Christian Dyer on Mental Fitness Month

‘We’re not just athletes, we’re humans’

Christian Dyer is SaberCats’ ambassador in Major League Rugby’s mental health fitness partnership with LooseHeadz

By Aaron Wilson

Christian Dyer is walking off the field, pausing for a few minutes to hold a conversation before heading to the SaberCats’ locker room. 

Instead of carrying the heavy weight of a setback, a lost match for the SaberCats, he’s lifted by perspective, empathy and truth.

And Dyer isn’t alone in that attitude and approach to rugby, and life.

The SaberCats center and wing is a major advocate of mental health. He’s the SaberCats’ representative in Major League Rugby’s official mental health fitness partnership with LooseHeadz. He volunteered to be a mental health ambasssador with the SaberCats and was provided with a toolkit of resources to support other players.  

“I think the No. 1 thing is just having the confidence to check in with yourself and your teammates and to express how you actually feel,” Dyer said. “Most people hide their feelings, if they’re not all positive. I think it’s totally okay if you’re in a slump to reach out.

“What I’m trying to urge everyone in my life to do is to randomly call someone and check in on them and see how they’re doing. You never know what that random phone call could do. It could save someone’s life.”

Within the SaberCats’ locker room, camaraderie, respect and empathy are emphasized throughout every phase of the season and offseason. When players are having an issue, they’re not alone.

“We’re so big on culture here,” Dyer said. “We preach family. As much as what we’re doing is about rugby, it’s about life. It’s about family. It’s about building relationships, so we spend just as much time off the field hanging around doing stuff outside of rugby. It’s an important component of mental health in sports.”

After qualifying for the playoffs last year in his first season and competing in Dubai with the USA Eagles to help qualify the United States for the Rugby World Cup, Dyer started his own podcast called the Chase. 

He has a YouTube channel and he uses these outlets to talk with fellow leaders in sport and share his lessons from the game of rugby.

“I remember myself as a young kid looking up to guys and all I wanted to do was be them,” Dyer said. “Now that I think I’m on track for being that person, I think it’s a responsibility to inspire the next generation. I’m fortunate to have a platform through the sport of rugby that I can share my message.”

His YouTube channel is devoted to positive themes of trusting the process, establishing a mindset toward success and being mindful of others.

“I bring in Olympic athletes, NFL guys, Super Bowl champs, UFC Hall of Famers,” Dyer said. “When I ask them what is their definition of success, they all say happiness. I think we’ve got to understand we’re not just athletes, we’re humans. It’s easy to forget that when we’re consumed in sports.

“My whole goal with the Chase platform is to expose the truth, the side of sports that sometimes doesn’t get heard and get a lot of light on it. A huge component of that is mental health. If you can hear and listen to stories and experiences of guys who have done it at the highest level, that can add a lot of insight to everyone else.”

In partnership with LooseHeadz, 31 Major League Rugby players and coaches volunteered to be LooseHeadz ambassadors for  this season.

Major League Rugby and LooseHeadz are holding a webinar with panelists sharing their thoughts on mental health and how the corporate community can interact with rugby professional athletes.

“The camaraderie on our team is really good,” Emmanuel Albert said. “If a guy is having a hard time, a lot of time it’s because of distance from family. Being away from your family and friends can take a toll. We try to be the family away from family.”

*Photos by Nicolas Romero