In this episode of Build and Thrive, host Jennie Armstrong welcomes back the podcast’s first returning guest, Chris Rodgers. Chris first joined the podcast during his 500-mile challenge for mental health in construction, and this follow-up conversation gives him the chance to reflect on what happened, what he learned, and what still needs to change.
Chris’s challenge was never just about running. In 2025, he set out to run 500 miles across the UK while wearing construction PPE, including steel toe cap boots, hard hat, glasses, gloves, overalls and, at times, carrying a two-metre flag. He completed the distance over 36 weeks, running a half marathon every week from 1 January to 10 September, which coincided with World Suicide Prevention Day. Along the way, he raised around £13,000 for Mates in Mind.
But as this conversation makes clear, the most powerful part of the challenge was not the mileage or the fundraising total. It was the conversations the challenge created.
Chris describes how people began to recognise what he was doing and approach him to talk about mental health. For him, that was the point of the whole challenge. The visibility of the run gave people a reason to start a conversation that they may not have started otherwise.
As Chris Rodgers says: “A lot of the times people would approach me to have a conversation about mental health, because they recognised someone who was supportive of it.”
This episode is available as both a podcast and video. If this blog is useful, the full conversation is well worth listening to or watching, as Chris and Jennie explore mental health awareness, suicide prevention, stigma, day-rate workers, support gaps, self-awareness and the need for more practical education.
This episode includes discussion of suicide, grief and mental health struggles.
Why Chris took on the challenge
Chris explains that his interest in mental health in construction came from his own experiences after leaving the Army and moving into the industry. He spent ten years in the Army before joining construction, where he worked in health and safety and travelled across the UK. That gave him a broad view of the pressures people face in different roles, environments and working conditions.
He had also delivered training through Mates in Mind, which gave him experience of being in rooms where people were given dedicated time to talk about mental health. Chris noticed that people often opened up when the subject was approached directly. They were less likely to reach out first, but more likely to talk when the space was created.
The idea for the 500-mile challenge came after Chris saw construction suicide statistics while preparing mental health content around Christmas. He remembers looking at his young daughter and thinking about the impact suicide would have if it took him away from her, or her away from him. That moment stayed with him and led him to the challenge.
There was also a personal physical element to it. Chris had been injured during his Army career and had been told he would never run again. The challenge became a test of what his body could still do, but also a way to channel his experience, his drive and his desire to raise awareness.
What the challenge taught him
When Jennie asks what he has taken away from the event, Chris is clear that one of the biggest lessons has been self-awareness. The challenge gave him a lot of time to reflect, and it helped him understand how earlier experiences in his life had affected him.
As Chris Rodgers says: “It’s not selfish to put yourself first.”
That message comes up repeatedly in the episode. Chris is not talking about ignoring other people or stepping away from responsibility. He is talking about recognising your own capacity, understanding what keeps you well, and making space for the things that help you manage pressure.
In construction, that can be difficult. Long hours, travel, deadlines and project pressure can leave very little room for people to stop and think about what they need. Jennie reflects on how often people do not notice the warning signs until they have already burned out or reached breaking point.
Chris speaks openly about being near capacity himself at the time of recording. He talks about work pressure, commuting, supporting his partner, supporting family members, being a parent and trying to keep up with his own fitness. His point is not that he has everything perfectly managed. It is that he can recognise when things are becoming too much, and that recognition matters.
For Chris, running gives him a dedicated space to clear his head. He is careful to say that running is not the answer for everyone. The real message is that people need to find what works for them.
As Chris Rodgers says: “You need to recognise what you need to do with mental health.”
The people we still are not reaching
One of the most important themes in the episode is the gap between the mental health conversations happening in some parts of construction and the people those conversations may still not be reaching.
Chris reflects that, before starting the event, he was active on LinkedIn and already interested in mental health, yet he had not seen the wider movement around mental health in construction in the way he sees it now. Through the challenge, and through meeting people connected to the space, his LinkedIn became full of conversations, initiatives and support.
But that made him question how large the echo chamber might be. If someone like Chris, who was already interested and active, had not seen much of it before, what about the rest of the industry?
As Chris Rodgers says: “The discussions that we’re having are probably such a small element of construction.”
Jennie adds a similar reflection from putting content on TikTok, where responses appeared to come from construction workers and one-man bands who had not previously had those conversations. That points to a major challenge for the industry. It is not enough to talk to the people who already understand the issue. The work has to reach site workers, SMEs, day-rate workers, families and people outside the usual professional networks.
Chris gives a striking example. During his 36 weeks of running across the country, he met people who had never heard of the Samaritans, including parents who had lost children to suicide. For people working in wellbeing, that is sobering. It shows that even some of the most well-known support options are still not known by everyone who may need them.
Why stigma is about more than the person struggling
Chris makes an interesting point about how mental health statistics are often framed. Posters commonly refer to one in five, one in six or one in seven people experiencing a mental health issue. Chris agrees that the person struggling needs support, but he argues that not enough attention is given to the other side of the statistic.
If four out of five people do not understand anxiety, depression or mental health struggles, stigma remains. Chris’s view is that people who are not currently experiencing poor mental health also need better education. They need to understand what someone else may be going through and how to respond.
