Back in the middle of January, G+C launched one of our most ambitious projects to date. The Crew is a 9 month guided group practice where a group of people will come together to grow and achieve together with goals around mental and physical health.
We were blown away by the response receiving almost 1,000 applications from so many amazing people. Gym+Coffee is lucky enough to have the largest health, wellness and fitness community on the island of Ireland so when reading the answers as part of the application process, it really does give you a sense of the mood of the nation and where people's fears, concerns, obstacles, hopes and dreams are at.
Our community is predominantly 25-40 year olds but there is a wider spectrum and the applications to The Crew ranged from 18-55 years old. These are the 4 main themes that came out of hundreds and hundreds of applications:
(1) LONELINESS
The vast, vast majority of people mentioned being lonely. Regardless of age, demographic or gender, this was the major theme of the applications. This is a trend that is now prevalent across most of the world. Technology as well as other factors have isolated us. (read our other blog here which goes deeper into these trends)
(2) COVID RUT
A huge number of people mentioned being in a rut since Covid that they can't break out of. We had to stay at home for so long that now people feel like their default position is to do nothing. JOMO has been a trend for some time but this rut feels like something that is the complete opposite and that has really affected people's physical and mental health.
(3) IRISH/AGE BLOCKERS
Part Irish culture issue/part stage of life issue, people mentioned finding it particularly difficult to meet new friends or like-minded people. Making new friends and finding your tribe is a major blocker for people in their 30s in Ireland.
(4) HELP
People are desperate for help. They acknowledge they are surrounded by amazing friends and family but they still don't know where to go to get support for some of the most difficult parts of life.
Read more about these trends in our latest blog post here.
Stay up to date on all things The Crew by watching the latest video update here.
