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Press release

July 25, 2025•2 min read

New Nationwide Movement Tackles Stress at Its Root. Launching the Thrive Initative

Cape Town, South Africa — 22 April 2025 – In a bold new effort to address one of the

most overlooked drivers of gender-based violence, bullying, addiction, and relationship

dysfunction, The Thrive Initiative officially launches this month. Headed by Brian Segal, and

in powerful partnership with Aphiwe Nqevu, this movement is not just another awareness

campaign, it's a call to action.

The Thrive Initiative is based on one disruptive insight: stress doesn't just come from

external pressures like lack of money or opportunity, it comes from disconnection. From the

breakdown of communication. From feeling unheard, unseen, and misunderstood.

“We fall into patterns,” says Segal. “Power struggles. Emotional avoidance. People-pleasing.

These are our survival tactics, but they’re outdated. They disconnect us. And that

disconnection breeds dysfunction.”

Instead of offering theory, Thrive delivers practical, street-smart tools for releasing stress

in healthier ways and rewiring how we connect, whether it’s with a partner, a parent, a child,

or ourselves. At its core, the initiative is about building communication that heals, not

harms.

The Hook: A Nationwide Roadshow for Real People with Real Stories

To spark this change from the ground up, Thrive is hitting the road. A national roadshow will

travel through high-stress communities which includes Hazyview in Mpumalanga, Pretoria,

Soweto, Kimberly in the Northern Cape, Noupoort in the Eastern Karoo, Graaf Reinet in

the Eastern Cape and George and Cape Town; offering free 2-hour workshops designed

to shift how people express love, process conflict, and tell their stories.

And this isn’t just a workshop. It’s a human connection movement. Thrive is inviting people

to share their stories, to be interviewed, to speak the truths many have kept inside.

“In telling our stories, we stop being victims of them,” says Nqevu. “We transform trauma into

message. Pain into power. We stop feeling alone, and in that, others discover they’re not

alone either.”

A Fresh Model for a Stressed World

The Thrive model identifies and unpacks the 3 common dysfunctional communication styles:

• Power Over: Using status, science, religion, or money to dominate.

• Manoeuvring: Deflecting and avoiding the real issue.

• Compliance: Becoming the “good boy/girl” to keep the peace.

The more stressed we are, the more we default to these patterns.

Thrive teaches a new way. A connected way. A way where we can be honest without

harm, vulnerable without fear, and loving without control.

Want to attend a workshop or share your story?

Join the movement. Let’s hear your story—and help someone else discover their humanity

in it.

For more information checkhttps://direct.me/ithrive, contact Brian Segal, Founder Thrive

Initiative on cell: 083 253 0070 and on email:[email protected].

Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/ithrive.initiative?igsh=MTBiOGJzZ3RmaThocA==

For media queries, contact Candice Jansen on email[email protected].

Issued by: Heads Up Communications

On behalf of Thrive Initiative