Toxic Masculinity - Behind The Mask
Toxic Masculinity - Behind The Mask
Shari Lewison-Frisch
In this podcast series, I’ll be talking about men - masculinity, mental health and wellbeing. We will look at the role society plays in traditional and cultural perceptions of what it means to be a man and how that affects the wellbeing of the men in our lives.
Toxic Masculinity - Behind The Mask with Alex Withers
"Overcoming food adversion with hypnotherapy" - listen to the whole episode on Spotify!
Jun 4, 2025
44 sec
Toxic Masculinity - Behind The Mask with Alex Withers
In this powerful conversation with Alex, he opens upabout his journey with Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID)—from childhood struggles to adult resilience. Alex shares the challenges of getting a diagnosis, the impact on his daily life, and how therapies like hypnotherapy have helped him move his life forward. Alex also speaks passionately about the importance of mental health awareness and advocacy, especially around eating disorders. Tune in for a story of courage, growth, and hope. Enjoy!
Jun 3, 2025
40 min
Toxic Masculinity - Behind The Mask with Alan Lazaros
In this conversation, Alan shares his transformative journey from a traumatic childhood to becoming a successful coach and podcaster. He discusses the impact of trauma on personal growth, the importance of emotional maturity, and the shift from external success to internal fulfilment. Alan emphasises the significance of understanding one'sconditioning and paradigms, the dynamics of relationships, and the challenges faced by high achievers. He also introduces the turtle and pufferfish analogyto explain self-perception and emotional responses.Curious to learn more? Listen now.
Apr 7, 2025
54 min
Toxic Masculinity - Behind The Mask with Abel King
In this conversation, Abel King shares his journey ofself-awareness and personal development, emphasising the importance of inner work, boundaries, and spiritual awakening. He discusses his transition from a life of survival to one of purpose as a life coach, helping others navigatetheir own paths to self-discovery. Abel also highlights the significance of self-awareness for both men and women and offers insights into the challenges he faced during his personal growth Journey. He encourages the listeners to commit to their innerwork and to embrace the ongoing journey of growth and transformation which can last a whole lifetime.
Mar 8, 2025
32 min
Toxic Masculinity - Behind The Mask with Jamie Meyer
In this episode, Jamie talks to me about her earlier unhealthy relationships with men and why the emphasis society places on gender specific roles negatively impacted her ideas around relationships and how they should look. We discussed the importance of viewing every experience as a way of finding out more about ourselves, what we really need in our relationships in order to flourish and how to show up as our true authentic selves. Jamie has studied psychology and behavioural science and is an expert on social issues. Listen to our conversation here on spotify!
Dec 19, 2024
41 min
Toxic Masculinity - Behind The Mask with Alfredo Borodowski
Alfredo, “The Bipolar Rabbi” has quite the story to tell! In 2013, Alfredo was arrested in New York for impersonating a police officer. He was subsequently hospitalised and diagnosed with bipolar. As a result of this, he lost his prestigious job and fell into a deep depression. After months of struggling with depression, Alfredo enrolled in a course at college to become a social worker and graduated with the highest grades. Alfredo puts this down to his determination to succeed and the power of positive psychology. Alfredo then went on to study positive psychology and now helps others to identify their strengths so they can align themselves with their goals and start to flourish in life. What is Alfredo’s secret to living a contended life? He navigates everyday challenges and what is happening in the world by disengaging with social media and mainstream news. Listen to Alfredo's story now on Spotify! Enjoy
Oct 12, 2024
46 min
Toxic Masculinity - Behind The Mask with David Lea
David is a trauma-informed relationship coach who specialises in working with couples, leading them to heal the wounded masculine and feminine aspects of themselves. In this episode we have an in-depth conversation about all things relationship. The ones we have with ourselves, our partners, our parents and our children. We talk about why you can’t fix or save a relationship, you can only work on yourself. Which means you have to work on your stuff - those dark and not so nice aspects of ourselves that we developed over a lifetime due to the unmet needs we experienced in our childhood but have never addressed. A must listen for everyone who has ever found themselves in unhappy relationships and is ready to do the work. Listen now on Spotify.
Oct 5, 2024
50 min
Toxic Masculinity - Behind The Mask with Allan Misner
Allan is a certified coach and trainer who works with people over 40 who want to get fit. He has also written a book called “The Wellness Roadmap” and has a successful podcast “40+ Fitness”. In this episode, Allen talks to me about how he found himself approaching 40 overweight and unfit. Almost a year into his new health regime and training to become a professional fitness trainer, he signed up to the Tough Mudder challenge with his daughter which kick-started the beginning of his new life and career. In the podcast, Allan gives tips on how to shift your mindset to accomplish your fitness goals and why you need to give yourself a minimum of 6-8 weeks before measuring your success. So what’s the secret to achieving those goals without giving up too soon and what’s the best way to mark your progress? Find out this and much much more now right here with Allan. Enjoy!
Sep 7, 2024
58 min
Toxic Masculinity - Behind The Mask with Victor Guisfredi
Victor is an author and a coach who by the age of 36 had travelled the world, had two failed marriages behind him and became a full-time single father looking after two small children. In this episode, Victor talks to me about how those different experiences helped shape him and moulded him into the person he is today with a very different outlook on the world and relationships as before. We spoke about the part toxic masculinity played in his relationship with others and how he was able to identify those traits in order to create the relationships he truly wanted and to succeed at life. Victor also shared with me how becoming a single parent changed his values and perspectives. You can find a copy of Victor’s book “No Grail Without Dragons” on his website and download a free pdf copy using the code toxic masculinity. Enjoy the episode!
Aug 10, 2024
46 min
Toxic Masculinity - Behind The Mask with Keeper Catran-Whitney
Keeper tells a powerful story of growing up as one of eight siblings – 4 brothers and 4 sisters. They were a tight-knit family who were about to launch a successful music career replacing the Jackson 5 when the unthinkable happened. The bombshell announcement by his mother of what his step-father had done would end up having a devastating effect on the entire family for decades to come until, that is, Keeper decided to break the silence and share his story with the world. Listen now to Keeper's heart-breaking story of despair and shame.
Jul 1, 2024
1 hr 10 min
Load more