“What did you really want to be when you grow up?”

Angga Kara AKA Men Up North asks CreativeMornings Sheffield, who are gathered at Sheffield Institute of Arts for June’s #CMWonder. 

“A footballer. A brain surgeon. A doctor.”

For this month’s speaker, being in Space Jam was his childhood dream. Born in Indonesia, Angga first moved to Sheffield in 1997. His first thoughts on the UK? 

“It’s freezing!”

After a rocky start in which he was bullied at school, Angga and his family moved from a mainly white area to an area full of different cultures and languages. He started dancing and playing basketball, something that kept him on the straight and narrow when those around him were falling into gangs and a life of crime. 

“Let’s start a hip hop theatre company”

As well as the hip hop theatre company - Angga penned a show exploring the relationship between father and son which premiered at Sheffield’s Crucible and went on to tour the UK - Angga worked on a number of other projects. 

Breakin’ Point came from Angga’s love for t-shirts and screen printing, the project used fashion as a form of creative and emotional expression for marginalised young men. Working with #CMRestart speaker Geo Law, Angga took their t-shirts  to artists from across the world, including Annie Mac, Disclosure and Wu Tang Clan. 

“I kept pushing and pushing because I thought ‘this is what I wanted”

Though he was working on lots of projects, travelling the world and meeting loads of new people Angga felt his mask beginning to crack, he was self-sabotaging. Determined to turn things around, Angga set off on a journey of healing. He used therapy, mindfulness, meditation, alternative medcines, exercise and more to help himself make a change. 

“I knew there would be men like me who wanted to support other men" 

Angga retrained as an Executive Coach, and after losing three friends to suicide, set up Men Up North. Angga wanted to provide men with a space to talk, discuss their lives and the issues they face.

Men Up North’s focus is men’s mental health and suicide prevention.

So far the group has hosted regular group coaching, started a health and nature walking group, organised a symposium of Masculinity at Sheffield Hallam University and even taken over a barbershop to reach more men. 

Men Up North.