They say the quickest way to a man's heart is through his stomach, but a mental health program in Ballarat is showing that the quickest way to their head is with Mexican food and a stylish haircut.

Arms and Armour is a fortnightly meeting where men between the ages of 18 to 25, discuss issues around masculinity, mental health and male-perpetrated violence.

The group meets weekly at a barbershop for a 15-minute speech from male role models, including sportsmen, local business owners and mental health experts, before heading to a nearby Mexican restaurant for dinner.

Organiser Jimmy Morrison, who owns the barbershop, started the program in the hope of creating a safe, comfortable and casual place to talk about what it means to be a man in today's society.

"We get professionals to come talk about it, obviously from White Ribbon … and we ask them what they think is right and wrong," Mr Morrison said.

"We try to keep it casual so no-one feels like they're being secluded and we just want everyone to be relaxed and chat … make it not threatening to talk about big social issues."

'Safe context, brave conversations'

Andy Penny wants Arms and Armour to create a casual atmosphere for young men to talk about issues facing them in everyday life. ( ABC Ballarat: Dominic Cansdale )

Andy Penny from headspace helped organise Arms and Armour, with the goals of reducing male suicide rates and male-perpetrated violence.

While the recent death of Melbourne comedian Eurydice Dixon has placed a renewed focus on male-perpetuated violence, Mr Penny said the program was designed to provide participants from a diverse background with skills to deal with emotional pressure.

"We do not induct them into this program with a preconceived idea that they are violent … we might have examples of young people who might have anything from intellectual disabilities, to young men who may identify themselves as privileged males," Mr Penny said.

"Our aim is to build that emotional intelligence and that emotional literacy and capacity, so that men can make informed decisions about how they dictate their emotions and their communication.

"Whether that's in potentially aggressive situations, whether that's how they view women, whether that's how they manage their own mental health."

A role for all men

Mr Penny said "violence is a spectrum of behaviours", with assault and death at one end and other more normalised behaviours at the other.

"The whole boys-will-be-boys attitude, rape jokes, that locker-room banter-type stuff — the more we're normalising that, the more we're really not making any ground on reducing some of those end-of-the-spectrum behaviours and consequences in terms of women dying," he said.

"Trying to deconstruct male-perpetrated violence is not a topic of shame; it is something we have to do."

Mr Penny said Arms and Armour was not directed at men who were violent, because it was the role of all men to change prominent attitudes around masculinity.

"This unhealthy masculine stereotype that we have to be stoic and hold our emotions in and be tough and strong — that's super harmful to men," he said.

"So if we can engage our emotions, be emotional, be able to call out we when we're sad, when we're angry, when we're frustrated so that we don't resort to measures like verbal, physical or sexual violence — that's an example of what building emotional capacity and skills can do."

A chance to find and give help

Jimmy Morrison said he suffered with mental health issues when he was younger, but did not find the help he needed.

"When I became successful and had my own business, I thought I could so something for my community," he said.

Mr Morrison said while male-perpetrated violence was an important part of Arms and Armour, he wanted the program to address a range of issues including depression and even body image.

"We're trying to tap into every social aspect and issue of what it means to be a man in today's society by giving somewhere that's a safe place, a comfortable place, to come and talk."

Twenty-two-year-old student Riley Adams began participating in Arms and Armour when it first began in 2017.

"We started with the male identity and what makes up a perceived male, we talk about things like being really strong and not showing any emotion," he said.

"I'd say it helped me get a better understanding of the different things guys my age are going through. I've probably been a little bit sheltered to some things."

Mr Adams said while the program was relatively small, it set the standard for how he interacted with other men his age.

"It's certainly opened my eyes to other people's challenges," he said.

"As young guys we're supposed to be really macho, really strong … I'm not sure how that came about in the first place [but] Arms and Armour is an awesome way of showing you don't have to be like that, that no-one expects you to be like that."

"It's trying to encourage young guys to speak up if they need help."

Arms and Armour's weekly meetings run from June 20 through to August 8.