Suits & Sneakers presents: "The Men’s Reality Audit" with Mark Sham

WHAT IS THIS EVENT ALL ABOUT?

You might be looking at this event thinking, "I'm fine. I don't need to go to something like this." But when you look at the data in South Africa, "fine" is becoming a dangerous place to be for me. Suicide has officially overtaken car accidents as the leading cause of unnatural death in our country. For men in their 40s and 50s, nearly 50% of unnatural deaths are now self-inflicted. These aren't just numbers; they are a clear sign that the current way we are living is no longer sustainable.

With this in mind, we are hosting our first ever Men’s Reality Audit workshop. The goal is to help men navigate the most complex version of society that human beings have ever faced. The world is moving at a pace we were never taught to handle and the pressure is only made worse by the roles we are expected to play. As men, we are often the last line of defence. We are the protectors, the providers, and the pillars for everyone else in our lives. We carry that weight because that's the job but we rarely stop to check if the foundation is actually holding up.

This isn’t a light, fluffy, or "cute" workshop. There will be no sitting in a circle, holding hands, or singing. This is a straight, raw, and honest discussion between 200 to 300 men who are all facing the same relentless modern pressures. It’s a day of practical, hands-on work to build the emotional infrastructure required to stay standing in a world that is designed to wear you down.

AGENDA FOR THE DAY

• 08:00: Arrival & Coffee
• 09:00: Session 1: The Reality of what men are going through in South Africa by the data.
• 10:30: 30-minute break.
• 11:00: Session 2: The Infrastructure. Building the tactical tools to handle the modern load.
• 12:30: Lunch.
• 13:30: Session 3: The Workshop. A highly emotive, workshop-driven closing session.
• 14:30 till close: A bit of social time with the boys.

We’ll wrap the day with a proper social session because sometimes the best "audit" happens over a real conversation with someone who actually gets it.

MORE ABOUT MARK SHAM

Mark Sham is the founder of Suits & Sneakers and a prominent voice in the South African entrepreneurship and personal development space. Known for his candid and often provocative approach to learning, Mark has spent over a decade building platforms that challenge the status quo of formal education.

Mark has been speaking on the topic of happiness for the last six years and has presented some variation of this talk to tens of thousands of people around the world. He isn't a "happiness guru" and he holds no formal degree in psychology. In fact, it is his lack of formal academic training that allows him to speak on this topic with a tone that is relatable, grounded, and entirely free of the typical corporate or clinical jargon. He speaks as a practitioner first, navigating the same complex world as everyone else in the room.

SPONSORS & PARTNERS

This Suits & Sneakers event is proudly brought to you by EasyEquities, SA Future Trust, and the many small business owners that are Suits & Sneakers members. Together, we have created a support structure for small business owners and our collective goal is to grow the economy, while lowering unemployment. More about that on the night.