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K E N W Y N

@ken.wyn

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Building in public. Starting over, not from scratch.
👇🏾
@thelinkuptoronto • 120+ builders 🌎
@kaisotoronto • rethinking men’s mental health & wellbeing

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I love great feedback and Ironically, I ended up listening to everybody.

After the first few dinners, people told me to try different spaces. Make the night longer. Move it to a Friday. Find a room with couches and different areas where people could actually settle in and talk. Give people more time to actually get to know each other. Switch up the food experience and stop thinking The Link Up always has to be a dinner.

So… we did all of it.

Friday night. Private chef. More time. A completely different kind of space and this time, music is part of the experience too. Sadiq will be on the decks throughout the night, low enough for people to actually talk, then we turn it up a little when dinner’s done and let the night become whatever it becomes.

The crazy part is the new space has a private gym, pilates and performance studios, recovery rooms and space to create content, which means we can start doing a lot more than sitting around a table.

I was planning to do KAISO “cut and run” pop-ups in 2027. Might be able to hit goal sooner now that we have this spot.

We’re only a few dinners in, but this is starting to feel like an actual thing now. Not just an event I’m throwing. Something with its own identity, its own people and a lot more room to grow.

10/23 is the next dinner. Capacity per dinner is 30 persons. November, December, and 2027 dinner applications are also open. You can join the digital collective before the dinners too.

A big thank you to our new partners 🙏🏾

@officialcocoskitchen is joining us for the long run, bringing a new story and menu to every dinner, starting with a Trinidadian themed menu for October.

Thank you @tokinesiology for opening the doors and giving The Link Up a new home to grow into. We’re excited to build this together, month by month, event by event.

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Building, rebuilding or figuring out what’s next? Apply for an upcoming Link Up dinner or join The Link Up digital collective. Toronto, Canada + global. Link in bio.

♎️ ♏️ 🫶🏾 … bday turn up!

♎️♏️ bday turn up!

video - @mannyrair 👆🏾🤍

S/O @liianjeon.. 👆🏾.. 🔥 taken in Downtown Toronto by @ken.wyn

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10 days ago

Yesterday I talked about how much I appreciate good feedback. This summer, a close friend told me to start with a smaller version of Kaiso and show what it could become. Today, that advice feels very real.

Thanks to @tokinesiology some of the programming I thought would wait until 2027 can start now. We can also explore Kaiso Women earlier than planned. The Link Up audience data says the audience is 51.7% men and 48.3% women, with 35–44 our being our biggest age group. The women showing up deserve a say too. So grateful for all of your early support.

People keep saying your friends aren’t your audience or supporters. I so disagree. Some of the people who helped me get into advertising are still mentoring me, answering my questions and making my ideas bigger.

After my first day at R/GA, I went straight to a friend with my notebook: “This is everything I was told today. What does it mean?” I was scared and didn’t want anyone to know how much I didn’t understand. He told me to get good insights, let them inform the idea, then figure out the execution.

I have strong insights around mental health. The idea is Kaiso. Now we have somewhere to start figuring out the execution. 😭🫂🫶🏾

We only started putting this out in June. Now we have somewhere to grow The Link Up and my baby Kaiso. Thank you to everyone who came to a dinner, made an introduction or believed in us. To @mrsteele1 and @heylissamonet , our first two guest speakers. To team Hong Shing and my boy @clemanfung for giving us the space and encouragement for where this began.

Today, Sadiq and I are grateful, a little overwhelmed, and excited for the people, the food, the laughs and what we get to build together next.

🫶🏾

Building, rebuilding or figuring out what’s next? Come to a Link Up dinner in Toronto or join our digital community from wherever you are. Visit www.kaisoshop.com through the link in bio, or message us directly for dinner and membership details. taken in Toronto, Ontario by @ken.wyn

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9 days ago

Thirteen years in education. Then advertising, social strategy, cultural strategy, account leadership, creative work and now entrepreneurship.

I’ve worked across China, Japan, the United States, Canada and the UK. I’ve helped teams create global marketing campaigns for Beats by Dre, Nike, Converse, Timberland, Amazon Prime Video and more.

But the titles and brands are only part of the story. This is really about becoming a multi-hyphenate, surviving more than one career pivot and realizing that none of the experience was wasted.

Here’s my visual resume. Part one.

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If you enjoy topics like these and want to discuss more, there are 120+ members inside The Link Up digital collective, sharing opportunities, culture signals and helping each other build. You can also apply for a seat at our September dinner series. Link in bio. taken in Toronto, Ontario by @ken.wyn

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a month ago

A man can be the most reliable person at work and still fall apart in the parking garage. He can keep a team paid and dread opening his own inbox.

That’s the part of men’s mental health we keep missing. We praise the output, then call the struggle laziness when it finally shows. High functioning doesn’t mean fine.

What has work praised you for while missing what it cost?

