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Positive Content for Boys (12–25)

Posted on by Kate O'Donnell

We’re hearing more and more about the negative online influences shaping our teen boys, particularly within the “manosphere.” In a recent Membership Q&A, a parent asked Maggie for positive role models and resources for her son.

So we turned to our wonderful community for suggestions – stories, people and content that offer a healthier, more grounded counterbalance to the algorithms targeting our young men. We complied a list from the responses and hope they provide a good starting point.

Below is a curated list of books, movies, TV shows, podcasts and online content to marinate our boys aged 12–25 in positive male role models and meaningful stories. We also asked some colleagues who work in supporting boys and men and we’ll keep adding to this list as we hear more.

To get us started, Maggie suggests watching a few episodes of ‘Ted Lasso’.

DISCLAIMER: These suggestions are shared from our online community so they are not personal recommendations from Maggie Dent – please check out the accounts/suggestions yourself before sharing with your kids/teens.

If you haven’t watched Maggie’s From Boys To Men webinar series you can access this here

CONTENT – suggestions from our community 

TV series & documentaries

  • Ted Lasso – Maggie’s suggestion
  • Caravan of Courage series and Gap Year series – Hamish Blake & Andy Lee social media and radio personalities – humour, good mates, supportive
  • Bear Grylls – books and TV series – outdoors, nature
  • ‘Run’ the Nedd Brockmann story
  • David Attenborough – nature documentaries
  • Masterchef series – realising dreams, overcoming challenges, resilience, supporting others
  • Waterman – documentary on Duke Kahanamoku
  • Long Way Round – Ewan McGregor documentary
  • Guy Martin – motorcycle racer and mechanic
  • Shrinking
  • Welcome to Wrexham – the real life Ted Lasso story with Ryan Reynolds
  • Long Walk To Freedom – Nelson Mandela
  • Brooklyn 99
  • Queer Eye

Movies

  • Eddy The Eagle
  • Limitless – Chris Hemsworth
  • The Secret Life of Walter Mitty
  • Forrest Gump – and other Tom Hanks movies
  • Togo – William Dafoe
  • Harry Potter – movie series
  • Lord of the Rings – movie series
  • Star Wars movies – Luke Skywalker character
  • Long Walk To Freedom – Nelson Mandela movie
  • Dead Poets Society
  • The Karate Kid, both versions original and new
  • Rocky – movies
  • Good Will Hunting
  • Billy Elliot
  • The Blind Side
  • Spiderman – Into the Spiderverse
  • The Pursuit of Happyness – Will Smith
  • Boy
  • Sing Street
  • Moonlight
  • The Fundamentals of Caring

Books

  • Help Me Help My Teen – Maggie Dent
  • The Making Of Men – Arne Rubinstein
  • Michelle Mitchell’s books including A Guy’s Guide to Puberty and her books about tweens and Everyday Resilience Journal.
  • One Day At A Time – Jordan Ablett’s memoir about the emotional journey of navigating their child’s disability. Gary Ablett Junior AFL player and his wife Jordan.
  • So What? Now What? How to stop being stuck and start living – Osher Günsber, illustrated by Campbell Walker (aka Struthless)
  • Wild Boy – Brando Yelavich
  • The Horse Boy – Rupert Isaacson
  • Line and Strength – Glen McGrath
  • Freedom Fighter – Mahatma Ghandi – many books available
  • A Promised Land – Barrack Obama
  • Diary of a Young Naturalist – Dara McAnulty
  • The Good Guys: 50 heroes who changed the world with kindness
  • High Five to the Boys: a Celebration of Ace Australian Men
  • Boy oh Boy – Cliff Leek – stories of 30 positive male role models from throughout history.
  • Brilliant Minds – Shannon Meyerkort – 30 inspiring famous people who have had dyslexia.
  • Guinness World Records – new book released annually
  • Stories for Boys Who Dare to be Different – Ben Brooks – compilation of 100 stories of famous and not-so-famous men from the past to the present day, every single one of them a rule-breaker and innovator in his own way, and all going on to achieve amazing things.

Social Media, Podcasts, People (positive role models)

@osher_gunsberg – Osher Günsberg writes and podcasts about all manner of mental health and things that make life better (including his podcast Better Than Yesterday and his book mentioned above)

@twomates1chair – best mates travelling the world, one in a chair.

@theimperfectspodcast – The Imperfects podcast you’ll hear interviews from some of the world’s most interesting people who vulnerably share their own struggles and imperfections. Hosted by Hugh Van Cuylenburg, Ryan Shelton, Josh Van Cuylenburg.

