MenTELL is a Calgary-founded Canadian movement focused on raising awareness around men’s mental health. Founded in 2023 by Zak Hussein alongside a small group of ambassadors and supporters from different walks of life across Canada, MenTELL was created to help build spaces where men feel seen, supported and encouraged to speak more openly about life’s challenges without shame or judgment.
MenTELL is not a traditional charity or nonprofit organization. It is a movement built by everyday men who believe that through conversation, communication and community, we can help break the stigma surrounding men’s mental health.
While MenTELL shares content, conversations and community-driven initiatives year-round, Men’s Mental Health Month Canada each June is when the movement brings its energy, voices and community together nationally to help shatter the silence surrounding men’s mental health and remind men they do not have to carry everything alone.
Through digital storytelling, campaigns, community partnerships and peer-driven initiatives like #BeTheFlare, MenTELL encourages people to check in on one another, share meaningful conversations and support the people around them without shame or judgment.
Born in Tanzania, East Africa, Zak moved to Calgary, Alberta at just four months old and proudly considers himself both a Calgarian and an Albertan. His love for the Canadian Rockies, Alberta’s rolling foothills, the open prairies and the history and heritage of the West continues to shape both his storytelling and his connection to people from all walks of life.
Zak is a Canadian tech, digital media and AI entrepreneur, as well as the founder and host of CanadianPodcast.ca. Alongside his work in business and media, he continues growing MenTELL, now entering its fourth year, into a national movement centred around connection, conversation and helping people turn lived experience into a signal someone else may need.
What started as a grassroots idea has grown rapidly. MenTELL’s recent campaigns have generated hundreds of thousands of social media impressions while reaching a predominantly male audience across Canada.
For Men’s Mental Health Month Canada 2026, MenTELL is launching its national Be the Flare campaign with a goal of reaching 1 million Canadians through storytelling, social media and community participation. The campaign asks one simple but powerful question: “What would you tell your younger self?”
Participants are invited to film a short video answering that question. In the video, they say two brothers’ names out loud, tag those men in the caption, and invite @MenTELL.ca as an Instagram Collaborator so the flare reaches the wider movement.
MenTELL was created to help build spaces where men feel seen, supported and encouraged to speak more openly about life’s challenges without shame or judgment.
Each man has 48 hours to pass it on.
One line. Two names. 48 hours.
The idea behind Be the Flare is simple:
If you are feeling even 1% better today, share something that helped you get there because it may help somebody else too.
A flare is a signal in the darkness. A reminder that somebody else understands, somebody else cares and somebody else is willing to help light the way forward.
Participants are encouraged to:
- Share what they would say to their younger self or a tool or a tip thats helped them
- Say two brothers’ names out loud
- Tag those two men in the caption
- Invite @MenTELL.ca as an Instagram Collaborator
- Use #BeTheFlare
- Pass the flare forward within 48 hours
The need for connection has never been greater.
According to the Canadian Men’s Health Foundation’s 2025 research:
- 64% of Canadian men reported moderate-to-high stress
- 1 in 2 Canadian men are at risk of social isolation
- 67% of Canadian men have never sought professional mental health support
- 23% may face moderate-to-severe depression
Public Health Agency of Canada data also shows that males account for nearly 75% of suicide deaths in Canada, and the suicide rate among males is almost three times the rate among females.
For MenTELL, the goal is not perfection. It is connection.
The movement believes that even small conversations can change someone’s direction more than we realize. #BeTheFlare
