Is there anything more rejuvenating for mind, body and soul than spending time into the great outdoors? We firmly believe there is: doing it with friends. Friendship is an enduring theme of MR PORTER Health in Mind, our initiative to help men live happier, healthier lives. We believe that strong, lasting relationships can be hugely beneficial to our mental and physical wellbeing. Indeed, many studies have suggested they are associated with increased life expectancy.

Throughout our meal at the restaurant Kiki’s, people continually greet Mr Colin McElroy. The Australian host. A blonde French woman in a khaki jumpsuit. Even Kiki, the proprietor of the spot, offers him her well wishes. McElroy lives in the neighbourhood and, if you didn’t know any better, you’d think he was one of those people born and raised on the Lower East Side, someone who hasn’t left the island of Manhattan in many moons. He’s effortlessly cool, with tattoos and a grizzled voice, and is wearing a T-shirt commemorating the spreading of Mr Jerry Garcia’s ashes. A painter by trade, McElroy works as an assistant to the artist Mr Nate Lowman, who is as notable for his work as for being an ex of Ms Mary-Kate Olsen. As comfortable as McElroy may be in the city, holding court with a plate of moussaka at Kiki’s, he’d much rather be fishing. He’s a nature boy at heart, a California native, and when the pandemic began, he hit the road, camping and fishing across the western US. He had nowhere to be, so he gravitated towards the river. When he returned to the city, he found himself pulled to the water. Most nights, after work, he’d drive out to Jamaica Bay, near John F Kennedy airport, and’ with planes landing overhead every minute or two, go fishing.

“I don’t really want to be anywhere else in London, to be perfectly honest,” says Mr Chris Johnson. He’s the landlord at The High Cross, a pub housed in a former public convenience in Tottenham, north London, but he’s talking about the other place he works and, in fact, over the past year, has spent much of his time, his allotment. “Once you close the gate, it doesn’t matter what’s happening outside. You just focus on the plot.”

Rondane (pronounced “ron-danner”) in eastern Norway is the country’s oldest national park. Within its 963sq km, where you can easily go for days without seeing another person, there are 10 mountains that stand 2,000m above sea level and no roads. Less jagged peaks, more vast rolling hills, the ancient highland landscape is home to one of Europe’s last remaining populations of wild reindeer. And it’s a 10-minute drive from photographer and videographer Mr Marius Nilsen’s house.

Is there anything more rejuvenating for mind, body and soul than spending time into the great outdoors? We firmly believe there is: doing it with friends. Friendship is an enduring theme of MR PORTER Health in Mind, our initiative to help men live happier, healthier lives. We believe that strong, lasting relationships can be hugely beneficial to our mental and physical wellbeing. Indeed, many studies have suggested they are associated with increased life expectancy.

Throughout our meal at the restaurant Kiki’s, people continually greet Mr Colin McElroy. The Australian host. A blonde French woman in a khaki jumpsuit. Even Kiki, the proprietor of the spot, offers him her well wishes. McElroy lives in the neighbourhood and, if you didn’t know any better, you’d think he was one of those people born and raised on the Lower East Side, someone who hasn’t left the island of Manhattan in many moons. He’s effortlessly cool, with tattoos and a grizzled voice, and is wearing a T-shirt commemorating the spreading of Mr Jerry Garcia’s ashes. A painter by trade, McElroy works as an assistant to the artist Mr Nate Lowman, who is as notable for his work as for being an ex of Ms Mary-Kate Olsen. As comfortable as McElroy may be in the city, holding court with a plate of moussaka at Kiki’s, he’d much rather be fishing. He’s a nature boy at heart, a California native, and when the pandemic began, he hit the road, camping and fishing across the western US. He had nowhere to be, so he gravitated towards the river. When he returned to the city, he found himself pulled to the water. Most nights, after work, he’d drive out to Jamaica Bay, near John F Kennedy airport, and’ with planes landing overhead every minute or two, go fishing.