The Man Cave’s Ben Vasiliou on the need to create great men

Tell us about your career background, before The Man Cave.

I originally trained as a youth worker and have built a career as a social entrepreneur over two decades tackling some of the world’s most pressing social challenges. I have an insatiable appetite to change the world and have done so by leading, chairing and supporting social enterprises and charities. I spent seven and a half years as CEO of Youth Projects, which tackled homelessness, mental health and economic disadvantage, reimagining it and scaling it to a large and impactful organisation.

What is the main issue The Man Cave is trying to address, or solve?

I joined TMC (The Man Cave) because I could see that their work empowering boys to become great men works very much at the prevention end, and gives us the opportunity to empower young people with tools before issues take hold and intervention is required.

We provide emotional intelligence, literacy and expression programs that help address the rising tide of low levels of connection, belonging and purpose. We know this leads to poorer health outcomes and life experiences. Without intervention, teenage boys and young men are left with no role models or examples to build a healthy relationship with themselves and others.

Are you happy with the impact so far?

Look, on one hand yes, but on another, the problems we face as a society are not going away. Vulnerability, poverty and division are on the rise. I am motivated by the frontline impact and systems change I’ve seen my teams achieve, but it’s time to take it to the next level. TMC has impacted nearly 100,000 young men and has comprehensive, unmatched insights into the lives of teenage boys and those that surround them. We have the stories, we have the data, we are backed by evidence, and now it is my job to bring our programs and impact to as many Australian communities as possible.

What has surprised you since starting as CEO?

The lack of investment in preventative initiatives targeting young men. There is a great deal of funding for crisis management services, which is, of course, needed; however, there is very little funding for preventative services, and if we don’t fund prevention, we will always be in crisis.

Where would you like The Man Cave to go from here? How could it have an even bigger impact?

We are working out how to scale from impacting 100,000 teenage boys and young men to reaching the 2.4 million boys and young men across Australia. As Australia’s leading preventative mental health charity for this cohort in Australia, we are charged with the mission of creating wide scale change for boys and their communities. We need to continue to innovative our programs, amplify the voice of boys and men, streamline our tech, increase our reach, train our teams and share our unique insights and data. To do that, we need the support of philanthropists and government.

Away from the office, how do you unwind?

By screaming in joy when [Collingwood midfield star] Nick Daicos delivers the footy inside 50. Perhaps a Pies premiership in 2025?!

Some readers might recognise you from the Ten Network gameshow Hunted Australia last year, where you and your husband, Luke, were on the run. Was that a lot of fun or incredibly stressful?

It was equal parts psychologically distressing and incredible fun! We really wanted to push ourselves and take on a new challenge. We are both highly driven, determined and creative people, and we thought we did a pretty good job remaining hidden as long as we did. Although I do freak out every time I hear a drone or helicopter!

You’re a speaker at the Third Sector Leadership Forum this week, in Sydney. What are you most looking forward to at the forum?

Aside from being able to share informative insights on teenage boys that will help us build healthier communities, I am looking forward to connecting on a human level with the amazing people that work in the non-profit sector, particularly at a challenging time where running a charity is harder than ever. Coming together to share wins and challenges will give us the fuel to keep going in service of a healthier Australia.