wins. Whereas taking part in IRONMAN demonstrates the boy’s own dedication to endurance sports activities, and is a formidable endeavor it its personal proper, the “why” behind their tenaciousness runs deep. Luke has all the time taken solace in the truth that being lively is an effective way to search out readability, however when his brother-in-law took his personal life, he launched “Andy’s Man Membership” to supply assist by way of self-help and peer-to-peer interactions. Luke’s good good friend, Jonny Mason, has additionally misplaced family members to suicide and is alongside for the highs and lows of each IRONMAN journey. Each males hope that their efforts will put a highlight on the problems surrounding suicide—a number one explanation for demise in males beneath 50—and stop additional tragedy by way of constructing a caring neighborhood.
Luke and Jonny are each 35 and have been born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, England. In 2025, the shut pals got down to full 5 UK IRONMAN occasions in a single season, however they achieved better success than they ever thought potential. The blokes completed IRONMAN 70.3 occasions in Bolton, England, and Swansea, Wales, together with full IRONMAN occasions in Leeds, England, and Tenby, Wales. “However the momentum and inspiration generated by our “Mission Potential” marketing campaign caught the eye of IRONMAN itself,” explains Luke. “They supplied us ambassador slots on the IRONMAN World Championship in Good and that turned our problem into one thing extraordinary, with two full IRONMAN races inside seven days, in two of the toughest areas on the circuit: Good and Wales.”
The highway to the end line has not all the time been clean. Luke was an expert rugby participant earlier than turning to endurance sports activities. Being lively has all the time offered him with a objective, serving to to cope with being bullied, household separation, and his mom’s traumatic mind harm as a baby. He was scouted by Leeds Rhinos however once they let him go, Luke’s psychological well being suffered as soon as once more. Then, in 2016, following the tragic suicide of his brother-in-law, Andy Roberts, he based Andy’s Man Membership to assist like-minded males who’re combating psychological well being. Luke’s shut good friend, Jonny Mason, a proud father of three and passionate triathlete additionally discovered therapeutic by way of IRONMAN races after dropping family members to suicide.
Andy’s Man Membership Proves Strange Individuals Can Tackle Extraordinary Challenges
Of their enduring efforts in IRONMAN, Luke says, “It was by no means nearly crossing end traces. It was about utilizing the stage of IRONMAN to point out that bizarre individuals can tackle extraordinary challenges, whereas elevating consciousness for one thing far better.”
Like Luke, Jonny Mason has constructed a love of endurance sports activities due to the optimistic results they’ve on his psychological well being. “The hope is that by way of our journey, individuals see what we’re doing and really feel impressed to chase down their very own ‘potential,’” he explains. “And whereas we’re doing it, we’re elevating that all-important consciousness for Andy’s Man Membership and pushing the message loud and clear: ‘It’s okay to speak!’”
The Office for National Statistics in the UK reports that males accounted for round three-quarters of all suicide deaths registered in 2023. The identical 12 months, knowledge confirmed that suicide was the eleventh leading cause of death overall in the United States, claiming the lives of greater than 49,000 individuals. Suicide is a world downside.
To this point, Andy’s Man Membership helps greater than 6,000 males each week with tons of of peer-to-peer assist teams and public talking occasions. “Our mission is to stop male suicide and smash the stigma round males’s psychological well being,” explains Luke. “Challenges like ‘Mission Potential’ aren’t about medals or private glory—they’re about inspiring males to talk up, to search out their very own “potential,” and to comprehend they’re not alone. By taking up these races in entrance of a worldwide viewers, we’re carrying that message additional than ever earlier than.”
And that’s the purpose of Mission Potential: You don’t must be an elite athlete to become involved.
“I wouldn’t say I used to be notably sporty earlier than I began this journey in triathlon as an grownup,” says Jonny. “However like with most individuals: household, enterprise, and life grew to become the precedence as I bought older, and sport dropped off. When you cease, your way of life quickly adjustments. Extra ingesting, consuming dangerous, and usually not taking care of your self. So, after years of that, I noticed I wanted to make a change.” Jonny tells M&F that he began out with “a bit” of operating, and that small change led to getting into endurance challenges alongside Luke. “Crossing that end line, operating down the pink carpet, it’s unreal,” he shares. “However for me, it’s by no means simply concerning the second, it’s about all the things behind it. It represents the hours of coaching, the self-discipline, the sacrifices… not simply mine, however my household’s, too. It’s proof that with the fitting mindset, you may tackle exhausting issues and are available out the opposite aspect stronger. The reality is that the toughest half isn’t race day; it’s the weeks and months earlier than, juggling coaching round work, household life, and all the things else that issues. That’s the actual battle. So, after I lastly get to that end line, the overriding feeling is gratitude.”
Luke tells M&F why pushing himself out of his consolation zone has been so good for his personal psychological well being. “An IRONMAN is the final word take a look at of endurance,” he says. “It combines the swim, bike, and run into one steady battle, demanding not solely bodily power but in addition psychological toughness, endurance, and resilience. Coming from a rugby background, I used to be used to explosive energy, however IRONMAN requires a really completely different sort of self-discipline. That problem hooked me right away. Sport additionally represents neighborhood, inspiration, and transformation. In every race you see individuals from all walks of life, overcoming their very own struggles to get to the end line. That message aligns completely with our work in psychological well being and with the values of Andy’s Man Membership.”
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