Charlie

Bethel

INTERVIEW

62

Charlie Bethel

HackSpace magazine meets...

ou might have heard of

Men’s Sheds and assumed

quite reasonably, that

they are... sheds. Wooden

structures big enough to

store a lawn-mower and

some gardening equipment, with maybe

space left over for a chair and a radio.

There’s much more to them than that.

Men’s Sheds provide a place to work,

with tools (like a makerspace), a social

outlet, full of like-minded people sharing

expertise (again, like a makerspace),

and most crucially, they share a mission

to improve the well-being and mental

health of men around the world.

We spoke to Charlie Bethel, Chief

Officer of the UK Men’s Sheds

Association, to find out why sheds are

so important, what they offer that other

places don’t, and what the benefits are of

getting together and making things.

Y

Putting making on the front line of mental health

Charlie Bethel

INTERVIEW