from netflix to nurturing men’s communities
Tom Stroud partners with HOUSE Talent to expand his mission of building better relationships with self and others.
Tom Stroud first came to public attention on Netflix’s hit series Love Is Blind. But since then, he’s built his platforms with purpose. Through his digital content, podcast, writing (Grazia, Stylist, Mr Porter), and community-building, Tom has become a leading voice in helping people cultivate healthier connections, both with themselves and with others.
With a growing digital audience of over 100K, a Top 20 charting podcast, and the launch of his‘Shoulder to Shoulder’ community for men (Instagram and WhatsApp) Tom has ambitious plans to bring his unique mix of lived experience, humour, and empathy to conversations that matter.
“I’m obsessed with challenging old stereotypes and creating space for modern connection.”
Now, Tom is taking the next step in his journey and we’re excited to be working with him on his ambitious plans. Tom encapsulates so much of what we look for in a Creator at HOUSE; he uses his platform with purpose, is dedicated to building meaningful communities, and pairs that with an ambition we deeply value and encourage.
Together, we’ll focus on scaling Tom’s impact, bringing his content, community, and conversations to bigger audiences, and working with brands and partners aligned with his purpose.
Here’s Tom’s perspective on building his platform with purpose.
What made you decide that this was the right time to sign with an agency to expand your digital presence?
‘Over the past year, I’ve been focusing on creating meaningful, purpose-driven content and building an engaged audience. Frankly, my content and the media opportunities off the back of the show have grown far beyond what I ever expected. Signing with an agency felt like the natural next step to take everything I’ve built to the next level. I’ve found my voice and my audience, and now I want to scale that impact – and having a team behind me means I can focus on creating content and engaging with my audience both on and offline while they help me navigate the opportunities that come with a bigger platform’.
What do you hope to achieve with the platform you’re building & how do you want people to feel when they engage with your content?
‘My hope is that people come away from my content feeling seen, understood, and less alone, especially when it comes to topics like masculinity, dating, relationships, and mental health. The world feels confusing at the moment, and I want to bring more clarity to some of the emotions men exhibit like avoidance or shame – this helps both men and women. There’s still a lot of stigma around men opening up, and being emotionally expressive, and I want to be part of changing that narrative.
Ultimately, I want my platform to be a space where people can start understanding themselves better, but also laugh, reflect, and feel encouraged to have more honest conversations in their own lives’.
You launched your ‘Shoulder to Shoulder’ community on both Instagram and WhatsApp - do you have any learnings from having both a private and public domain for a support group of this style?
‘It’s been really eye-opening to see how different the energy is between the public and private spaces. On Instagram, people engage more passively -they’ll like, comment, or share. But in the private WhatsApp group, or in our meet-ups, there’s a real intimacy. People open up in ways they might not feel comfortable doing publicly. Having both has taught me the value of creating layers of community: the public side draws people in, and the private side gives them a place to be vulnerable and build real connections’.
What’s next? What are you excited to pursue in the next year?
One of my big goals is to take everything I’ve been building online and bring it into the real world. I want to create more in-person events for men and women to connect - walks, workshops, and live podcast recordings - to help bridge that gap between social media and real-life support. It’s all about turning conversations into communities. I’m also writing a book about male behaviour in dating off the back of the podcast, and working with a TV production company about a couple of documentary ideas which I’m very excited about’.
Follow and connect with Tom on social.
Read Tom’s latest article with Mr Porter here.