Former NFL player Ryan Mundy creates app to improve Black mental health care access
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A Super Bowl champ and former Chicago Bear, Ryan Mundy has turned from football to focusing on the mental health and well-being of Black people and families.
Mundy created Alkeme, an app specifically tailored to the Black experience.
"After eight years in the NFL, and 24 years in total, I kind of hit rock bottom. Not kind of, I did hit rock bottom, just trying to figure out who I was, quite frankly, when I wasn't tackling people anymore. I was going through anxiety, depression, and identity issues," Mundy said.
When he tried to find a therapist, he found it to be "incredibly difficult."
"Also, my family was going through a laundry list of chronic disease and illness; type 2 diabetes amputation, cardiovascular disease, Alzheimer's, etc. And I just looked out into the marketplace, and I said, 'who's principally focused on the health and wellness and the trajectory of Black health. Quite frankly, not many people, and that's why I got started," he said.
Mundy launched Alkeme in 2020 during the height of the pandemic. The app offers mental health video courses led by Black experts and therapists, who talk about complex topics that affect the Black community.
"Generational trauma, being Black in the workplace, so on and so forth. We also make meditations and mindfulness practices that show up on our platform," Mundy said.
You can watch Mundy's full interview about the Alkeme app in the video player above.
Alkeme is featured as one of Apple's Apps of the Day for Black History Month, and can be downloaded from the App Store. It's also available through Google Play.