Why Little Blackbird?
Having worked in this space for over 20 years, following a significant life event we established Little Blackbird in 2022.
In March 2020, during the first few days of the Covid pandemic, our son was born with a Congenital Heart Defect that was “incompatible with life”. He had to have emergency surgery as soon as he was born, and underwent life saving open heart surgery at 8 days old. The resilience he demonstrated from the very second he was born and his fight for life was incredible, however the trauma we went through, and the isolation we experienced as a result of the pandemic had a huge impact on us, and on Ade in particular. Thankfully our little boy made an incredible recovery and you would never know what he went through. However, our experience changed our perspectives and led us to reflect and re-evaluate. We knew that we wanted to focus more specifically on the well-being aspects of our work, to offer impactful unique interventions that make a genuine difference to people, and so Little Blackbird was born.
We specialise in delivering well-being based interventions that support boys and men, a focus which continues to be driven by a second significant life event. Tragically, in March 2022, one of Ade’s oldest, best friends, Mike, felt that he had no other choice but to take his own life. This is something that will always be utterly incomprehensible, as is the fact that his closest friends had no idea at all that he was struggling so significantly. Within our delivery we talk about Mike and the impact of his death. When we were younger nobody spoke openly about feelings or struggles. The importance of giving time and permission to have these conversations, in a space where we feel comfortable and supported cannot be under estimated. By encouraging others to understand themselves and their feelings more effectively, and to express those feeling to people around them, we can give them life long coping skills to support them in times of difficulty.
Mike’s memory drives us to work preventatively to challenge the cultural narratives that tell boys and men that being vulnerable is being weak, and to stay silent. We will always keep moving forward with this work, challenging stigmas, helping people find the courage to express vulnerability, to equip them with the tools to ask for help earlier, and to shift the deep-rooted cultural expectations that too often lead to isolation, anxiety and despair. We aim to build a legacy where connection, compassion and open dialogue become the norm, not the exception.
Why Little Blackbird?
“Blackbird” by the Beatles
This was the first song Ade played to our son when he was just a few hours old and critically ill in NICU.
The words resonated and became “his song”.
Our Focus & Unique Approach
Specialising in masculinity and well-being, our mission is to positively challenge cultures and beliefs by delivering interventions that improve communication, strengthen emotional intelligence and explore the power of vulnerability.
Little Blackbird is a reflection of everything we have learnt professionally and personally. Our organisational values are deep routed in our belief that authentic human connection is at the core of behavioural change and personal development.
Through our work we explore how and why vulnerability is often viewed as a weakness and why so many people are so uncomfortable with it, in fear of it, and have an inability to sit in it and harness the power of it. Many of us have developed habitual strategies to bat vulnerability away, opting to put on a mask. Our work explores how a disjointed relationship with vulnerability and a fear of judgement impacts hugely on our ability to connect authentically and make meaningful progress. We aim to change narratives and cultures, promoting the transformative benefits of lived experienced and leaning into vulnerability. After losing a dear friend to suicide in 2022, we are determined to have an impact on the devastating statistic that 75% of suicides are boys and men.
Our approach is highly experiential, personalised, and relationship focussed. We never deliver off the shelf, lecture style training and workshops. Instead, we create interactive, memorable sessions where participants actively engage in discussions, activities, and reflections. Our “how” is underpinned not just by our values, but by a core belief that today’s world needs more, courage, compassion, curiosity, positive risk-taking, connections and expressions of vulnerability. In practice, this means meeting people with understanding and modelling the courage to share personal reflections. Our relational approach means we strive to build genuine rapport and trust, prioritising human connection as an imperative foundation to every intervention we deliver.
Feedback consistently highlights that our approach is engaging and memorable – addressing what can be some quite emotionally heavy subjects with a good balance of information, awareness, enthusiasm, humour and passion.
Our focus is very clear – to reduce the stigma associated with mental health and to ensure that meaningful interventions are accessible, have genuine impact, and support positive personal development and behaviour change.