Our History

Leeds Wellbeing Project CIC traces its roots back to the personal journey of our founder, Kai Leighton.

As a teenager, Kai experienced significant mental health challenges, including depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts. Like many young men, he found it difficult to speak openly about how he was feeling and often felt there were few services that truly understood the experiences of boys and young men.

Through the support of positive role models, physical activity and martial arts, Kai discovered a renewed sense of purpose, confidence and resilience. Those experiences shaped a belief that every young person deserves access to relatable, preventative support before reaching crisis.

That belief became the foundation of everything we do today.

In 2022, Kai founded The Mental Shift CIC in Newcastle upon Tyne with a simple mission: to improve the mental health of boys and young men through lived experience, early intervention and community-based support.

Starting with workshops in local schools and community organisations, The Mental Shift quickly developed into an organisation delivering mentoring, mental health education and wellbeing programmes across the North East.

Since its creation, The Mental Shift CIC has supported more than 4,100 boys and young men, working alongside schools, local authorities, charities and community partners to help young people build confidence, resilience and hope for the future.

The success of this model demonstrated the growing need for accessible, community-led mental health support designed specifically for young men.

Recognising that the challenges facing young men were not unique to Newcastle, our work expanded into Leeds in 2025.

Working with local partners, we launched Inside the Cage, a project using martial arts and lived experience mentoring to engage young men who were experiencing poor mental health, low confidence or social isolation.

Since launching in 2026, Inside the Cage has already supported more than 23 young men, helping participants improve their wellbeing, develop positive relationships and access trusted support within their local community.

The project reinforced what we already knew: young men respond positively when support is delivered by people who understand their experiences and when it takes place in safe, welcoming environments.

As demand for support continued to grow across Leeds, it became clear that the city required a dedicated organisation focused solely on the needs of its own communities.

This led to the creation of Leeds Wellbeing Project CIC.

While inspired by the proven model developed through The Mental Shift CIC, Leeds Wellbeing Project is an independent organisation with a clear focus on supporting boys and young men across Leeds.

By establishing a dedicated Community Interest Company, we can invest more time, resources and partnerships into the city, develop services that respond directly to local needs, and build stronger relationships with schools, community organisations and families throughout Leeds.

Our work will continue to evolve alongside the communities we serve, ensuring that every programme is shaped by lived experience, evidence and the voices of young people themselves.

Our ambition is simple: to create a future where no boy or young man in Leeds feels that they have to face life’s challenges alone.

Through early intervention, lived experience, education and strong community partnerships, we are building a city where young people feel connected, supported and empowered to thrive.

This is only the beginning of our journey, and we look forward to working alongside young people, schools, families and partners to create lasting, positive change across Leeds.