\n ‘Grounded Coffee & Wellness’\u00a0created by mental health charity Tidy Butt is Sebastopol\u2019s newest mental health space.\n<\/p>\n
\n Last Sunday on June 15 the team welcomed the community inside with a wellness themed launch party.\n<\/p>\n
\n At the party visitors enjoyed locally made coffee, sampled baked goods and enjoyed ice baths and a woodfire sauna experience.\n<\/p>\n
\n The caf\u00e9\u2019s brand-new therapy rooms were also on show.\n<\/p>\n
\n Matthew Creel of Tidy Butt wellness caf\u00e9 (Image: NQ) 42-year-old Matthew Creel is the brain behind Tidy Butt.\n<\/p>\n
\n Speaking of Sunday\u2019s launch he said: \u201cSeeing people turn up today and the amount of people that have come in support of us is absolutely incredible.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cPeople of all ages coming in and enjoying the space and that was our decision from the beginning really.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt\u2019s been a labour of love because we\u2019ve all been working full time, and we\u2019ve got families but to see the growth of what we\u2019ve actually achieved with everybody\u2019s support within the community has been absolutely incredible It\u2019s mind blowing.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Matthew explained how Tidy Butt was created.\n<\/p>\n
\n The inside of Tidy Butt wellness caf\u00e9 (Image: NQ) \u201cI kind of lost out on a promising rugby carer to a heart condition. I never really dealt with the loss of kind of losing my career as such.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cAs a result of that at pre lock down I was kind of at my lowest point but with my wife\u2019s support I plucked up the courage I went to the doctor.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI started looking in my local area mental health wise to see if there was anything I could get involved with. I didn\u2019t feel like anything fitted for me at that time, so I thought you know what I\u2019m going to start my own.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Matthew had the following advice to anyone struggling: \u201cIf somebody is struggling, they can come in and have a coffee, they can come to have a chat.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThey can access support upstairs via the counselling, and I just think it\u2019s another avenue for people to come down.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Matthew Creel with UFC fighter Mason Jones outside the caf\u00e9 (Image: NQ) 30-year-old Mason Jones from Blaenavon is a professional UFC fighter and ambassador for the charity.\n<\/p>\n
\n Despite a thriving UFC career, he\u2019s also struggled with his mental health.\n<\/p>\n
\n Mason said: \u201cI went from fighting in front of 18,000 people to having to deal with a lot of problems with my family and injuries it was a lot in one time.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI\u2019ve worked with sports therapists before but actually working with someone about my own mental health was massively important.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n He added: \u201cReaching out to someone who is actually a professional is a big thing.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Emma Robinson outside the Little Lee Therapy rooms (Image: NQ)\n<\/p>\n
\n Also invited to the launch event was 33-year-old Emma Robinson.\n<\/p>\n
\n Back in 2023, Emma\u2019s brother Lee Robinson took his own life just aged 42.\n<\/p>\n
\n The family, alongside Pontypool United, held \u2018Little Lee Fest\u2019, a festival in Lee\u2019s memory, with all proceeds going to Tidy Butt and managed to raise over \u00a37000.\n<\/p>\n
\n Lee\u2019s memory was honoured at the event with the naming of the \u2018Little Lee\u2019 therapy rooms.\n<\/p>\n
\n Speaking of this Emma said: \u201cWe are thankful that they\u2019ve still got Lee in mind.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt\u2019s a bad day not a bad life help is out there even though you\u2019re struggling and when you\u2019re in that dark place there is support out there and you can get out of it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Community reaction to the event was also positive.\n<\/p>\n
\n Helen King and Reg King in the ice baths (Image: NQ) 52-year-old Helen King and 53-year-old Reg King enjoyed the ice bath and sauna sessions.\n<\/p>\n
\n Helen said: \u201cIt is amazing, I think for women of a certain age going through things like menopause, suffer quite a lot with anxiety so it\u2019s really helped and having this resource locally is brilliant.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Reg added: \u201cIt looks good I\u2019m glad there\u2019s something here for peoples mental support.\u201d\n<\/p>\n