Køge men’s clubs draw 200 members as wives miss their husbands

Seven men’s clubs in Køge municipality have attracted around 200 members and are helping combat loneliness, DR reports. The clubs offer activities including quizzes, beer brewing, choral singing and cooking.

“The only challenge is that we men now spend so much time together that our wives have started to complain,” said Karsten Kjær, the clubs’ founder and chairman.

The initiative began with a single club in the small town of Ejby and has since expanded to seven clubs across the municipality.

“Something special happens when men are together with other men on men’s own terms,” Kjær said. He said members could open up and show vulnerability, with less competition and pressure to perform than in mixed groups.

Kjær came up with the idea after feeling isolated in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. He said the idea was initially based on his own needs, but that he soon saw others also needed a new community.

Municipal support

Køge Municipality supports the men’s clubs because they reach a group that the municipality otherwise struggles to engage, said Køge Mayor Ken Kristensen of the Liberal Party.

“We have many communities in sports associations, but some people need a different type of community,” Kristensen said. The clubs appeal to people who may not know where to turn if they are not interested in sport or culture but still want to socialise.

The organisers are now working to expand the concept to other municipalities, first on Zealand and later across the country. Kjær will prepare a manual in cooperation with Køge Municipality, Steno Diabetes Center Zealand and the Center for Clinical Research and Prevention.