GIMBHI's Q&A with Neil Smith, Founder of Mettle

Neil Smith is the Founder and CEO of Mettle, the world’s first mental fitness toolkit built specifically for men. He launched the company to close a stubborn gap in care, driven by the reality that men are far less likely to seek help and far more likely to die by suicide, largely because most solutions were never designed with them in mind. Co-founded with Bear Grylls and Dr. Alex George, Mettle pairs science-backed techniques with a stigma-free approach and became the first men’s mental health product to earn early-stage NHS validation. Before Mettle, Neil spent two decades building some of the UK’s most successful TV production companies, developing and selling a number one Netflix series and overseeing flagship brands like The Apprentice and Grand Designs. Today his focus is simple, which is building tools that help men live healthier, happier lives.

1. You spent two decades building TV production companies before founding Mettle. What made you want to take on men’s mental health?

I loved running television production companies, but after two decades I wanted to use what I had learnt about storytelling, audiences and building global brands to tackle a global crisis: men’s mental health.

It was deeply personal. I lived with depression for much of my twenties and told nobody. Looking back, that silence was as important as the illness itself. It reflected the shame and stigma that prevent so many men from acknowledging that they are struggling, let alone seeking support.

I realised that men’s mental health is not only a clinical challenge; it is also a communication and engagement challenge. Communication is what I know. I believed I could create a brand that spoke to men in a way that felt positive, aspirational and stigma-free, rather than making them feel broken or judged.

That became Mettle: giving men both the permission and the practical tools to become happier, healthier and more successful, and helping prevent them from reaching crisis point.

2. Mettle is the first men’s mental health product to receive early-stage NHS validation. What differentiates it from other products?

The fundamental difference is that Mettle was built from the ground up for men; it is not a generic wellbeing product with a male skin placed over it.

We designed it with Imperial College London around the ways men tend to engage: practical, outcome-focused tools, straightforward language and sessions that can fit into a few minutes a day. It gives men a stigma-free digital front door to support with issues such as stress, anxiety, sleep, confidence and motivation. The NHS verification is important external assurance that our approach has been reviewed using clinical-academic expertise and lived experience.

Trust is crucial. Bear Grylls, my co-founder, is someone men know and respect, and our coaches include credible voices such as Dr Alex George. That helps make engaging with mental fitness feel normal and aspirational. The approach is already being used in high-pressure workforces across policing, offshore energy and financial services.

Most importantly, we do not see Mettle as simply an app. It is the starting point for a broader platform that can personalise support and connect men to the right tools, services and communities as their needs develop.

3. What’s your vision for the future of men’s mental health?

I believe the future is a full-spectrum men’s mental health platform combining intelligent digital support with genuine human connection.

The Mettle app is the digital front door: a place where men can access practical mental fitness tools, understand how they are doing, set goals and track their progress. We are building an AI companion that learns from each man’s behaviour, engagement and needs, so it can provide increasingly relevant guidance and recognise when he may benefit from additional support.

That next step might be more focused self-help, a specialist partner solution, human therapy or a supportive community. Mettle should help men navigate those options rather than leaving them to work out a fragmented system alone.

Digital support can provide privacy, accessibility and personalisation, but it should not replace real-world relationships. That is why community is central to our vision. By connecting men with Mettle communities and trusted existing networks, we can combine daily digital support with accountability, belonging and face-to-face connection, and help men stay mentally fit before they reach crisis.