@j7healthjaveno – Javeno Mclean

@hamishblakeshotz – Hamish Blake – comedian, dad

@andytomlee – Andy Lee – comedian, good mates with Hamish Blake

@robertirwinphotography – Robert Irwin – Media personality, Australia Zoo, conservationist

@kingjames – LeBron James – American basketballer

@lukebateman_ Luke Bateman – former Australian rugby league footballer

Smosh – YouTube production

Casey Lowry – Musician

People and organisations working with boys & young men

The Man Cave – a preventative mental health charity running workshops for boys and young men. See below for some  recommendations from their team.

The Men’s Project – from Jesuit Social Services, running The Man Box research in Australia and working on attitudinal change and early intervention to prevent violence and promote wellbeing.

The Rites Of Passage Institute – founded by Dr Arne Rubinstein, running camps and in-school programs and trainings for anyone working with young people and adults undergoing life’s transitions. See below for their recommendations.

The Rite Journey with Andrew Lines – working with schools to guide teens through the transformation of adolescence in ways that help them be self-aware, responsible, reflective, respectful and resourceful.

Daniel Principe – working with schools and communities to encourage young people to recognise and resist distorted attitudes towards bodies, relationships and sex. See below for Daniel’s recommendations.

Movember – mental health and suicide prevention, for boys and men. Also working internationally The Movember Institute of Men’s Health ‘bringing together the world’s best minds’ to tackle men’s health.

The Fathering Project – an evidence-based organisation that aims to promote positive fathering behaviours and fathers’ engagement with their infants, preschool, primary school and adolescent-aged children.

We asked some of Maggie’s colleagues who write about or work with boys and men for their best recommendations and here’s what they shared:

SARAH WILSON –  Bestselling author and host of the Wild podcast

Sarah asked a similar question to ours in her “This is Precious” Substack community. Recommendations included:

@punterspolitics – former high school teacher Konrad Benjamin, delivering political satire.
@erosbrousson – French comedian who often satirises patriarchy
@richiehardcore – masculinity / mental health / gendered violence educator & Muay Thai coach
@mrgteacher – teacher and author, raising awareness of neurodivergence in particular ADHD
@charliemackesy –  author and illustrator (well-known for his The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse works) but shares inspirational things on his Insta.
@seth.hughes – filmmaker sharing positivity
@struthless (on YouTube) – Illustrator/mental health/ADHD content maker Cameron Walker
@davidpocock – former Rugby Union player who is now an independent senator who launched the ‘Parliamentary Friends of Healthy Masculinities Group’ to call on Australian governments to invest in boys.
@tarangchawla – advocates, educates and campaigns against men’s violence after his sister Niki was murdered.

Thought-provoking spoken word

Daragh Fleming’s Boys Will Be Boys
Gray Taylor on the difference between flirting and harassment

MIKEY ELLIS – CEO of The Rites of Passage Institute 

  • In terms of books, I’d have to say Raising Boys in the 21st Century by Steve Biddulph. Along with Maggie’s work, a classic.
  • Iron John – Robert Bly. Showing my age here, but it’s where my interest in mythopoetic men’s work began and still to this day it reveals its magic.
  • The Imperfects (already mentioned) is a great podcast, hosted by men, exploring vulnerability as you know.
  • And I agree with Maggie re Ted Lasso. I found this to be wonderful in exploring relationships between young men and their coaches, mothers and fathers, men and women, groups of men in sport. Brilliant.

Also our panel: Around the Fire – Inside the Mansophere is a great watch. After the Louis Theroux doco came out we hosted this fireside chat featuring an intergenerational panel of men: myself, our founder Dr Arne Rubinstein and two younger men, Mattia (17) and Cania (in his 30s), talking about how we can support boys and our community in general to counter the impact and influence of the manosphere.

Gray Taylor on the difference between flirting and harassment

Daniel Principe – Youth advocate and educator

Daniel’s favourite books and movies for young men:

The Hobbit

Lord of The Rings

Narnia

Hacksaw Ridge

Man’s Search for Meaning

Unbroken

Meditations

THE MAN CAVE – The Man Cave is Australia’s leading preventative mental health charity for boys and young men. Here are their team’s suggestions for positive role models for boys.

