When a UK Construction Manager Finally Broke: A Conversation That Proved Mental Health Has No Borders
By Chris Moore, War for Men Podcast
I've been in this industry long enough to know that the toughest guys on site are often the ones holding on by a thread. What I didn't expect was sitting down with Rob Muldoon from the UK and realizing that thousands of miles apart, we're all fighting the same damn war.
The Pizza That Changed Everything
Rob Muldoon spent 25 years in UK construction. Started as a bricklayer apprentice, worked his way up to running massive projects—hospitals, stadiums, universities. The kind of guy who managed teams of 50+ workers, juggled multiple sites, and thought he had it all under control.
Then one Saturday afternoon, his three-year-old didn't want the pizza he'd been begging for all morning.
And Rob—this experienced project manager who could handle the most demanding contractors and the tightest deadlines—completely lost it. Threw the plate across a restaurant. Screamed at his kid in front of everyone. Then locked himself in a hotel room for the rest of the weekend, unable to eat, sleep, or function.
Monday morning? He went straight back to work.
Because that's what we do, right?
The Boiling Frog We All Ignore
Rob shared something in our conversation that hit me like a ton of bricks—Isaac Newton's boiling frog experiment. Drop a frog in boiling water, it jumps out immediately. But put it in cold water and slowly turn up the heat? It boils to death without realizing what's happening.
That was Rob's career. That's most of our careers if we're being honest.
He described running projects worth millions while simultaneously managing 16-17 side jobs. Convinced himself that if he took a day off, someone would cover for him, see all his mistakes, report to management, and he'd lose everything. The avalanche of thoughts: "If they fire me, I can't provide for my family. If I can't provide, what kind of man am I?"
Sound familiar?
I'm experiencing it right now. I left a comfortable superintendent role to start my own mechanical contracting business, and as Rob talked, I watched my own thought patterns play out in real time. The ego that says "I should be able to handle this." The belief that saying "no" means failure. The constant pressure to be everything to everyone—boss, provider, father, husband—while your own mental health circles the drain.
What Makes MYH Podcast Critical
When Rob finally got help—because his company actually supported him instead of cutting him loose—something shifted. He started a podcast called MYH (Mind Your Head) in 2020, not because he had all the answers, but because he realized his biggest problem was that nobody was talking about this stuff.
Here's why MYH Podcast matters:
They're speaking the language. Rob and his team of 12 aren't therapists in suits showing up with clipboards. They're bricklayers, project managers, tradesmen who've been in the mud, dealt with the same abusive site culture, and know exactly what it's like when someone tells you to "just get over it."
They're getting results that matter. In the past year alone, MYH documented 87 "active rescues"—87 construction workers who were in immediate crisis and got help because someone finally gave them permission to talk. That's 87 men who are still alive. Still showing up for their kids. Still building.
They're going where the workers are. Rob and his team have delivered talks to over 50,000 construction workers across the UK, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. They show up on-site, in the canteens, during breaks. One guy told him, "I really needed to hear that talk today. I was thinking of doing stuff." Two weeks ago, Rob stood in front of a room full of hardened construction workers and cried talking about his mum—and nobody left. Because sometimes watching another man be vulnerable is the permission we need.
The work they're doing with the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity isn't just talk. Last year they spent over £5.5 million supporting the industry—everything from counseling sessions to paying for someone's Christmas when they had to choose between presents and food.
Why We Started Ironhide USA
Listening to Rob, I kept thinking: This needs to exist here.
That's why we started Ironhide USA and the War for Men Podcast. Because the statistics don't lie:
Construction workers have one of the highest suicide rates of any profession
We're conditioned from day one that emotions are weakness
The same culture that makes us incredible at building things is killing us from the inside
But here's what really gets me: Rob's stories could have happened on any American job site. The guy who crushed his own leg because his mind was on his financial problems instead of the crane controls. The foreman who had a breakdown but came back to work because he couldn't let his crew down. The scaffolder in Glasgow who kicked off during Rob's talk because he was triggered—then chased them down afterward to say "I really needed to hear that."
UK, US, doesn't matter. We're all dealing with the same toxic mentality that says asking for help makes you less of a man.
The Permission We Never Knew We Needed
One thing Rob said stuck with me: "We're not there to fix each other, but we can try to lighten the load a little bit."
That's it. That's the whole mission.
I'm not a therapist. Rob's not a therapist. We're just guys from the trades who figured out that staying silent nearly destroyed us. We wrote Ironhide: A War for Men because we needed someone to tell us it was okay to not be okay—and nobody did.
Rob's now doing this full-time. He cries in front of construction workers. He gets into arguments with the loudest guys in the room and then lays bricks with them to prove he's one of them. He sets boundaries, takes mental health breaks when he needs them (even from mental health work), and still shows up.
The Advice That Hit Different
At the end of our conversation, I asked Rob for some man advice. His answer was simple:
"Money comes and goes. Memories last forever. So make those memories and prioritize that."
I needed to hear that. If you're reading this, you probably do too.
What We're Building Together
Rob's living our dream over in the UK—speaking on sites, changing culture, saving lives. We're working to build the same thing here in the States through Ironhide USA. Different countries, same war.
The construction industry is finally starting to understand that mental health isn't a soft topic—it's a safety issue. A guy whose mind is on his divorce or his debt or his depression isn't thinking about the load overhead or the pinch point or the confined space procedure. And then someone gets hurt. Or worse.
Rob's got a saying: "Just because you're after this help doesn't mean you're any less of a person or any weaker. If anything, it's a strength."
He's right. The strongest thing I've ever done wasn't lifting heavy pipe or running a massive project. It was admitting I needed help. It was setting boundaries. It was choosing to show up for my family instead of chasing every job that came my way.
Where We Go From Here
If you're in construction and you're struggling—whether it's in Manchester or West Valley City—you're not alone. That's not a cliché. That's a fact backed by 87 active rescues, 50,000 workers who've heard these talks, and every single person who's reached out to say "that's me."
Check out what Rob and his team are doing at MYH Podcast. Listen to our conversation. Read our book. Visit ironhideusa.com to see what we're building here.
And if you're a contractor or a site manager reading this: bring these conversations to your sites. Not because it's the trendy thing to do, but because the guys on your crew need to hear it. Because the next Rob Muldoon on your team might be one breakdown away from never coming back.
We're all on the same job site. It's time we started looking out for each other.
Listen to the full conversation on the War for Men Podcast. Subscribe, share, and let's break this damn stigma together.
Get the book: Ironhide: A War for Men
Connect with MYH Podcast: All platforms here
Learn more about our mission: ironhideusa.com
Chris Moore is a co-founder of Ironhide USA and co-host of the War for Men Podcast. He's a mechanical contractor, veteran, and someone who finally learned that asking for help doesn't make you weak—it makes you survive.
