Stepping Into Wellness: Celebrating Our Stress Awareness Month Challenge

April marked Stress Awareness Month, and what better way to raise awareness and combat stress than through a dose of healthy competition and a whole lot of movement? Throughout the month, our team laced up their trainers, synced up their fitness apps, and pushed themselves as part of our Wellness Challenge — and the results were inspiring.

Stress Awareness Month has been observed every April since 1992, promoting a deeper understanding of the causes of stress and how to better manage it. While stress is a natural and sometimes necessary part of life, chronic or mismanaged stress can take a toll on our physical and mental wellbeing. That’s why activities like regular exercise, mindful habits, and maintaining a sense of community are so important — and it’s exactly what this challenge set out to encourage.

The challenge

At Soiltechnics, we provide private medical healthcare for our all our staff. Participants earn Vitality points by being active — whether through steps, gym sessions, wellness surveys, or other healthy habits tracked through the Vitality App. So the challenge? To obtain as many Vitality health points as possible through the month. And to sweeten the deal? The winner would receive an extra day of leave – a well-deserved reward for going the extra mile (quite literally!).

The Competition

Things heated up quickly as team members threw themselves into the challenge. Weekly updates kept everyone motivated, and the final leader board was closer than anyone could have predicted. In fact, it came down to a step count tie-breaker, with four incredible participants all earning the maximum number of points available for the month: Matt Hooper, Josh Townrow, Tom Temple, and David Hunt.

The Winner

🥇 David Hunt – with a jaw-dropping 530,512 steps over the month!

To put that in perspective, that’s over 17,000 steps a day on average – and what makes this even more remarkable is that David is just coming off the back of a knee reconstruction! His determination, resilience, and commitment to wellbeing perfectly captured the spirit of this challenge.

A massive shoutout also goes to Matt, Josh, and Tom — all of whom put in a mammoth effort and truly embodied the energy of Stress Awareness Month.

Why this matters

Physical activity is one of the most effective ways to manage stress. Whether it’s a brisk walk, a gym session, or simply being mindful of your movement throughout the day, getting active releases endorphins, improves sleep, reduces anxiety, and helps us feel more in control. Challenges like these remind us that small, consistent actions can make a big difference — not just in points earned, but in how we feel.

If April taught us anything, it’s that wellbeing is a team effort — and when we come together, we can achieve amazing things. Thank you to everyone who took part, and remember: every step counts, every day.