Hello Hank: the community built by fathers for fathers

Hello Hank has been established by fathers Gregg Stone and Henry King and hopes to offer a safe space for fathers and fathers-to-be.

The brothers in law, who live in Battersea and Shepherd's Bush, want to provide factual and reliable information from professionals, as well as offering a space for parents to discuss their own experiences via online sessions and in person events.

Their first event sold out within three weeks and takes place next week.

It is a free session for local dads to learn all about their children's education.

Henry told Battersea Nub News: "Guys are notoriously not very good at talking about things.

"Either it's pride getting in the way or bottling up that sense of anxiety that they're not quite delivering as a dad and not quite knowing who to turn to, to get the right advice and information.

"And that's just a very unhelpful cycle that you can get yourself into.

"That's what we're trying to do with Hank, to provide a like minded community of fathers who can just chat about their experiences."

Gregg said: "We're trying to help dads be the best dads they can be."

The pair have full time jobs and have put their experiences together to help create their budding business.

Henry runs a nursery school in Pimlico and Gregg runs a graphic design visualisation business.

They hope to grow Hello Hank to cover the UK, with multiple events running across the country, a substantial archive of helpful digital sessions and an established network of professionals they would work with.

Currently the pair have put their own money behind upcoming events but know this is not sustainable.

However, they have plans for a social enterprise aspect so that fathers who cannot afford to pay may still have access to resources and events.

They noticed a gap in the market for a space which offered all the information in one place for fathers and included specialists who had been matched to a specific topic of concern.

Hello Hank is aimed at fathers from all walks of life and will host events in various locations to not only offer advice but to collect feedback from attendees so that their business can be developed to suit the demands of everyone.

Henry reflected: "It is vital for us to target and address all the different concerns and challenges but a lot of the challenges faced by fathers are universal, whilst nuanced, there are challenges we all face."

Hello Hank's name derives from the acronym Helpful, Advice, Nuture, Knowledge.

But Hank is also a third party that fathers can turn to.

They're even considering calling their community Hankers, although Gregg said they were still toying with the idea.

You can find out more via the Hello Hank website or on their Instagram page.

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