What does society stop men from doing?
Professor Green recently said of Hard as Nails:
“Once you realise society stops men from painting their nails, you soon start asking what else it stops men from doing.”
Talking about how we really feel?
Asking for help?
Being vulnerable?
Showing affection?
Creating new male friends?
Stepping outside the narrow idea of what a man is supposed to look and sound like?
On Monday 9 November, the first day of the national Hard as Nails campaign, we’re coming to Bristol for a special evening with Talk Club, kindly sponsored by Bristol Beer Factory.
Hard as Nails started with a simple idea: encourage men to paint their nails and see what conversations it unlocks.
Because painted nails aren’t really the point.
The conversations they unlock are.
We’ll start the evening with Hard as Nails co-founder Daniele Fiandaca exploring the ‘Man Box’: the invisible rules so many boys and men grow up absorbing about toughness, emotion, vulnerability and what it means to be a ‘real man’.
Then Daniele will be joined by Talk Club co-founder Ben Akers for a fireside conversation about men, masculinity, mental health and what they’ve both learned from creating spaces where men can talk more openly.
No lectures.
No pretending anyone has all the answers.
Just an honest conversation about the pressures men live with, the things we rarely say out loud and what healthier masculinity might actually look like.
And we’re not just going to talk about stepping outside the Man Box.
Men attending will have the opportunity to paint all ten nails and join the Hard as Nails campaign on its very first day.
The challenge is simple: keep them painted for a week and see what conversations it starts with friends, family, colleagues and complete strangers about masculinity, harmful stereotypes and male mental health.
Hard as Nails is an initiative to encourage men to paint their nails to open up meaningful conversations around healthy masculinity, harmful stereotypes and male mental health.
Bristol is one of the core cities for our national campaign, so we’d particularly love to meet men from across the city who want to be part of what happens next.
Come for a beer, alcoholic or alcohol-free. We’d recommend a Clear Head, the Bristol Beer Factory x Talk Club alcohol-free IPA that does good while tasting good.
Come for the conversation.
Paint your nails.
Join the campaign.
See what conversations ten painted nails can start.
Monday 9 November 2026
6pm–8pm
The Pumphouse, Merchants Road, Bristol BS8 4PZ
Hard as Nails x Talk Club
Kindly sponsored by Bristol Beer Factory