OREM — A Provo man started a club where men can gather, connect and eat cheap food, and its setting is unique; it’s the Men’s Mental Health Costco Club.
“You’re not supposed to go through life alone, and so if we can make a group and unite and create a brotherhood, then I think that’s the most important thing,” said Jaxon Smith, the club’s founder. “If it helps multiple lives, if it helps one life, it’s all worth it.”
The group meets every Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Orem Costco food court. So far, Costco hasn’t taken any action against or in support of the group. But the group is growing in size every week.
“You just go and show up. Different people show up every time and some of the same. It’s just really fun,” Smith said.
Because of how popular the club has gotten in just a few weeks, Smith thinks it shows how much of a void there is in men’s support groups. Smith posts videos about the meetings and they are getting tens of thousands of views.
“I’ve had mothers reach out to me, and wives, saying their husbands and sons need friends and that they’ve been looking for something like this and that this is very much needed,” Smith said.
One of Smith’s social media posts jests by using the caption, “Men don’t go to therapy — they go to Costco.” These mental health meetings are an effort to meet men where they are and where they already enjoy going. They’re also reminiscent of a simpler time when kids used to connect and make friends at the school lunchroom table.
“They’d ask, ‘Would you like to hang out after school? Would you like to hang out at recess?’ It’s really simple when you go back to the roots of it,” Smith said.
In an era of gender equality, it may lead people to wonder if anyone can show up to the Men’s Mental Health Costco Club. But because there aren’t a lot of spaces specifically for men to connect, Smith hopes the club can stay true to its original purpose.
“It is a public place, and I never want to exclude anybody. But I think for this specific group, I think it’s good for men to have a brotherhood and have friendships and people they can look to and connect with,” Smith said.
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