In memory of Ryan Sobek, and men everywhere

The Beleza Foundation – In memory of Ryan Sobek, and for all men everywhere

Ryan Benjamin John Sobek took his own life on Thursday 28th July 2022. Over the two years leading up to that date Ryan had been increasingly struggle with his mental health. In the end, it was all too much, and he saw no option but to end the pain.

The reality is Ryan had this struggle for most of his 30 years of life. That doesn’t mean it was all bad, far from it, Ryan lived a full and loving life surrounded by people and laughter. But it is important to know that Ryan had an internal struggle throughout his life that was exasperated by external stimulus during those last months.

As a family we have made the choice that something positive will come from this situation; The Beleza Foundation is a fund that will support men by providing financial support and a variety of resources to help men focus on their well being and mental health.

Ryan was failed. He was failed by the system, that is beyond breaking point. He was failed by society, that can’t see the struggles that all men face, that for many, pushes them to the ultimate breaking point. We want to highlight these issues and provide support to those people and organisations that are fighting this fight for men everywhere.

The name Beleza, is taken from the company name that Ryan used to roast coffee. You may not know but ‘Beleza’ in Portuguese means Beautiful and so it was Ryan’s belief that each morning as we brewed our cup of coffee and took that first sip we would think ‘What a beautiful cup of coffee’. Ryan put his heart and soul into Beleza and I genuinely believe we felt that with every cup and so we want to bring a little of that positivity and that love to the work we do.