AUSTIN (KXAN) -– A group of Austin men are intentionally putting themselves in stressful situations to combat mental health. “At some level, people have experienced pain, struggles or challenges,” Braydon ‘Bray’ Alley said about the group he founded with his friends. Alley wants to normalize vulnerability through his fitness group Men in the Arena. Data backs up the need for people to find a community where they feel safe to open up. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America found that men are less likely to seek help because of the pressure men face to 'tough it out.'  The organization also found nearly one in 10 men experience depression or anxiety but less than half will receive treatment. And when it comes to suicide among men and women, mental health experts say men are more likely to die by suicide, according to The Hill. Local group gathers twice a month to focus on strengthening bonds beyond the gym. (KXAN Photo/Jose Torres) “I want to express gratitude right now, because as a person 10 years ago, that decision to end my life felt so freaking easy,” Alley shared with his group. The 32-year-old said he has overcome dark times and that his birthday is a yearly reminder about why he’s still here. “May 5th is my birthday and on May 5th, 2021 I got a call from my grandpa thinking he was calling to wish me a happy birthday. Instead, it was a call to tell me that my cousin, at the age of 21, took his life,” Alley said. Not knowing how to process what happened he said he hid from the world for the next 12 months. “I did not feel like myself and did not feel whole and had some thoughts of suicide come up that resurfaced when I was younger,” Alley said. “Fast forward another year, I decided that I can no longer shy away from what I felt called to do. As someone who thinks everything is a blessing and a lesson, I had to find meaning in it. And that meaning from above is that I'm supposed to be here to be a beacon to speak about my own struggles and help other men and create opportunities for other men to open up.” That journey led to a new path in May 2023 when Alley, Yash Chitneni, and CJ Finley created Men in the Arena. “I think a lot of healthy masculinity stems from being able to push yourself in uncomfortable spots,” Chitneni said. “What we've created here is a space where you kind of push yourself to the limit and you see that the person next to you is pushing themselves to the limit and you're like, I'm gonna compete, but it's a very healthy environment where by the end of it, it feels like I did it not necessarily to show up in a bravado manner, but rather like lift you up manner.” The group of men meet twice a month, and like life, there is nothing routine at these gatherings. On this day the goal was to lift sandbags, some weighing 60 to 100 pounds. And then there was the big heavy worm looking bag that required several men to lift. For the next hour they had to either carry the individual bags or team up to lift the heavy duty worm for one mile. “When we're done with a hard workout, the guys are just like buzzing off this energy, which leads us to the second part -- heartfelt conversations, from the subconscious aspect of doing a bunch of hard work together leads us to have great conversations,” Chitneni said. CJ Finley and his wife Erin pose after helping Anna finish the Austin Marathon through Ainsley's Angels. (Courtesy CJ Finley) The work continues outside of the workouts. This weekend members of Men in the Arena are headed to the Houston area to help raise money and awareness for Ainsley's Angels. The organization pairs runners with people with disabilities to give everyone a chance to compete -- and complete -- a race. “Helping Anna complete another 26.2 miles, and add another medal to her growing collection, it was not such a tall order,” Co-founder CJ Finley wrote on his Instagram account about his experience pushing his new friend, Anna, during the Austin Marathon this past February. “It was one I did with the utmost respect for how they go about life and I wanted to push my own limits to the max as an honor to that.” “We're about to go through Ainsley’s Angels and be there for somebody else and realize that we are not the center of the freaking universe. We can be there and be someone else's hero,” Alley said.