This is a practical point for construction. The industry has done a lot to encourage people to speak up, but speaking up only helps if the people around them know how to listen, how to respond and where to signpost.
That also applies outside work. Chris talks about wanting support and education to reach partners, families and friends as well as individuals. Mental health does not sit neatly inside the workplace. People take home what happens at work, and they bring life pressures into work with them.
Support cannot stay as a bolt-on
A strong part of the discussion looks at how mental health support is structured in workplaces. Chris believes that mental health is often treated as a bolt-on, rather than a core part of how organisations support people.
As Chris Rodgers says: “Everything to do with mental health and support and mental health within the workplace is a bolt-on.”
He talks about health and safety roles that have wellbeing added to the job title, but where safety remains the priority because that is what the role, training and business expectations are built around. Jennie adds that even in clinical settings, physical and mental health can be disconnected. She reflects that her own nurse training included very little mental health, despite the expectation that health professionals should somehow understand all areas of health.
The conversation does not criticise people who are trying to help. Instead, it questions whether the industry has put enough resource, training and structure behind mental health support. Chris believes that mental health work requires empathy, and that empathy is hard to measure or include as a formal job requirement.
This is particularly important when people are expected to have difficult conversations. Listening matters, but mental health is complex. Chris argues that larger organisations may need dedicated mental health resource, with people who can spend time on sites, build relationships and speak to workers properly.
Day-rate workers and hidden pressure
Chris and Jennie also discuss the pressure placed on day-rate workers and agency labour. Chris points out that construction relies heavily on people who are paid day rates and who may not have the same sick pay, holiday pay, training support or development routes as directly employed staff.
He explains that people may choose day-rate work because the immediate money looks better. That is understandable, especially when people are paying rent or mortgages, supporting families and managing the cost of living. But the trade-off can be significant. If they are ill, they may not get paid. If they want to progress, they may need to fund their own training and lose income while they attend it.
That matters for mental health and wellbeing. It also matters for safety, skills and progression. Chris’s point is that the industry has not fully considered what this model does to people over time. Jennie adds that responsibility is often pushed downhill to agencies or subcontractors, while the wider system continues as normal.
This is one of the most construction-specific parts of the episode. It moves the conversation beyond generic mental health awareness and into how the structure of the industry can create pressure.
The personal impact of suicide
One of the most difficult parts of the episode is Chris’s reflection on losing a friend in construction to suicide during the challenge. He talks about the impact of attending the funeral and seeing the grief of the family, particularly the friend’s young son.
Chris is careful and respectful in how he talks about it. He does not claim to know every cause or detail. What he does share is the impact it had on him, and how it showed him the reality of suicide’s aftermath.
This part of the conversation is deeply human. It reminds listeners that suicide does not only affect the person who dies. It affects children, partners, parents, siblings, friends, colleagues and communities. It also reinforces why Chris’s work matters to him so much.
Jennie gives Chris space to share this without turning it into a slogan or simple lesson. It is one of the reasons the episode is powerful. It holds the seriousness of the subject while still looking for practical ways to help.
Chris’s idea for the future
Towards the end of the episode, Chris talks about his ambition to start a charity. His idea comes from the gaps he saw during the challenge. He does not want to create another helpline or call centre. Instead, he wants to create a central place where people can find free mental health support and short, practical education.
The idea includes a logo with a QR code that people could scan anywhere. From there, people could choose whether they need support themselves or want to learn. The support side would signpost to existing services. The learning side would offer short, sharp and accessible training that people could complete in everyday moments, such as on a train.
A key part of the idea is education for the people around someone who is struggling. For example, if someone’s partner has anxiety, the training could help them understand what anxiety may feel like and how they might support that person better.
Jennie responds positively to this, linking it to the needs of partners, families and line managers. Sometimes people want to understand, but they do not know where to go for clear, practical guidance.
Key takeaways
- Chris Rodgers’ 500-mile challenge raised around £13,000 for Mates in Mind, but its biggest impact was the conversations it created.
- Stigma will remain if education only focuses on the person struggling and not the people around them.
- Mental health support in workplaces is often treated as a bolt-on, rather than properly resourced.
- Construction needs to think harder about day-rate workers, agency labour, training, sick pay and the pressures built into how people are employed.
- Self-awareness is an important part of wellbeing, especially in a high-pressure industry.
- Support needs to be easy to find, free where possible and accessible in the way people now consume information.
Listen or watch the full episode of Build & Thrive to hear the complete conversation with Chris Rodgers and host Jennie Armstrong.
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📺 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLEoibJLDuFnnT3qSQw37LKPG6xlyvCj7B
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Thank you to GKR Scaffolding for sponsoring the Build & Thrive podcast and supporting our mission to improve health and wellbeing across the construction industry.
At Construction Health & Wellbeing, we help organisations create healthier, happier, and more sustainable workplaces.
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Learn more about the people and organisations mentioned in this episode:
Jennie Armstrong: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jenniearmstrong/
Construction Health & Wellbeing: https://constructionhealth.co.uk/
GKR Scaffolding (sponsor): https://gkrscaffolding.co.uk/
Chris Rodgers:
VVB Engineering:
- Website: https://vvb-eng.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/VVBGroup
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/vvb-engineering/
