“I’ve no doubt that the event uplifted the town and its people.”
– Councillor Carolyn Troop, Mayor of Retford
We uplifted the town of Retford in Nottinghamshire.
In the lead up to World Mental Health Day 2021, together with the support of mental health charity Mind, we transformed the UK town of Retford into “Upliftford”. The experiment demonstrated the power of movement to uplift the mood of a town, with residents recording a mental uplift of 27%. Find out more about it by watching the film (in English only).
But, why Retford?
Following research into the mood of the nation, the ASICS State-of-Mind Index identified Nottinghamshire as the county with the lowest State-of-Mind score in the UK. Further research within Nottinghamshire, identified Retford as one of the towns most motivated to improve its mental wellbeing.
Transforming the town.
To help improve the mood, ASICS transformed the streets of Retford into a movement-inspired gym. Along an Uplift Route, bus stops were turned into ‘bus steps’, benches into ‘bench presses’ and lampposts into ‘goal posts’ with Retford residents moving together to improve their mood. Watch the film below (in English only).
Seeing the impact of movement on the mind.
Residents were invited to measure the impact of movement on their minds using the Mind Uplifter™ tool. Professor Brendon Stubbs oversaw the research project, sharing that the town’s mood score increased from 56 to 71 out of 100 after the day’s events.
Measure your own mind uplift or learn more about the tool by watching the demo (in English only).
