Date: Friday 21 July, 2023
Venue: The Hornet’s Nest (Halswell Rugby League Clubrooms)
Host: Scotty Stevenson
Report by: Ryan Astle
Hello and welcome to the match report for our first ever event - BetterMan Quiz and Some Other Shizz.
The night began with Aaron Johnstone (a former flatmate of mine) and his team trying to get the jump on the competition by arriving suspiciously early. As it happened, quizmaster for the night Scotty Stevenson was doing a trial run through the quiz. Given Aaron's quiz prowess during our younger years and his propensity to suggest that the answer to every question was Paraguay, I have to say I wasn't that worried. Nevertheless, we escorted him out, made our last preparations and then opened the doors to the masses.
We were absolutely ecstatic to sell out all of the tables available, and after months of planning it was amazing to see everyone filing in, yarning, and having a good time before the quiz even started.
One of our plans with BetterMan is to raise money for some of the other organisations and charities that are doing great things in the mental health space. A huge thanks to each of the teams that purchased four blue dots (an automatic correct answer during the quiz) as we're taking the $400 that was raised, tripling it, and donating $1200 to I AM HOPE! (UPDATE: We got to meet Mike King to donate the money! Read about that here: BetterMan Meet Mike King)
BetterMan Co-Founder and second-best looking brother in his family, Todd Astle did the introductions, set the scene, and gave a bit of information about BetterMan and what we're trying to achieve. He then kicked it over to Scotty who cranked into the quiz. A big thanks to Chris Robinson - BetterMan Co-Founder Ged Robinson's brother, who works for Yeah Nah Quizzes and put the quiz together for us.
As you can see from the "thinking faces" below, there were some particularly tough questions...
Game 1:
One of the cornerstone principles of BetterMan is Competition (alongside Betterment and Yarns), so it seemed appropriate to scatter a few games amongst the quiz rounds. Ged, BetterMan’s official Games Master, started off with a giant game of paper, scissors, rock, but with a twist. If you lost then you had to become a vocal supporter for the person that just beat you. It got pretty rowdy… Some epic battles and support ensued with David Wakefield (BetterMan’s fourth amigo who has just agreed to be a trustee on our charitable trust board) losing the final in a tightly fought match with... [We forgot to ask the winner’s name - we’re still learning as we go… if anyone knows it then please DM us on social or email us at team@betterman.org.nz]. Anyway Mr X, went home with a 10 concession gym pass from the good buggers at Blitz Fitness.
Scotty’s speech:
For those that attended the night, I think the main thing that they’ll remember as time passes is Scotty’s phenomenal speech. For those that don’t know Scotty, he’s an author, journalist, commentator and all-round legend of a human being. It can be hard to broach the subject of men’s mental health in New Zealand as we’re a staunch lot, not known for talking about our feelings. Scotty, through comedy, drew the audience in - his Sir Graeme Henry impersonation was spot on and had people in stitches. Once captivated, he layered in some important messages and suggestions and was so incredibly honest and vulnerable telling his own story that there were a lot of grown men in tears. Myself included. And I’m not afraid to admit that. Men should feel comfortable to show their emotions more.
During the drinks break post Scotty's speech there were a lot of conversations about some of the tougher topics that don't usually get airtime amongst mates. Witnessing that made all of our recent hard work worthwhile. And emails like this one below (that we received on the Monday after the quiz) give us great confidence that we are on the right track, and are hugely motivational for us:
"Hi there,
I just wanted to say a huge thank you to you all for the fantastic quiz night on Friday here in Halswell.
I attended with my husband and some of our friends. After an initial mild panic by me in the car park that I'd misread the advert and that it was a men's only event (we couldn't see any other women at first!) we all had the most brilliant night.
You all created the most perfect balance of quiz, shizz and seriousness. Part quiz night, part therapy session, part stag-do. It was fantastic!
