Welcome to Mentis

In 1994 Andreas Escobar was put on the pedestal.

He was the ‘Gentlemen’ of Colombia, an icon for the entire country.

The world gave him their flowers—to do what he does best.

To go out to the grass of the Beautiful Game and play what he plays best.

When the world gave him flowers again,

He lay peacefully, under the grass of Cementerio de San Pedro.

 

In 2021, England raised Bukayo Saka onto a pedestal.

England’s starboy, burdened with prodigious expectations.

The nation cheered with beer and flowers,

But when he stumbled under summer’s glare,

They met him with scorn, their love quickly turning to hate.

And a young boy faced the weight of a fractured nation.

 

I told two stories. There are thousands. Each year. Whether you are an aspiring college athlete, or a frequent SportsCenter feature earning 5 digits a month, you are prone to the effect of the pedestal. Sometimes you build it yourself, and sometimes the world builds it for you, but once you're placed upon it, the fall can feel inevitable. The pressure to remain perfect—flawless in performance, impeccable in image—becomes a weight that almost no amount of modern physical and mental training can prepare you for. The pedestal isolates, turning triumphs into expectations and failures into personal catastrophes. And yet, the conversation surrounding mental health in sports often lags behind the conversation of victory, as though success and struggle cannot coexist. But they do. And they always have.