AMC x HDSCo

If you are a man under 45, of all the things that could kill you today, the most likely cause of death is suicide. How crazy is that? We are deeply committed to doing what we can to try to improve this statistic.

Soled out!

Bankruptcy. My greatest Achievement.

I never started this business to become a millionaire. The word I used to use when describing my ambition was that my intent was to create something 'extraordinary'. What I meant by that was a brand that did something; that stood for something. A brand I would be proud to have say I founded.


My lifetime has been topsy-turvy at best, when I consider my mental health. Flirtations with the idea of suicide were never far away from my immediate thoughts. I'm not proud of it; more so since becoming a father in 2013.


By Christmas 2021, I was closer to the edge than I've ever been before; driven there by my perceived failure to achieve my purpose with Hand Dyed Shoe Co. and the financial consequences that its collapse brought upon me and my family. 


Thankfully, I survived. And whatsmore, I embarked upon my greatest life lesson in my 38-year-old life.


Speaking. Sharing. Listening. It saved my life,



A Brand You Can Trust

IT'S OKAY TO TALK

Andy's Man Club is an organisation we are incredibly proud to support. Without the power of talking, I am not sure I'd have made it through my darkest moment in life. Every single week, on a Monday at 7pm, over 2,600 men from of all walks of life meet, rich, poor, employed, unemployed, to do only one thing... talk. It is completely free, and you can even expect a warm cuppa and a biscuit. The purpose of the meeting is simple; to show each and every member that they are not alone.


Hand Dyed Shoe Co. is about creativity and self expression. It is about creating a one-off product that you can enjoy, celebrating who you are as an individual. We cannot think of an organisation we would rather support than Andy's Man Club.

115 +

Groups spread right across the UK

900 +

Facilitators offering support to its guests

2,600 +

Men attending meetings every Monday, 7pm

SOLES FOR SOULS

How you can help us to help others


Whenever you choose to add one of the following items to your bag, you should be proud that you have helped to support hundreds of men simply by ordering shoes.

 

Choose an AMC ARTsole

Adding a ARTsole to your shoe design will cost £69. We will donate 100% of the profit we make from this directly to Andy's Man Club. 


To put this into context, by choosing an AMC ARTsole for your shoes, you are buying 661 digestive biscuits. That's 661 men, talking, because of you.

The Andy's Man Club Sneaker

Order a pair of our unique AMC sneaker and 50% of the profit will be donated to Andy's Man Club. This will make 754 warm brews for blokes attending Monday meetings.

Sale Off
Mr. Zebu - AMC x HDSCo

Make a Donation

We understand that not everybody can afford a pair of premium handmade shoes, but this campaign is not about us so if you would like to help the AMC x HDSCo cause, you can make a donation of any amount directly to Andy's Man Club. On behalf of everyone at HDSCo, Andy's Man Club and all of the 2,000+ men who attend meetings every week, we deeply thank you.


When you are designing your shoes using out 3D customisation tool, you will see within the sole options that there is an option to choose an 'ARTsole'.


Simply choose this option, add any of the Andy's Man Club soles and finalise your design.


The profits generated from your ARTsole purchase will be 100% donated to Andy's Man Club to help save a man's life.


FOREWARD


We would do anything to protect our children and keep them safe from the perils and trials that becomes 'grown-up' life. Protecting the vulnerability and naivety of children in this fast-paced world, rife with peer pressures and expectations, is something I think we all try to do in our own ways. Throughout the process of losing the love of my life, and my business, alongside being declared bankrupt, I was no different in my attempts to shelter my girls from the internal sabotage and the ugly processes we had to deal with during my insolvency. Inevitably, though, I would often find myself in scenarios where I was talking to Lauren, my wife, or a friend or family member about the difficult scenario I was facing. There were times I talked about my attraction towards suicide. There were times I would talk about the possibility that we would be evicted from our home, or where and if we were going to find the funds to pay off a potential bailiff; only to suddenly remember that my daughters, aged 8 and 2 respectively, were in the back of the car or the thickness of a closed door away from my tearfully exposed torture. Society would expect me to be sorry about exposing them to that. And yet, I'm not. ​


Why? Well, because you can only really be sorry if there was some intent in your actions. If you are honest enough to recognise you've acted selfishly or you've made decisions without thought for those who would be impacted by that decision, then you should feel sorrow. There have been times when I've felt sorry during the collapse of my business and/or the bankruptcy, and I have said I am sorry a billion times or more in all manner of ways, but the reality, as I write this story, is that I no longer feel any sorrow for what happened. The reason I don’t feel sorry is that throughout it all, there has been one redeeming truth behind everything that happened. That truth is honesty. 


I know I never did anything out of greed. I didn’t cheat. I didn’t gamble. Every decision I ever made, I felt like I was doing the right thing. I was making those decisions for the right reasons. I wasn’t arrogant. I wasn’t careless. I was inexperienced, unfortunate and naive. 


I know and recognise I made mistakes, but mistakes are just a normal part of any process. I know I did little wrong and the only intent I truly carried was always to make our lives better as a family. I didn't want success to feed my ego. I didn't care about being a millionaire so I could show off to my friends. I wish many things didn't happen, but I can't be sorry for them. Without the pain, the lessons I now carry forward, along with this book, now exist. ​


For years, I've held the ambition that one day I would love to write a book. I've never quite felt like I had the expertise or the topic to be able to do it and then one day, in July 2022, I started documenting my journey to this point. ​I realised that day that this was the book I needed to write and that I needed to write it first and foremost for my girls. Secondly, I needed to write it for you. If my words can help someone else come through the adversity of any kind, particularly the stigma and fear that comes with insolvency, then I'll undoubtedly take immense pride that I wrote it. I hope this book will inspire you, your family and your friends to do greater things in your life which I can promise you, are yet to come. And thirdly, I am bankrupt as I write, and I am hopeful that it might sell a few copies to make us a few quid whilst spreading my message! That is, as true-as-I-sit-and-type, honesty. 


This story is the outpouring of my mind throughout what has, without a doubt, been the most difficult period of my adult life. I want my girls, one day, when they are ready, to read this book and understand that this is what Mum and Dad went through. I hope it brings clarity around the uncertainty we were all experiencing as a family during these last two years.