Shine Coaching is a life coaching service for men across Lancashire navigating stress, anger, conflict, and communication struggles. The support starts with coaching but ripples outwards into community walks, peer groups, and volunteer pathways. 

In the hour that I spent speaking to Lian, one of the co-founders of Shine Coaching, I gleaned a thorough insight into the process of a deeply rooted community project and service. Our unfiltered chat meandered like a well-travelled walk, reflective, surprising, and fulfilling.

‘We support men over the phone’ 

Shine Coaching began with a mission to reduce suicide – the leading cause of death for men under 50, a statistic that is still extremely shocking to those familiar with it. The two co-founders, Fiona and Lian, came together with a sincere belief that something had to change. 

‘So that was the thing we felt – that by being here, we could give people purpose, but they need the courage to start. And the acknowledgement that they might have things they want to talk about and resolve themselves – but they might need a guide, from a coach, to do that in a non-judgmental way.’ 

Shine Coaching primality uses an over-the-phone life-coaching model. I initially thought that this would be a barrier to access, especially because coaching is traditionally seen as a face-to-face service. Lian was resolute in her response, noting that phone coaching is a common model that has proven to be extremely effective. She reiterated that Shine Coaching’s phone service was free, accessible, personal and flexible.

‘We found that men find it easier to talk on the phone.  There’s no judgement because we can’t see who we are talking to. We have to use one sense – just our hearing – to really focus on what is being said. We focus on the issues by focusing on the words. There’s no unconscious bias, no distractions, just connection.  It allows us, as coaches, to really listen on a deeper level to that individual. Maybe they haven’t been heard like that before – because even though they’re saying the same words face-to-face, there is a lot of other stuff going on.  On the phone, there’s only your words, in your voice – your tone and your pitch – and then the deeper level underneath those words.’ 

In a world obsessed with images and appearances, this approach is certainly unique, with support being back to its essence - listening, talking, and finding solutions. Perhaps my initial understanding that the phone was a barrier was in fact the opposite – talking on the phone was the elimination of a barrier. Things communicated across the phone alone can be communicated with much more clarity. This perspective floored me.

‘We work with men, that is our core.’  

Shine is a small but mighty Community Interest Company (CIC) with a sincere ethos. They found their ethos not only aligned with the coaches but also with the clients themselves. 

‘We began to provide support to men in Lancashire who were struggling with stress and life troubles.  When we started, we offered one-to-one support over the phone. But then things grew, and soon we had turned into a team of 14 volunteers – many of them former clients! Then there came a demand for face-to-face meetings.’  

I spoke to Lian in depth about Shine Coaching’s outward growth. Shine adapted an outdoor approach – from a phone service to well-being walks, which are small, risk-assessed community outings that do much more than get people moving. They have the people to help, the structures in place, and a simple ethos: build something that people want to return to. 

‘We always have two staff and everyone is welcomed with a smile. We build rapport and trust. If someone turns up with an accessibility issue, we adapt. It is not always about numbers – sometimes six people turning up and being safe is sometimes better than sixty people turning up. It is not about a big experience but creating a good experience – a good experience for them – something where they feel seen, acknowledged, and heard. '

‘It’s all about the reward. And being there together is the reward. We make sure it is well-planned. We have the meeting point with someone there with a smile on their face, to meet and greet and build a rapport with that person. And even if we’ve had no contact with an individual, and they just clean turn up – we still need to ensure that on the walk, they feel safe, comfortable, and welcome.' 

This growth is a testament to the value that Shine Coaching is providing. The turnover of clients to volunteers also signifies the value and importance of their ethos and purpose. 

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‘You can’t mark your own homework’: How Shine Coaching measures its success. 

I asked Lian how Shine Coaching is evaluating the success of the work they have done, say over a particular session or season.

‘We have a service-led evaluation. Because Fiona would say “Lian, you can’t mark your own homework,” and that stuck with me. We made it a mission to find someone to evaluate the raw data we had from 2016. And from that, we were very fortunate to build a relationship with UCLan – the Burnley campus – to ground that data.’ 

‘Two psychologists and research assistants, who were interested in working with men around anger and stress, put a report together from the data we provided. What they found was that the coaching process saw a significant reduction in anxiety and depression and a significant reduction in conflicts at home.’

UCLan’s clear results were game changing – not only validating what Shine had known and achieved but also giving them the courage to move forward with the project. 

‘Obviously, that was massive for us. It was an affirmation of all the work we had done. Because men have families, they have children, partners, friends, and colleagues.  So, for them to feel better about themselves, and to be able to achieve what they wanted to achieve, was a real testament to the work that we set out to. And also what our coaches do, and our volunteers who help spread the word.’ 

‘In terms of the community and the people we have worked with - just hearing someone come out of a session, maybe from an exercise class or a walk, and just start talking about what they are having for tea, or “I’ll I see you next week?” or “what did you fell or get out of that session?”,  just talking men to other men – that’s huge!’

A second round of data analysis is currently underway with Lancaster University, using more recent data from 2024. Numbers are being crunched, coaches are being interviewed, and focus groups are being put to task, but the anecdotal evidence has already proven just how much impact Shine Coaching has had. 

So how can the people of Burnley get involved? 

Of course, this is The Burnley Viewpoint, so I asked how Shine Coaching is connecting locally – the list was extensive 

As a small CIC, collaborations with companies and charities such as The Super Slow Way, Community Roots, Unity House, Lancashire Mind, and even The Wildlife Trust helped provide access to residents and communities. Shine Coaching was able to tap into other groups and have the men explore further outwards. 

Shine will soon be working with Burnley FC in the community, Claret in Mind programme, delivering a Games Club supporting asylum seekers and refugees using games to ‘exercise for the mind’ and well-being sessions.  

‘We have learned so much in our collaborations, - getting to know the area and the local people, what they’re like, what they want, what they need  - to listen and really get to know them.  And that has been very humbling and a real privilege.’  

The ripple effect outside of the sessions cannot be understated either. Shine had achieved what they had set out to do - getting men feeling, dealing, engaging, talking to others about how they are feeling, and then encouraging others to do the same.

‘Be gentle with yourself’ 

I asked Lian to share one piece of advice or message that encompasses how Shine coaching operates, she didn’t hesitate to answer: 

‘Be gentle with yourself. And if you need someone, we are here. You don’t need to be in crisis. Just come forward. Just to talk.’ 

And I think that is the perfect close to this article.

Shine Coaching offers gentle support – if you want to get in touch, please contact them on the details provided There are many free resources available to download via the Shine Coaching website.

Email: enquiries@shine-coaching.com

Website: www.shinecoaching.com

Below is Shine Coaching’s ethos taken from the website. 

We are here to provide support and resolution for men, living in Lancashire, who are struggling to deal with stress, anger and conflict in their daily lives.

We offer one-to-one guidance coaching over the phone with a dedicated coach, providing a free, accessible, personal and flexible service.

We bring the many and varied tools of coaching to our short, targeted programme which is tailored to the needs of each individual.

We work with our clients to develop practical solutions which help them to understand the present and influence the future. We also provide ongoing, out of session support to help them stay on track and achieve their goals.

All they need in return is the desire to make a change and the commitment to making that change matter.