Former All Black Josh Kronfeld wants New Zealand men to talk about their health

Former All Black Josh Kronfeld is the ambassador for Tena Men.

Former All Black Josh Kronfeld has had his fair share of challenges on the footy field but now he’s keen to tackle a new goal; getting Kiwi blokes to talk about their health.

It’s Prostate Cancer Awareness Month, aka Blue September, so Kronfeld said it was a good time for men to get comfortable talking about issues they would rather ignore due to embarrassment or shame.

“This month is all about men’s health and my drive is to campaign a bit of change in thought on how we address that because as men, we’re just bloody hopeless,” he told The Country’s Jamie Mackay.

Kronfeld is walking the talk, taking on the role of the ambassador for Tena Men’s incontinence products.

“Yes, my stream isn’t as strong as it used to be but that’s part of getting a bit older - but - it’s also a precursor for prostate cancer.”

He urged other men to take notice of any changes and get help if needed.

“Mate - you go in and you do the checks and you check that everything is still functioning and moving on correctly.”

He suggested Kiwi blokes needed a shift in attitude towards these aspects of their health.

“We need to be pre-emptive but we’re not, we keep going with this tough guy scenario.

“Let’s just get rid of that I reckon - let’s go and do the checks.

“Let’s look after each other because too many of the brothers are leaving us early for such simple stuff that could’ve been prevented.”

He said a group of supporters could help men share any health changes, especially in encouraging someone to head to the doctor.

“We just need to form teams within our network of people that think kindly of us, whether it’s mates or the guy that you catch up with once a month, whether it’s your brother or your wife.”

Kronfeld was no stranger to physical issues after playing 54 test matches as an openside flanker for the All Blacks.

He said his ankle and neck were “shot” and his brain had “taken a few hits as well”.

He’d also experienced chest pains, nausea, and an arm ache, which led him to get his “ticker checked out”.

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He discovered this was due to neck, rib and cartilage pain because it had all been “mangled so much” which was radiating down his arm.

“So it’s more mechanically driven rather than the heart side of things - but [it was] great to go and get the checks.”

Kronfeld said talking about bladder issues came with a sense of shame for Kiwi men, who may see it as not a particularly masculine subject.

He said blokes should take a leaf out of Kiwi women’s book when discussing issues down below.

“Women, you know, they’ve been dealing with that stuff with pregnancy and periods and menopause.

“So they have those conversations because they create a network to help deal with it and sometimes that support network is how they get through because they discover ways of managing and treating the problem.

“But we as guys - we’re so stoic - we don’t say anything - so just taking that stigma out of it makes a massive difference.”

Kronfeld said one way to achieve this was to keep the conversation light-hearted.

“Say to one of the boys, ‘I’ve just been in for a check-up’ and have a bit of a laugh about the process.”

Whatever the method, Kronfeld had a simple message for New Zealand men.

“Get in and get a check-up - that’s all I can say.”