Having worked in men's mental health for many years I can't tell you how amazing what you are doing is for our communities. It is so so needed and you are presenting the importance of being the best version of yourself in a way that I have never seen done so perfectly before for all the lovely men in our lives. It's been even more inspiring to see how our men have been sharing what they learnt on Friday with friends and family over the weekend. Passing on what they took away the most and continuing the amazing conversations you have started.
If you host another event in Christchurch, we will all be there like a shot. Happy to support such a fantastic cause in any way we can.
Thank you all - you are amazing."
Events like this couldn't happen without the support of our friends and family, and some generous people and companies that donated prizes. So, thanks to our partners Shaanti and Nicola and Rachel who helped organise elements of the quiz and were a big help on the night.
Thanks also to our kids (Cohen, Jasmine, Flynn, Summer, Macca, Elle, Vinnie and Hazel) who did the artwork for our table numbers. It's awesome to bring them along on the BetterMan journey:
Game 2:
In order to scatter in a bit of betterment, Ged ran a heads and tails game, the questions being based on wellbeing. Attendees had to put their hands on their heads for the first option, or on their backsides (tails) for the second option. Once the numbers had been whittled down to a handful of people, Ged got them up the front of the room. The winner would be the one who could yell “Can’t find a BetterMan” the loudest. We'd purchased a decibel meter especially for the event. My good friend David Fitchett broke it with his first yell... so the audience had to judge after that... in the end, Euan "Thunder Lungs" Stewart took it out with what can only be described as a guttural roar. There were a few husky voices after that, and I laughed when I heard that one of the contestants was given the nickname Darren Lockyer for the rest of the night by his teammates.
The final three competitors belting out "CAN'T FIND A BETTERMAN". The winner, Euan "Thunder Lungs" Stewart is top row, third from left.
With the games concluded, it was on to the final rounds of the quiz, before announcing the winners (and losers). I have to say Canterbury Kings skipper Cole McConchie was pretty gutted to be captain of the losing team "It's Our Year". Even when he heard they were getting a prize he was bemused at how they'd ended with the wooden spoon and suggested a recount might be in order. When we suggested that demanding a recount was a little Donald Trump-esque he laughed it off and accepted his prize.
I also have to mention that Scotty singled out Cole during the night for a round of applause as one of the nicest sportspeople he's ever had the pleasure of meeting. I can personally vouch that to be true, but I think Cole would have crawled under the table there and then if given the chance.
In third place, and taking home wine and beers donated by Safia and Donal Duggan with 63 points was... the team with Safia and Donal in it. Awkward. Congrats to "99 Problems & This Quiz is One" who ended on 63 points.
In second place with 66 points and each taking home a Nutrient Rescue Get Started Pack were "Quiz in my Pants".
And in first, who each took home a $50 Prezzy Card kindly donated by ANZCO Foods, and the BetterMantis Trophy (ensuring they'll have to come to our next event, ha ha) with 68 points were From The Ashes.
From top to bottom, left to right: It's Our Year (Last Place), 99 Problems & This Quiz is One (3rd Place), Quiz in my Pants (2nd Place), From The Ashes (1st Place).
We then gave out the BetterMan Player of The Day Trophy to the person that embodied the BetterMan spirit and got stuck into the night's activities. We unanimously voted that the winner, for his vociferous support during the Heads and Tails game, was Amos Johnson.
Although the quiz and games were a big hit, the main highlight for me - alongside Scotty's speech - was witnessing people connecting with their mates, seeing them have a great time and sharing some good yarns.
So all-in-all we were stoked with how the night all played out, and are eternally grateful to Scotty for making the night what it was.
The wedding shot...
A huge thanks to all those that came along. Hopefully see you at our next event (which will be a completely different type of event and is tentatively in the calendar for Friday the 13th of October), and if you haven't already done so then please fill out this quick survey to let us know what you thought of the event so we can get better... man. See what I did there? Yeah, sorry about that...
Finally, just a reminder that if you want to be kept up to date with our events then please subscribe for our updates and go in the draw currently to win a Hair and Body Trio Kit from Two Dudes.
Cheers, Ryan, Todd and Ged.
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