Mental Health Motorbike celebrates one year of bringing bikers together to promote mental health
The charity aims to break the stigma around mental health for bikers
A mental health group aimed at bikers is celebrating its one year anniversary of bringing people in the motorbike community together to combat mental health issues.
Mental Health Motorbike started holding monthly meetings in The Churchillian on Portsdown Hill after the group assisted in the Baton of Hope tour in 2025, which saw a baton being transported around the UK to raise awareness for suicide prevention.
“I volunteered our group from the Mental Health Motorbike Charity to do an escort from Basingstoke to bring the baton all the way to Portsmouth,” said Justin Burns, who runs the group meetings.
“We contacted The Churchillian to arrange a reception and then off the back of that, we thought ‘we don’t want this to be a one off’.
“This was in September, so for biking it sort of goes into the off season and people don’t see much of each other, so we asked The Churchillian if we could do a monthly event throughout the winter, so bikers can meet up,” he said.
The meetings were a great success, with more and more people attending each week, so Justin decided to keep holding the meetings into the spring and summer months.
“Sometimes we have about 150 or so bikers turn up, sometimes it's 20, but the important thing is we meet new people and we see people we have met before to follow up on how they are getting on,” said Justin.
“There might be some people, it might be the only time they get out that month. It’s very informal, we sell tea and coffee and cakes and just have a chat. Our volunteers sell the drinks so everybody has to speak to a mental health first aider then.”
Mental Health Motorbike also attends events all over Hampshire and the surrounding areas to bring their message to bikers across the region.
“The whole ethos of our charity is to break the stigma around mental health. If you broke your arm and walked into the pub, everyone would be like ‘oh you’ve broken you arm, come here and chat about it’. Whereas, if it’s mental health, while it is getting better, years ago people would just take one step back and wouldn’t know what to say.”
“Bikers will spend an hour telling you about how they get a new tire for their bike, but we’re trying to get people to talk more about how they are.”
For their first anniversary, Justin has invited some special guests to come to the October meeting to show their support.
“Amanda Martin MP is coming, she came to the Baton of Hope and she actually rode in a sidecar of one of our motorbikes!”
The Lord and Lady Mayoress of Portsmouth will also be in attendance and Justin thinks that their commitment shows how much they care about mental health.
“It shows to me how important they see mental health if they see it as important enough that they're going to get up on a Sunday morning and come out to support us, I think it’s brilliant.”