  • Jack Toohey
    Jack Toohey is a writer, creative director and social impact communicator connected to Teach Us Consent, with work spanning consent, systems change, climate, housing and hope. His book Better Things Are Possible is about choosing action over apathy and imagining a more sustainable, equitable Australia. Why he’s a role model: Jack speaks the language of the internet but uses it to make young people more thoughtful, hopeful and socially aware. 
  • Nedd Brockmann
    Nedd Brockmann is an ultramarathon runner and former electrician from Forbes who became 2026 Young Australian of the Year after using extreme endurance challenges to raise millions for people experiencing homelessness. Why he’s a role model: Nedd gives boys a version of toughness that is about service, discipline and doing hard things for other people. 
  • Harris Andrews
    Harris Andrews is co-captain of the Brisbane Lions and won the 2025 Jim Stynes Community Leadership Award for his work supporting people impacted by domestic violence and helping boys and young men build respectful relationships. Why he’s a role model: He is an elite footballer using his platform to talk about respect, violence prevention and emotional intelligence. 
  • Kaan Ofli
    Kaan “Genghis” Ofli is a Melbourne-born UFC featherweight whose story includes hardship, discipline and a rise through Australian MMA into the UFC. Why he’s a role model: He could be a strong bridge for boys drawn to fight culture, showing that real strength is built through discipline, control, respect and community. 
  • Luke Bateman
    Luke Bateman is a former Canberra Raiders NRL player, farmer and BookTok creator who has built a following by sharing his love of fantasy books and reading online. Simon & Schuster Australia announced he had signed a two-book fantasy series deal with Atria Books Australia. Why he’s a role model: Luke breaks the script: footy player, rural bloke, fantasy reader, storyteller. He gives boys permission to be more than one thing. 
  • The Morning Shift / Men’s Den podcast
    The Morning Shift is a New Zealand podcast hosted by Brook, Jordan and Matua Marc, built around culture, sport, humour and thought-provoking yarns. Why they’re role models: Their Men’s Den (Their weekly segment) energy connects beautifully to The Cave because it makes male friendship feel practical, warm and accountable: helping mates become better mates. 
  • Loyle Carner
    Loyle Carner is a British artist who founded Chilli Con Carner, an ADHD cooking school for young people aged 14 to 16. Why he’s a role model: Loyle gives neurodivergent boys a beautiful model of creativity, sensitivity, food, family and care. 
  • Harry Garside
    Harry Garside is an Australian Olympic bronze medallist boxer and Commonwealth Games champion who has challenged masculine stereotypes through ballet, emotional openness and public reflection on masculinity. Why he’s a role model: He shows boys that you can fight, dance, cry, question yourself and still be powerful.
  • Mitch Brown
    Mitch Brown is a former West Coast Eagles player who became the first openly bisexual man in AFL history, speaking about identity and the emotional cost of hiding parts of yourself in a hyper-masculine sporting culture. Why he’s a role model: Mitch opens the door to safer conversations about sexuality, homophobia, sport culture and belonging. 
  • Ben McIntosh
    Ben McIntosh is a disability support worker and social media creator who shares his work with his sister Grace and clients, helping make disability support visible, joyful and human. Why he’s a role model: Ben models care-based masculinity: patient, playful, responsible and deeply human. 
  • Yiayia Next Door brothers, Daniel and Luke Mancuso
    Daniel and Luke Mancuso founded Yiayia Next Door after losing their mother Teresa to domestic violence. Their neighbour, Yiayia, began passing meals over the fence, and the brothers turned that act of care into a social enterprise about kindness and family violence prevention. Why they’re role models: They are a beautiful example of grief turned into service, and masculinity expressed through tenderness, brotherhood and community care. 
  • Mataio “Matt” Brown
    Mataio, also known as Matt Brown, is the co-founder of She Is Not Your Rehab, a movement focused on helping men heal from trauma and break cycles of family violence. He began this work through vulnerable conversations with men in his Christchurch barbershop. Why he’s a role model: Matt gives boys a clear message: your trauma is not your fault, but healing is your responsibility. 
  • Ben Hurst
    Ben Hurst is a UK-based masculinity educator, facilitator and speaker connected to Beyond Equality, where his work focuses on deconstructing and reconstructing masculinity with men and boys. Why he’s a role model: His work sits incredibly close to The Cave: helping boys question the narrow scripts they inherit and build healthier versions of manhood. 
  • Dyson Heppell
    Dyson Heppell is a former Essendon captain known for leadership, resilience and public reflections on trust, empathy and forgiveness after difficult chapters in football. Why he’s a role model: Dyson gives boys a model of footy masculinity built on loyalty, warmth, reflection and joy. 
  • Jordan Stephens
    Jordan Stephens is a musician, writer and performer best known as one half of Rizzle Kicks, and has used his platform to speak about mental health, toxic masculinity and the #IAMWHOLE campaign. Why he’s a role model: Jordan talks openly about shame, heartbreak, addiction, sobriety and mental health, which gives boys permission to be honest about the messy stuff.

Image Credit: © By photography33/Deposit Photos