The Bench is a story about personal resilience.
There are moments in life when we feel isolated, overwhelmed, or unsure of the path ahead. Sometimes strength comes from within. Sometimes it arrives in the form of someone simply sitting beside us.
At ARMR, we believe strength isn't the absence of struggle. It's the decision to keep moving forward despite it. Our jewellery is designed to be more than an accessory. Each piece serves as a symbol. A reminder of your strength, your journey, and your ability to endure whatever life places in front of you.
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We worked with Sam Foster from Foster Films on The Bench. Sam is the son of a friend of mine who, at the time, was still studying videography at college. He's a very clever, ambitious and thoughtful young man who'll go far.
Sam was up for creating a video for ARMR which I absolutely jumped at. The first video/ad I'd ever created. It was very exciting.
I met Sam at his home and we talked through what ARMR means to me and what I want the brand to portray. That being a brand and jewellery that encourages friendship, community to build self resilience. We have strength when we're supported.
We wanted to show a young man, isolated, deep in thought with trouble on his mind, looking out over a post-industrial landscape, almost desolate but beautiful. Then his friend arrived, lifts his mood, offers to listen if he wants to talk, walking away as friends, laughing and talking. No longer alone.
The shoot day was really interesting for me. I've never done anything like this so I pretty much took Sam's lead. He orchestrated the whole day. I provided drinks and snacks (haha).
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It was a while before we got the final version of the video completed. In between my own work constraints and Sam exams and excursions it took a while. But it's been so much fun working with Sam on it. I loved seeing the final version, and still do. It's the first ARMR ad effectively, and I'm proud of it, it puts a mark down in the growth of ARMR. Something we can look back on.
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After the shoot, Sam and his friends conducted interviews of each other talking about the shoot, ARMR and men's mental health.
I really enjoyed working with the guys on this. It felt great to help Sam create something that he can use for his own portfolio too, to grow his confidence and get a feel of how it may work with clients in the future.
I'm looking forward to doing more with the guys. Below are some images from the day.
Have a great day.
Steve