Building, rebuilding or figuring out what’s next? Come to a Link Up dinner in Toronto, join our wellness community, or connect with our digital community from wherever you are. Link in bio, or DM us for dinner and membership details.

#MensMentalHealth #MentalHealthAtWork #WorkplaceBurnout #AdultADHD #HighFunctioningAnxiety taken in Toronto, Ontario by @ken.wyn

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a day ago

Work stress doesn’t always look like panic. Sometimes it’s lying in bed rewriting one sentence from a meeting that ended hours ago.

Building, rebuilding or figuring out what’s next? Come to a Link Up dinner in Toronto, join our wellness community, or connect with our digital community from wherever you are. Link in bio, or DM us for dinner and membership details.

#MensMentalHealth #WorkStress #Overthinking #AnxietyAtWork #MentalHealthAtWork taken in TO Kinesiology by @ken.wyn

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a day ago

The first person some men open up to isn’t a therapist. It’s their barber. Barbershop therapy is real.

Toronto barbershop, men’s mental health Toronto, men’s wellbeing, barbershop therapy, men’s mental health support

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Building, rebuilding or figuring out what’s next? Come to a Link Up dinner in Toronto, join our wellness community, or connect with our digital community from wherever you are. Link in bio, or DM us for dinner and membership details. You told your barber before you told your therapist. Toronto barbershop talking about men's mental health. taken in Toronto, Ontario by @ken.wyn

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2 days ago

You thought of someone while reading this. Send it to him.

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We’re making more room for men to have these conversations in person. If you want to be part of what’s coming, join The Link Up. Link in bio. by @ken.wyn

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3 days ago

I think we miss people because we’re waiting for the big confession. Meanwhile, they’ve probably been telling us in smaller ways for weeks.

“I’m tired.”
“I’ve been off lately.”
“I’ve got a lot going on.”

Sometimes that is them opening up.

Mental health awareness, high-functioning depression, anxiety, burnout, men’s mental health, emotional support, community.

Building, rebuilding or figuring out what’s next? Join The Link Up digital community + dinner series. Toronto, Canada + global. Link in bio. taken in Toronto, Ontario by @ken.wyn

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12 days ago

Therapy is part of the plan. It just can’t be the whole plan.

You gotta add in movement, community, sleep, routine, sport and friends. Somewhere to go. With people who know you. Maybe mental health support should look more like life.

Mental health, therapy, movement, community wellness, social connection, sports and mental health, men’s mental health, Black wellness, third spaces.

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Building, rebuilding or figuring out what’s next? Join The Link Up digital community + dinner series. Toronto, Canada + global. Link in bio. taken in Toronto, Ontario by @ken.wyn

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18 days ago

The people I’m referring to in this video most of us don’t have in our lives ( I hope ). They’re people with no boundaries, no morals, no character, and they only think of themselves. They hurt, steal, destroy others with no remorse. Thats the 7. I’ve changed my personal believe’s around revenge in regards to people like this. I saw @hothighpriestess post a little bit ago and what she said made sense and really resonated with me. Some people need a reminder not to f* with you, ever.

men, I think we need to take time to educate / share game with the younger generation. Some lack the EQ, which we over excel at. The 50+ in the group chat… weak weak kids 😞. I don’t mean we all need to be saying stuff online, but we can do it in our homes, friends and our communities.

“Hood rules” , I wish we could teach it like it was a course in school. For most of us, it just means common sense, but it’s shocking how many lack that trait these days. 😞

Justice for Jane Doe(s)
Justice for Nolan Wells by @ken.wyn

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16 days ago

I’ve been doom scrolling the ADHD community a lot lately, and I actually love the confidence in the conversation. There’s a lot of this is how my brain works. This is what I’m good at. This is what messes me up. This is what I need from people.

I want more of that energy around depression and anxiety too.
Not just talking about what’s wrong with us. Talking about how we live with it. What helps. What we’re good at. What people misunderstand.

That conversation feels overdue.

ADHD, neurodivergence, depression, anxiety, mental health, lived experience, self-awareness, mental wellness, community support.

Building, rebuilding or figuring out what’s next? Join The Link Up digital community + dinner series. Toronto, Canada + global. Link in bio. taken in Toronto, Ontario by @ken.wyn

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18 days ago

The more I build Kaiso, the less interested I am in creating another gym. I’m more interested in why adults are going back to basketball, running, cycling, rec sports and movement that actually feels like play.

That’s where train like you grew up comes from. The performance studio isn’t locked yet. I’m still studying what’s happening around sport, fitness, wellness and community, and I want to show that part of the build too.

Sometimes the best idea isn’t another machine. Sometimes you just need the game back.

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Building, rebuilding or figuring out what’s next? Join The Link Up digital community + dinner series. Toronto, Canada + global. Link in bio.

Fitness, adult sports, basketball training, wellness, movement, community, social fitness, third spaces, mental health, Kaiso. taken in Toronto, Ontario by @ken.wyn

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19 days ago